Stretch Now, Sizzle Later

When you workout, one of the benefits that you experience is that you immediately start to feel better. Another benefit is that by feeling better you start to look better.
Whenever your body gets movement, of any kind, something happens to the brain in how confidence is activate. Everyone has noticed a truly confident person in seeing how they present themself, how they walk, how they talk and how they carry themselves overall. When your shoulders are down and back and you are able to strut with tall posture and a solid core, nothing feels better.

Well, a gin cocktail feels pretty damn good too.
But all to be said, confidence is a solid second.

Pilates has been one of the biggest game changers in not only my posture but my overall body awareness which is why it has been such a major focus in my professional teaching and instruction. Learning how to connect mindful movement to breath and core control while focusing on posture? It doesn’t get more results-driven than that.

Add in some logical nutrition and a #walkeverywhere approach and you are set for life. One of the best ways to approach health and wellness for life is to think about the investment you are making today. I always tell my clients when I am teaching them that we are burning today so that we can sizzle later and it’s so true. The seeds you plant today won’t bloom tomorrow but with some T.L.C. they will prosper and grow.

Some of my favourite ways to incorporate mindful movement into my day to day outside of studio classes and teaching schedule is by focusing on moving in ways that aren’t necessarily strength related but rather stretch related.

I love Threeform and Travis Eliot Yoga as well as classes through the Burn Pilates YouTube channel when I am using my mat or home reformer. Stretching and lengthening has been such a focus and it is truly the biggest game changer. So many workouts strengthen muscles but so little stretch them enough to see and feel change. Length after all isn’t just a feel, it’s also an aesthetic that can be trained and achieved when done correctly. It’s all about form and, quite truthfully, re-training muscles to work which have probably been underworked for a long time.

I think the main benefit, regardless of anything, is that you really do feel so much better when you stretch. Your body feels more mobile, agile and able. And who doesn’t want that?

I find that as I learn by living and by teaching, that the one thing we all seek from our bodies as we age is continued resilience and capability. This is why everyone should stretch. If solely to prevent injuries and to more simply be able to do have your body do what you need it to do, plant those seeds of stretch and your investment will payoff in dividends later.