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Grow Taller
Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Notice the distance between the bottom of your rib cage and your pelvis. Is it clumping together? Do you look like a collapsed telescope? Are you getting shorter...
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Post-Partum Pilates
Why is pilates an ideal practice for new mothers? Pilates is perfect for new mothers because the exercises, starting from the fundamental breathing and gentle pelvic tilts all the way to the...
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Strong Bones
In case you haven’t been paying attention to your bones enough lately, here are three easy ways to show them some love. Calcium in diet. Most of us think dairy, but an even better way is to saute up...
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Pelvic Floor Muscles
What is the Pelvic Floor? The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and ligaments which support the bladder, uterus and bowel. The openings from these organs, the urethra from the bladder, the vagina from...
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Balance
As we age, our ability to balance decreases significantly. To combat this, practice a balancing exercise once a day. Here are a few of my favourites: The Whirling Dervish Stand with arms outstretched...
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Shake it Off
Shaking is a fabulous way to release stress from your muscles, lubricate your joints and get your circulation going. Shaking also relieves anxiety, reduces tension, lets your thinking mind take a break...
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Eyes
Most of us stare at a computer for a significant part of the day. As such, it is important to take the time to learn about, and integrate habits that help take care of our eyes. The most...
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Adrenals
We’re all familiar with stress, but what we aren’t so familiar with is the body’s response to stress and the ways in which the stress we face today goes far beyond the kind of stress we faced as we...
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Spine
The only way to nourish your spine is to move it. For obvious reasons, taking good care of our spines should be a top priority in daily life. Here is an exercise you can do in the office or at home to...
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Pain
The post op medication I received was truly amazing. I had a catheter inserted four inches into my thigh which administered a pain killer directly to my femoral nerve, and I had prescription...
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Reformer
The reformer is a piece of apparatus used to facilitate pilates exercises. I am in love with it because: 1. The resistance created by the pulley and spring systems can provide a more challenging...
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Beauty
It has become obvious to many that our thoughts and feelings influence the reality that we experience. While some apply the concepts of conscious thought and intention towards money and career goals,...
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Skin
Regularly oiling the skin keeps it smooth and supple – especially in the winter. My favourite oil to use is organic, cold-presses sesame oil – the favoured oil in Ayurveda. Some tips: Oil, especially...
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Navel to Spine
Pulling in the abdominals is not only fundamental to pilates, it is a technique promoted in physical therapy, strength training, and throughout the fitness world as a means of stabilizing the spine...
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Brain Power
A healthy lifestyle all starts in your head. Here are 12 bad brain habits to be aware of: 1. Lousy diet 2. Lack of exercise 3. Risking brain trauma 4. Chronic stress 5. Negative thinking, chronic...
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Meditation 1
Awareness and energy are the most powerful healers in existence. Here is a simple meditation that you can incorporate into your daily life to achieve optimum health. Meditation on Breath 1. Sit quietly...
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Feet
Our feet are our foundation. As such, it is important to strengthen and love them! Here are some exercises you can do at home. Strengthening Stand facing a wall – far enough away to feel comfortable,...
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Lungs
Under stress, breathing patterns change. Typically, an anxious person takes small, shallow breaths, using their shoulders rather than their diaphragm to move air in and out of their lungs. This style...
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Neck
With tension headaches, the pain often starts at the back of the head and moves forward, so that it eventually includes the neck, scalp, and head. Many tension headaches are the result of sitting at...
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Meditation 2
Meditation on the heart – three simple steps: 1. Sitting quietly with your eyes closed, rest your attention on your heart. There is no need to be anatomically precise, simply find a place in the centre...
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The Hundred
The hundred is a dynamic warm-up for the abdominals and lungs. It requires coordination of breath and movement, core strength, and grace. It is challenging, but the hundred is an easy exercise to...
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Warm Up
Two delicious tea recipes that are inexpensive, easy to make at home, good for your health and will warm you up on a cold winter day: Ginger Tea This very warming drink can be made with either fresh...
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Change
Three months ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. During pregnancy, pilates was a cornerstone of my physical well-being. And now, as I recover from a cesarean section, I am learning how to...
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Control
I’ve been thinking about control lately, or more specifically, the lack of control I have felt in all aspects of my life since having my daughter. Although I have always known, from an intellectual...
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Accept
A wise woman friend recently turned me on to a series of podcasts exploring self acceptance. In addition to the rich content this free program has to offer, soundstrue.com has proven to be an amazing...
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Kitchen Dance Party 3
Filed under: Health, Kitchen Dance Party, Mindfulness and Meditation, Music
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Non-Duality
When I look hard at what causes worry, fear, anxiety or suffering of any kind in my life, a resistance to accepting the non-duality of life becomes the common thread. For anyone looking to go deeper...
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Strategies
Having experienced reconstructive knee surgery and subsequent rehabilitation just prior to becoming pregnant with my daughter, I was surprised to see the lack of resources readily available to new...
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Soul Food
This morning, my sister reminded me of how great it is to dance all night long or simply, to go out dancing. Dancing is good for the body, the mind, the spirit and the soul. Dancing is soul food....
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Kitchen Dance Party 4
Filed under: Health, Kitchen Dance Party, Mindfulness and Meditation, Music
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Back Love
My husband’s yoga instructor recently referred to the back of the body as “the basement” – the place where we store all of the stuff that should either be dealt with properly or gotten rid of. I love...
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Zip It Up
Being pregnant really pushes the front body out into the open. The belly and breasts push out. The expansion and weight is counterbalanced by an arched back. Birth. The entire process opens the body...
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Pain Plan Step 1 of 10: Diet
Life brings pain in all of its forms. It’s like the other side of the coin – we can’t have one without the other. Although I think and write about pain often, my only expertise on chronic pain is my...
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Pain Plan Step 2 of 10: Feet
Almost everyone I know that is dealing with chronic pain mention their feet hurt. Foot pain becomes cyclical as an imbalance in the body can cause the feet to compensate, and overcompensation in the...
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Pain Plan Step 3 of 10: Surrender
Sometimes despite everything, pain just holds on. This happened to me last week when a headache refused to subside despite hours of stretching, hot baths and an array of anti-inflammatory, muscle...
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Pain Plan Step 4 of 10: Unblock
Over brunch, a friend and meditation teacher shared her experience of alleviating acute pain through the gentle practice of Chi Kung. She showed me a simple, nine minute routine, and encouraged me to...
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Pain Plan Step 5 of 10: Sound
One of the body’s natural coping mechanisms for dealing with acute pain is to emit sound. The “ugh” that accompanies a stubbed toe. The wince of a searing headache. The moan of a laboring woman. For...
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Pain Plan Step 6 of 10: Validate
This morning in my inbox was a wonderful message on pain from the brilliant and lovely Danielle LaPorte. I can’t say enough about the insight this woman offers in all realms of life, and with respect...
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Pain Plan Step 7 of 10: Circulate
When I lived in Vancouver, I was inspired on a daily basis by the elderly Chinese citizens that would be up at the crack of dawn practicing Tai Chi in the park. Then, towards the end of the day, many...
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Pain Plan Step 8 of 10: Enlighten
I am currently reading the novel Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, in which a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict escapes from an Australian prison to live a colourful life in India....
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Pain Plan Step 9 of 10: Dance
Although it may be the last thing on your mind when you’re in pain, dancing is good medicine. In fact, it’s such good medicine that Canada will soon open the world’s first dance therapy centre in...
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Pain Plan Step 10 of 10: Laugh
Dancing is good medicine, but laughter is truly the best medicine. Science has literally proven that only 15 minutes of laughter can increase the level of pain tolerance by up to 10 percent. Through...
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Injuries and Recovery
When it comes to injuries, slow and steady wins the race. Same goes for recovering from surgery. In the past two years I have had the pleasure of rehabilitating from reconstructive knee surgery,...
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Banish Back Pain
Back pain, unfortunately, is a common side effect of pregnancy. Unless we take the time to strengthen the abs, pelvis and lower back, problems can occur. Strengthening the transversus abdominus (abs)...
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Be Flexible
Pilates movements are low impact, which allows pregnant women to exercise effectively without experiencing increased heart rate or putting undue stress on lax joints. Pilates also involves stretching...
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Spring Pilates in Aylmer
Hotties do pilates!!! Time to get ready for summer… The spring pilates session begins March 23rd at Centre Yoga in Aylmer. The course will run on Monday evenings from 8-9pm for 10 weeks (excluding stat...
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Love Your Body This Summer!
No excuses not to love it. Option #1: TIME FOR YOU: PILATES IN THE PARK Meet every Thursday from 8-9pm at Parc Wilfred Lavigne. Wear runners, a little bit of bug spray, bring a yoga mat if you have...
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