HOW PILATES EXERCISES MAY SAVE YOUR LOWER BACK

Eighty percent of Americans will experience lower back pain at some time in their lives, according to an excellent New York Times article that I read recently. Each year, 15-20% will report that they are undergoing chronic lower back pain.

“The lower back is the center of our whole body” said Dr. Krishna, an interventional pain specialist. The spine has to be mobile, able to bend and twist in multiple directions, while also bearing the weight of our body. Surrounding the spine are the core muscles. These include the deep back muscles, hip muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, and our abdominals. All of these muscles together support our spine and pelvis similar to a back brace. Developing our own internal brace is far more effective! 

The article describes a number of ways that any of us can eliminate or reduce this suffering for ourselves:

·      Move. Physical activity really helps. Regular exercise, particularly a variety of types, helps not only the muscles but also the bones and cartilage that support the spine. This makes all the difference for your lower back. 

·      Strengthen your core muscles—but not just the big ones. Instead, you have to work the deep core muscles that are often neglected such as the transverse abdominis and the multifidus. These deeper muscles which we can’t see are challenged and engaged during movements that require more control than raw power.

·      Work on muscular coordination and spine control. The article suggested that Pilates, which emphasizes muscle control in addition to strengthening the deeper core muscles, is one of the very best forms of exercise in which to engage.

This is, perhaps, not news to those who are already familiar with Pilates. I have so many wonderful clients who work hard to build their core and diligently focus on slow, controlled movements, activating all these important areas. I love helping my clients understand how beneficial this work is and I am thrilled that many of them report that they are no longer suffering from lower back pain (or other issues) due to our sessions together. That kind of success is fabulous and empowers them, while making it easy for me to get up every morning and go to the studio with a smile on my face!

Optimism and Persistence

I find it hard to believe that it is nearing the end of January already. Even more difficult to consider is the fact that our lives are still so affected by the pandemic, nearly two years on. And yet, it IS a new year and I’m hopeful, just like you, that better times are soon to come.

In many ways, this year has started so much better than last. Yes, I’m still being careful about where I go, with whom and in what way. Yet I feel lucky that the weather and the natural beauty of Sarasota make these cautious behaviors much easier to maintain. Much of my focus, looking at the coming year, is on living each day fully and well, whatever comes along.

Many of you are now working with me in my beautiful new studio. The space is perfect and I’m not the only one who feels the warmth and calm it seems to offer. I love to be there with my clients, working to make them stronger and helping them to achieve their goals.

The hours can be long and this time of year is always a challenge for scheduling. But I get so much satisfaction from the progress clients make, from your determination and focus. I find it so enjoyable to meet a new client, learn their story and build a relationship with them.

Every Monday, I walk into the studio, take a deep breath and get ready for a week full of optimism and persistence. And, in that, my sunny little studio is much like our world…. We all get up every morning, doing our best and hoping for things to get a little better each day. 

Gratitude and Resilience

I find it amazing that six months have passed since mid-March, when we first recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic would affect us directly. None of us could know, then, how long this would go on and how completely it would uproot our lives.  It has been difficult, frustrating and sad. For too many people here and all over the world, it has been tragic. Without a real end in sight, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and a little hopeless.

I miss the daily connections we’ve had to give up and so many simple pleasures. I know that my clients do, as well. I must say, though, that I am so grateful that I’ve been able to maintain and deepen relationships with many of my ongoing clients—and to also bond with some new clients --despite the restrictions that were in place for so long.

This is a testament to the humanity of all of us. We want and need that contact and, if it must be virtual, we still engage. We work at it. We connect in any way we can. That resilience, that positive energy despite obstacles, is uplifting to me. It helps me through. It is a pleasure to witness and to experience.  We will all be changed by this year and living through it and I believe we will have a new understanding of ourselves and others. While I cannot wait for it to be over, I am trying to find the silver linings. And, for me, my clients are a big part of the happiness and gratitude I feel.

I am glad to be able to offer options to suit the comfort levels of all clients. Each of us must navigate through what we choose to do and not do. It is all good. If you’d like to come back to the studio, we can do that. There are clear benefits to using the full range of equipment and many clients respond well to the atmosphere and experience of a studio session.

But, if you prefer to pursue the ongoing benefits of Pilates via Zoom, from your home, we can do that. Doing the workout from home does not mean it will be an easier session; it can be, in fact, more challenging on many levels as your body is working with and against gravity without any assistance from equipment. Most of my virtual clients are feeling much stronger, in part because we can focus on establishing and emphasizing the mind-body connection and precise form that is so valuable to a strong Pilates practice.  

I want to be able to meet your needs and accommodate your choices. I’m here to help you reach your potential through Pilates. And I’m glad you’re here, too.

Adjusting to the 'new normal'

This is unchartered territory for all of us. Each day I try to find my way to thrive, despite it—as do my friends, family and clients. For me, staying at home has been quite positive in some unexpected ways. I’ve found time for more reflection. I’m eating very well. I’m staying fit with long, solitary walks. I’m working with quite a few clients over video, leading them—with demonstration and guidance—through very effective Pilates mat workouts. They are in their homes; I am in mine, but we still connect and it gives them great benefit during these hard days. There is room for more of you in my schedule as I have lots of time—just like you.

 The unpredictability of this pandemic—its force, its length, its fallout—has allowed me the opportunity to refocus my attention and efforts on fine-tuning and improving my Pilates practice. I am reminded that Pilates is not just a random choice of particular movements. Pilates is a system of physical and mental conditioning that can enhance your physic al strength, flexibility and coordination as well as reduce stress, improve mental focus and foster an improved sense of wellbeing.

Revisiting the basic principles – breath, concentration, center, control, precision and flow--have assisted me in finding meaning and purpose in my ‘new reality’. While the studio is closed indefinitely, your practice does not have to shut down.

I worry most, as do we all, about those who are impacted by the illness itself. I am concerned about everyone else whose life is upended in ways far more difficult than mine. I only hope we can all support one another and minimize the pain.

I also wonder how things will have changed when we are through this. For now, I’m taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude toward how my work with my clients will re-establish itself when life starts to return to the ‘old normal’—if it does. I love Pilates, I love my clients, I love my business. In the end, helping others to wellness suits me while it nourishes my own wellbeing. In some small way, I want to be a part of the healing we all need now, more than ever. Please stay safe, everyone.

Exercise is GREAT for the Brain!

You know, instinctively, that exercise is good for you. And we’ve all been told that many, many times as well. While I may feel sore or even physically tired after a hard work out, somehow my body is aware that it has gained something. Probably some of this is because I actually feel the extra stretch and strength and some of this is because I feel a sense of accomplishment. “There, I did that!” I think it is very difficult to separate the physical and the psychic ‘goodness’ we receive from working out regularly.

I did not know, however, until I read an article from Outside Magazine, that exercise is good for my brain. Recent research has demonstrated that there are true measurable benefits; I found this fascinating.

Bigger Brain Waves:  Brain ‘waves’ really exist—it is when a lot of the neurons are firing in unison. Apparently, this happens more when you are exercising. The size and amount of the brain waves are increased and this extra activity is good for attention, information processing, and memory. As one researcher said, “The brain is in a different gear when the human being is in motion,”

Improved Vision: Research has also shown that your vision—and your perception—are better during and after exercise. You can literally see more clearly and distinguish detail better.

More Neurotransmitters: You know that when you exercise, your muscles use up more body fuel but the brain also begins taking up more glucose and carbohydrates, too. They have found that, with that extra boost, the brain builds more neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are the chemicals-primarily glutamate and GABA—that relay messages around your entire nervous system. Exercise, therefore, is helping your brain restock the resources it needs for effective functioning and communication with your entire body.

A Younger Brain: Studies have now shown that exercise increases the development of new neurons and the retention of those you have. Because this requires nutrients, the brain then displays blood vessel growth, which all makes your brain—on exercise—appear and function as younger. This develops over a long period of time when you are regularly working out but is incredibly valuable, as these structural changes improve your cognitive ability in ways that last. Apparently, those who are more fit have both increased ‘gray matter’ and increased ‘white matter’ in their brains when compared with healthy but sedentary people. More ‘matter’ improves general intelligence and executive function as well as balance and coordination.

A More Connected Brain: When you exercise and the brain is developing more neurons, it is also creating new connections between them. The research shows that these increased connections improve the functioning of those parts of the brain that do important things--some of which are negatively affected by aging--like memory, attention, decision-making, multitasking, and processing sensory information. They’ve shown that, even when resting, those who exercise have increased connectivity.

This was all new to me, but just further supports my attitude about fitness—that it is a critical part of our greater wellness. Like our neurons, it is all connected--fitness, nutrition, attitude and, yes, brain function—and all part of pursuing wellness for our ‘best life’.

Being Alone--Not Lonely--is an Important Aspect of Wellness.

I think we all know what lonely feels like—though hopefully not too well. Being truly or consistently lonely is harmful to your health; this is well documented in study after study. Alternatively, being a well-connected social being has been proven over and over to be a sign of emotional good health.

So why am I now advocating being alone? Because this, too, is healthy. Note that the caveat here is how being alone occurs and how you approach it. Choosing some alone time is fabulous for you. This is what you do because you matter to you. Being alone at times by choice is a way to discover yourself—your true likes and dislikes. It offers a way to learn a new skill or craft away from the scrutiny of others, a way to regulate your emotions and a way to recover from time spent with others where you, likely, chose to put consideration of the ‘other’ ahead of your own needs. The benefits are profound.

If, however, you feel that being alone is actually about others and not a choice you are making for yourself, this is NOT fabulous for you… at all. Some people find alone time intimidating because there is a lack of stimuli and there is no ‘other’ to manage your experience. If your focus, when alone, is on how self-conscious you are, or you feel judged or rejected, there is no benefit there. 

This is not healthy thinking and, if you realize you are not approaching alone time as a choice you make, you may want to rethink it. Perhaps making ‘a date with yourself’ can be more positive with a plan for an activity that you really enjoy--a movie, a walk, a half hour at a café with coffee and a book… whatever will please you. Most certainly you do not want to spend your carefully chosen ‘alone time’ on your phone interacting with or reviewing posts from others.

Time alone can be restorative. It can build your confidence and make it easier for you to maintain boundaries, according to Emily Roberts, a psychotherapist, quoted in the New York Times.  In addition, she said, it can boost productivity, engagement with others and creativity,

Clearly, it IS important to plan some alone time now and again. And you must commit to it as you would an appointment or a planned date with a friend. Don’t flake-show up for it! Cherishing the unusual benefits of being alone with your own thoughts, with no distractions, is another aspect of wellness, another way to improve your lifestyle, another way to learn and grow. So open your calendar and schedule a date with yourself now!

Pour Yourself and Your Energy into the Right Relationships.

I just learned the term ‘rich relationships’ and immediately understood how these contribute directly and significantly to our lives and our wellness.

A ‘rich relationship’, according to author Tom Corley, is defined by mindset.  He describes people who contribute to these kinds of ‘positive impact’ connections as people who have lofty goals and aspirations on which they spend lots of energy. He says they are also sure to have some of the following traits.

• Positive mental outlook: They’re the entire opposite of downers; they bring an upbeat and optimistic type of energy to the table.

• Gratitude: They are appreciative and focus on what they have, not what others have.

• Encouraging attitude: They inspire and motivate others to pursue their dreams.

• Hard work ethics: They take action on their goals and never quit.

• Health-oriented: They devote time to taking care of their physical and mental health. This might mean engaging in leisure time or exercising.

• Humility: They see egotism as a deficiency.

• Future-oriented: They invest in themselves and for the long-term, instead of seeking instant gratification.

• Open to feedback: They accept feedback — from their friends, colleagues, family and mentors — and see it as a means to pivot what they’re doing in order to achieve success.

• Loyalty: They are trustworthy, responsible and reliable.

• Authenticity: They don’t pretend to be someone they aren’t. This is because they like who they are.

• Influence: They have some degree of influence, power or recognition in their field of work. They can open doors for others that otherwise would have been closed.

• Curious: They seek to improve their knowledge and skills in topics they want to learn more about. This might mean going the library, taking an online class or actively seeking mentors.

When I read this list, I think of some of my favorite people and why I love them. I already know that spending time with those people is good for me. Investing in these relationships, doing my best to exhibit these qualities also, is a goal for me.

The flip side is spending less time on relationships that are not as beneficial…or even ‘toxic’. We’ve probably all experienced what this can do to your life. It is not a pretty sight and it will, absolutely, be detrimental for your wellbeing.

Something else I saw recently went a step further and suggested that each of us needs a few—just a few—‘lifeline relationships’.  These are with trusted close friends who will give you feedback and mutual support, encouraging you to reach your full potential. In his book, “Who’s Got Your Back’, author Keith Ferrazi goes even further and states that, without this close inner circle of lifeline relationships, you’ll find yourself in situations that are too much for you to handle alone and you’ll fail. 

Take the time to think about where you direct your time and attention. Focus on nurturing those ‘rich relationships’, think about who is really in your inner circle of ‘lifeline relationships’. Spend less time with those who don’t make your life better, who don’t increase your own positivity, and with whom you don’t have a mutually beneficial supportive friendship. You’ll find yourself improved in body and mind.

Self-Reliance is Worth Pursuing

Where would I be without my family, my friends and my dog? Sometimes I think I’d be lost. And yet, I value the quality of self-reliance and believe it to be an important element of wellness.

It’s worth defining what I mean by ‘self-reliance’. It doesn’t mean not caring for others and it doesn’t mean shying away from others caring for you. It doesn’t mean being a hermit, looking for gold or the meaning of life in a shack on a mountain. It DOES mean trusting yourself, developing some strengths and being confident in your abilities to navigate your life on your own terms.

What strengths do we find in self-reliance?

·         We can deal with the ups and downs of life

·         We can take on new roles, new careers, new challenges

·         We can help those around us instead of being needy

·         We can lead others, save the world, do good things

·         We can love, care for and trust ourselves

I find this a compelling argument to develop my self-reliance. I came across some good advice recently, from a columnist named Darius Foroux, about how to do this. Ironically, his thoughts were based on Ralph Waldo Emerson so none of this is NEW. But I’m finding it helpful and you may also.

Foroux suggested these six things would help me find greater self-reliance.

1)      Have a voice. Interesting, since I was taught to always say the nice thing, or nothing at all. He suggests we speak up more-- though not aggressively—when we disagree. He suggests we not avoid confrontation.

2)      Learn how to master your emotions. While not as difficult (since I was taught to always be nice, also), he goes on to explain that this is not about masking or hiding your emotions but about identifying the times you get emotional about unimportant things in order to filter them. He supports being emotional about important things but suggests that we should ‘check’ times when we get annoyed by small things, feel childish emotions or get ‘stuck’ on our own baggage.

3)      Celebrate adversity. Ah, easier said than done. But we all understand that adversity will happen and that those tough times and experiences make us grow up and be our best selves. This is not a completely new thought, of course, but one that needs frequent consideration.

4)      Separate yourself from everything. Foroux points out that we will eventually lose the people we love and, likely, will suffer the loss of other things important to us. He suggests keeping that in mind so that we celebrate and maximize every moment with our family and friends and strive to thoroughly enjoy the activities, places and events that matter to us. Good advice.

5)      Get comfortable with yourself.  Learn, Foroux says, to love your own company. Find ways to be content by yourself; develop things to do when alone—even if you must plan for it.

6)      Live without regrets. You can’t change the past and life is more random than we want – and expect – it to be. Get past it; don’t waste time thinking ‘what if?’. Keep moving forward.

 I am sure we all agree that we could benefit from greater trust in our own self-reliance. I found these good points to incorporate into my life and wanted to share them. I hope it’s helpful.

Shake up Your Routine—But Not Too Often!

Routine. I like it. It provides structure, comfort, and makes me productive. It makes me feel like I am moving forward, each day, the way I should AND the toward goals and aspirations that I’ve identified. What could be more healthy?

Hmmm. Did you know, however, that routine can be your downfall as well? Whether you are thinking about your physical activity, your worklife or your social life, too much routine can lead to burn out and apathy. If you do the same thing, the same way, without change, over time you will find that you DO not get the same effect. I see this in the studio, working with my clients, which is why I am always managing their time to keep our work together fresh and moving forward.

But the same principle applies to my own exercise practice. I try to push myself, regularly, to new limits. BUT, and this is important, I also give myself time to get ‘comfortable’ with that new level. That is as important as setting new goals. There is something called allostasis-defined as ‘an organism’s capacity to take on stressors, quickly adapt to them, and return to a normal state.’ You need to allow that to happen because, if you do not, your body will pay the price of that excess stress through injury and pain.

Not surprisingly, you can apply this same principle to other areas of your life beyond physical activity. We have all seen that our work lives can become unfulfilling if there is not enough ‘learning and growing’. We also know that a workplace or role that is in constant chaos can be overly stressful. Finding that balance – where there are new tasks but, also, time to become competent—is essential.

Relationships of all sorts can suffer, too, from too much ‘sameness’ or too much ‘craziness’. This is another area of our lives where we want, and need, both familiarity and spontaneity. Therefore, striving for a good mix of predictability and fun is a goal to pursue in our relationships as well.

I find that consciously trying to ‘grow and change’ in all the important aspects of my life—but not too rapidly—is part of achieving wellness. I recommend you try to do the same.  

Exercise – What’s your Goal?

There is more than one reason to start exercising more. Some people are trying to fit into that slinky dress for a party, some people are recovering from illness and finally feeling well enough to move, some people have been handed a mandate from their physician, some are just newly inspired to embrace wellness.

Whatever you reason, it makes sense to identify your goal because it will affect what you do, how often you do and how you feel about it. If you are mainly interested in improving your health, there are a few things to know. First: Much of what you hear, or have long thought, is ‘marketing’. Sorry to disillusion you! For example, the mantra about 10,000 steps--it turns out it was a Japanese marketing team who came up with that in 1965 when naming an early pedometer their company was introducing. The Japanese character for 10,000 looks somewhat like a man walking, apparently. Hence, the pedometer was named ‘the 10,000-step meter’. Next thing you know, we all are convinced, mistakenly, that  10,000 steps is the magical number to walk each day to be ‘healthy’.

Instead, walking as little as 2,000 or 4,000 steps per day can give you a significant health boost IF you are very sedentary, older or otherwise daunted by the concept of 5 miles of walking. The key is to start somewhere and do some form of exercise that-over time-gives you real benefits.

If you are already fit and yet feel the urge to improve your health, then examine your lifestyle—your wellness. What other form of movement or activity is interesting and possible? Are you making the effort to get enough sleep—interestingly, the mantra about ‘8 hours of sleep’ HAS been scientifically proven (over and over) to be the real deal. Hydration—though not necessarily 8 glasses per day (also a myth) is a key area of improvement for all of us! Are you already satisfied with your eating habits? Could spending time and effort on that be a better way to reach your goal? Being clear about what you want to achieve should guide you.

If, instead, you really want to (or have been told to) lose weight, then—as we all know—it boils down to more activity, less food. I know I am over-simplifying it. But, while there are many programs, eating guidelines and well marketed diets, in the end, this is the only way. To prove my point, note that, recently, a very large study tried to answer the question… “Why am I exercising more but not losing weight?” The answer, quite clearly, was that many--if not most-- people, when they increase their exercise activity, also give themselves ‘permission’ to eat just a bit more. As little as an extra 90 calories/day offsets much of the weight loss they’d otherwise experience. So, if your intention is specifically to lose weight by increasing your activity level, remember that you should avoid allowing yourself to eat more. It seems like it will be ok, even necessary, but it will derail your plans!  Meanwhile, keep moving!