I could choose peace.

I discovered the Spring edition of a local magazine called the Mosaic which focuses on mind, body, spirit, health and wisdom. An article called “I could choose peace” by Carmen Jubinville, a life coach, caught my eye and I think deserves sharing. The following is an adaptation of this article.

Inner peach is a big priority for many people, especially women. Each person has different dilemmas or issues to work on yet the main goal is to reach a place within ones self to feel content and satisfied. If we want to experience long lasting inner peach we simply need to master the art of choosing it. When we make peace our #1 priority, we then become willing to change our perspectives when faced with adversity.

Inner peace is something we look for and yet is inside of us already. Just like a light switch we only need to turn it on. Every day life offers us opportunities to choose peace; it offers us situations where all we need to do is turn on our peach switch. When we recognize those opportunities, that is when we can start practicing. But like anything, when we begin to practice something new we will need some conviction.

We need conviction because we don’t necessarily need to practice choosing peace when life is flowing with ease and grace. We need to dig in our heels with conviction and practice choosing peace when life is throwing us lemons and nothing seems to be going our way.

It is during these challenging times when conviction is paramount. It may seem obvious that we should choose peace over struggle and yet surprisingly enough we actually choose struggle over peace much more often than we realize.

For instance, if faced with a confrontation we naturally want to defend ourselves and yet what we don’t realize is that the moment we begin to defend ourselves we are choosing struggle. We justify our choice to choose struggle because we believe that we have to defend ourselves otherwise people will walk all over us or they will hold some sort of opinion or judgment about us.

In this instance, to choose peace instead of defending ourselves may feel overly challenging and that is why conviction is key. We have to want peace more than we want to defend ourselves.

A course in Miracles teaches us: “I have invented the world I see.” It then goes on the teach that “There is another way of looking at the world.” And finally, in teaches that “I could see peace instead of this.”

It is these challenging moments when the willingness to shift our perspective will determine whether or not we have chosen peace or struggle. It is clearly a choice and it is a choice only you can make.

Are you willing to see things differently? Are you willing to see peace instead?

In this particular instance, imagine if you didn’t take the confrontation personally. Imagine if you let go of the fear that someone was attacking you or judging you harshly. Imagine if you acknowledged the confrontation but chose to release it instead of participating in it.

These shifts in perspective would completely change the outcome of the confrontation. There can be no war if you refuse to fight. This may seem impossible and yet it is completely within your reach with practice and diligence.

It has been my experience that there would be little struggle in life if we refuse to feed certain urges, thoughts and emotions. This doesn’t mean we do not have boundaries. This only means that we are very much aware of our choices.

We begin to determine what or who is worthy of disturbing our inner peace in time we notice that for the most part, nothing or nobody qualifies.

 

What is the #1 unsung benefit of the Pilates method? Five top Pilate bloggers respond.

Andrea Maida a Pilates instructor and educator trained by a Romana Kryzanowska an original student of Joeseph Pilates, poses a question to the top five bloggers of the Pilates community

Q1: What is 1 unsung benefit of the Pilates method?

We have all heard the standard list of benefits of a consistent Pilates regimen. Highlights include long lean muscles, better posture, a nice butt and – gosh we hope so – a six-pack wall of abdominal muscles. However, there are numerous huge benefits that nobody really talks about. So aside from the aesthetics and the hype (albeit well-deserved and the truth), what other rewards can your Pilates workout give you?

 #1. Jennifer Kries, jenniferkries.com/blog

Jennifer: For me, the unsung benefit is the remarkable mood-boosting that occurs from a workout. Each and every time, I experience a radical transformation in how I feel mentally, which to me is directly connected to that incredible feeling of space and ease and aliveness in the body after a Pilates session.

#2 Benjamin Degenhardt, benjamindegenhardt.com/articles

Benjamin: One of my favorite aspects of practicing Pilates is the built-in massage. I can’t count the times I went into my practice wishing I went to a spa instead, but leaving just as rejuvenated as if I did – if not more. Because of the way we move the body in Pilates, it truly massages itself. As Joe Pilates said: “the entire body is wrung-out like a wet towel.” What other workout will do that for you?

#3 Kara Wily, karawilypilates.com/blog

Kara: I think that in the Pilates technique I get a little microcosm of life.  I have challenges that I meet, a work ethic to manifest, discipline, fun, joy in my accomplishments.  I must take personal responsibility for getting done what only I have power to control and to change.  These are really powerful concepts that I am just starting to understand that I have explored just in dealing with my physical body and it does help me to then to practice these principles in other aspects of my life.

#4 Marguerite Ogle, pilates.about.com

1st post 2006

Marguerite: There are a lot of benefits of Pilates that may have been considered unsung a while ago but are getting attention now — mostly because of the proliferation of Pilates articles online. Things like better sleep or sex, and importantly the body/mind/spirit connection are examples. So I’m going to go with the fact that Pilates is an interesting and beneficial companion for life. Pilates is not like a sport or fitness method that has a peak and then you go downhill. How one practices — the level of challenge, the equipment, the venue — might change, but Pilates movement principles remain viable and supportive of good health throughout ones life.

#5 Shari Berkowitz, theverticalworkshop.wordpress.com

Shari: The consumer doesn’t realize that he/she is actually going to develop an entirely new way of life. Pilates is more than a workout, but a lifestyle of sorts. The actions for increased stability and mobility that you do in the 55 minute workout go with you when you leave the studio…and become the actions of your life! It’s always a beautiful surprise to the clients when they realize that this is more than a simple workout.

Samantha Reed http://pilateon.wordpress.com

Samantha:   And to me the #1 unsung benefit of Pilates method?  It’s attention to detail.  Coming from a background of scientific analysis or the biomechanics lab at U of  T we were all about studying the details of human movement; angles of pull (or force), length of moment arms and how slight changes in these could make big differences in strength and performance.  When I discovered the Pilates method it seemed too good to be true.  A method which focused on the alignment details of the total body.  Furthermore, it was more restorative than competitive.  It gave you personal details on how to improve your body, making you feel great, focused and energized not exhausted and spent.  After years of competitive sports and labour intensive work it was the perfect workout or “therapy” to not only ease aching muscles and joints but to improve them.  Thus making work and sport feel better the next day and may I dare say, more effortless!

Pilates program for youth.

Pilates is appropriate for anyone no matter if you are coordinated or not, athletic or not, injured or not, young or old.  The youtube video below follows a class of 5th graders as they go through a Pilates program conducted with the Pilates Method Alliance.

It shows how consistent practice of Pilates, taught properly,  benefits everyone in the class – no matter what their body type.   The testimonials of the students are incredible to hear.  They are so matter of fact and straight forward about the positive effects of Pilates.  Truly inspirational!

play video

Pilates in the School: Pilot Program youtube.com

Fifth graders taking part in a Pilates program in Southern California.

Research Study; “Clinical guidelines for indentifying those who benefit most from Pilates training”.

There aren’t too many clinical research studies on Pilates training.  Below please see a clinical study conducted by a Lise Stolze MPT, MSc, doctoral student in orthopaedics at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Colorado.  Conducted with guidance of Brent Anderson PT, PhD, OCS, President, Polestar Pilates Physical Therapy and Polestar Pilates education.

“Research study showing clinical guidelines for identifying those clients who will benefit most from a Pilates program by one of Polestar’s senior Educators”, Lise Stolze. http://polestarpilates.com/pdf/JOSPT_website_Stolze_LBP%20CPR_2012.pdf

Published in JOSPT in 2012

1 day ago

“How can an hour-long training session feel better than a massage?”

A Pilates testimonial from designer, writer, and activist Suzanne Dvells, on Twitter.

“How can an hour-long Pilates session feel better than a massage? Beyond her status as a Master Pilates instructor Lynda Lippin possesses deep expertise in a wide range of fitness techniques.

She cunningly wields a light-handed, wry teaching style that is equally demanding and distracting. Somehow she manages to put her finger on the point of concern, bringing results with amazing consistency.

After just one ten session series, I now commanded basic Pilates techniques that eluded me for years in the hands of other trainers. At the conclusion of a second series, distinct changes in my posture were evident. After a third series, I boast a new body.

Thanks to her many gifts, I walk away from sessions with a fresh point of reference for a healthier mind, body, and lifestyle.”

Would you like easier movement, better posture, and a new body? Nature First Health and Wellness Center now provides Pilates training. There are a few spots left open for Pilates privates or duets, some weekday late mornings (9:30-11:30 am) and afternoons (2 – 4 pm) at 160 Main St. in Erin $ 85, with package rates available.

Want a Pilates group class instead? You can try a form-function class with light equipment on Mondays at 9:30-10:15 am or a Beginner Mat class on Wednesdays 2-3 pm. $20, with package rates available.

Contact the studio to schedule – email info@pilateon.ca or call (519) 315-4221.

Hope to see you soon in the Pilates studio !

Why Integrate Pilates into Physical Therapy.

By Kristen Reynolds From put me back together.com

     For a number of reasons, a common challenge for entry level physical therapists is effectively implementing therapeutic exercise programs. Not all academic programs provide their graduates with a large, mental library of exercises. Athletic patients may be bored with the idea of hamstring curls or crunches, while others require modifications for such exercises because of other co-morbidities or injuries. Some patients have poor kinesthetic awareness and it is difficult to teach their bodies to feel the essence of an exercise. With Pilates being included with a rehab program makes the opportunity for therapists to progress clients back to their previous level of strength and function. Clearly, designing a safe, progressive rehab program that benefits patients with multiple impairments in a limited episode of care is no easy feat. That’s where Pilates came in.

When Pilates Mat exercises were introduced to me at Active Motion
Physical Therapy, my clinical instructor had a conversation after the patient’s treatment about her impairments, functional limitations, and goals of continuing a program on her own after discharge. To sum it all up, the CI looked at me and stated “it just makes sense.” This statement holds true to me more and more each day three years later.

Completing a comprehensive Pilates teacher training program and utilizing
the method in daily practice has sincerely improved my clinical skills in regards to breaking down movements and teaching them in part and whole tasks. Joseph Pilates developed more than 500 exercises on a handful of apparatus designed to correct alignment and balance muscle development of the entire body utilizing a variety of developmental and gravity-eliminated postures (which I recall learning specifically during PT school lab!) Impaired range of motion, muscle length, and muscle performance are all targeted through sequenced eccentric and concentric contraction. The spring-loaded equipment in particular, significantly enhances neuromuscular re-education and helps the patient actually “get it” when trying to cue lumbar or scapular stabilization. When they “get it” I take an exercise to the mat (and sometimes incorporate resistance bands) to morph the exercise into one for home.

There is always an opportunity for modification and progression to allow for patient success and challenge and most importantly, compliance. Now I split my practice and teach Pilates at OMBE, an integrative health center. A large number of my clients are those with injury or postural-induced pain that are attending acupuncture or chiropractic treatments and need a safe method to resume strengthening or those who have “graduated” from physical therapy because their short-term rehabilitation benefit has been fully utilized. Attending private sessions and small group classes under the direction of a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor is a smart solution for a lifelong fitness regimen when suffering from orthopedic or sports-related injuries.

About the Author: Kristen Reynolds is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine, and a PMA® Certified Pilates Teacher.

Sean Gallagher

• I have had a Pilates studio in my physical therapy practice since I opened it in 1990. The article supports the fact that patients need a comprehensive exercise program that will not only allow them the health benefits of exercise, which the research supports on many different levels. Exercise machines that have been developed to work only single muscle or to sell exercise equipment do not meet the needs of function. Since the brain integrates movement in dynamic multi-segmental symbiotic relationships trying to develop strength and flexibility through an inter connected skeletal chain with single muscle work or even groups of muscles really doesn’t address these relationships.
What I noticed very early on in my PT career was that most of my patients (80%) would not have needed PT if they had been in a comprehensive exercise program. What other exercise system available today has over 60 years of clinical practice and research (Joe Pilates always talked about his experiments and research into his method) that has continued to provide clinical affirmation for the last 45 years? Pilates is being researched more and more today and most of it is finding that it works as stated and in many instances is as good or better that what it is being compared with.

I think that this is because no other system (unless it is based on Pilates) has provided a methodology that incorporates the developmental sequence, open and closed multi-segnemtal muscle chain movements, Dynamic balance between stability and mobility, full ROM of every joint in the body( thus allowing for the brain to better integrate a living posture that is balanced), all while being able to make it interesting, challenging for different levels of participants and makes clients feel good after doing it. All using only a few apparatus(since most pilates equipment allows 40-80 exercises on each one their design is in line with the method – functional and integrated) with the eventual goal of self maintenance doing the mat work at home.

So besides the insurance and cost dynamics of Pilates being in a PT clinic the real reason why Pilates should be integrated into physical therapy is that it will not only help your patients with their current injuries it will help them maintain a balanced neuromuscular system that should keep them from needing a return to PT and live a much more productive and healthy life.

Terry Walters • I totally agree with your philosophy and pilates should be offered as a healing process from physicians to their patients. There are so many individuals that do not even know what pilates is.

Samantha Reed • Pilates helps people learn how to move & make life less work.

The philosophy of Pilates being used by fitness trainers of professional athletes.

Main article by:  Alex Gheciu “Fit Tips” Chill Magazine, Dec 2012

I picked up the “Chill” magazine this weekend and low and behold the Fit Tips section discusses functional fitness that works on developing movement over strength – something I have been focused on for over a decade.  The emphasis of this type of training works the body from the inside out versus working the exterior muscles with a lot of weight.  Here is a brief synopsis of the article.

A triad a ‘elite’ fitness gurus; Sylvestor Walters of Evolution Extreme Fitness, former Toronto Raptors Doug Christie and Washington State track champ and professional trainer Tim Manson, claim to have developed a movement based training method which has upped the games of top-shelf athletes from the NBA to A-level soccer players.  While many guys are obsessed with pumping iron, looking like Arnold won’t won’t help you with athleticism.

“Bodybuilders are the worst athletes in the world.” says Tim Manson.  They train from the outside out for aesthetics.  You need to train naturally from the inside out and learn how to move.   Movement training made popular by this trio has boosted the the performances of pro athletes by training them to move efficiently while avoiding injury.  Based on the belief that size isn’t strength, the philosophy is a call to drop the weights and use your brain.   Add the weight after you learn to move!

They do not use bench press machines at their facilities, as you need to control your body first – moving in a way that controls the forces your body generates.  This is done by having proper co-ordination between the muscles.  You must find a way to get the most out of every movement without expending too much energy.  Once you do, you’ll have boundless flexibility, mobility and balance, as well as, the ability to leverage your strength during different movement patterns.

“You don’t just jump with your ankles; you jump with your whole body.” Christie explains.  The whole body is trained to take advantage of the greater strength in your quads, calves, hips, lower back and propel yourself with your arms.  Your body doesn’t identify individual muscles but the entire kinetic chain.

This group of fitness trainers believe athletic excellence can be achieved by synchronizing “mind, body and sport.”  They add that many athletes are not harnessing their full potential because they don’t truly understand the fundamentals of movement.  Mastering those fundamentals, according to Walters et al., is a seven- stage journey consisting of stabilization, mobility, strength, power, energy system development, rest restoration and recovery and mental training.

I truly appreciate this trio’s emphasis and the way they are presenting fitness training being more than a bunch of exercises, but a step-by-step process that works on developing the functional fitness of the entire body.  Great work which is ideally what the Pilates method is all about.  I thank you for communicating the message and bringing it to the realm of male professional sport.  I look forward to following your posts.