a quickie for the quick

omg! the new busy person's favorite offerings from trader joe's must be their 'gourmet chicken meatballs'! there are two kinds, a spicy buffalo style with blue cheese, and a milder flavored option with romano. all i can say is "thank goodness" for another protein option! making veggies are fun, but sometimes proteins can be challenging if you're on the go in the city. hard-boiled eggs, chicken breasts or string cheese packs for lunch can get really monotonous sometimes.

these little savory balls are made with chicken that's humanely raised without any added hormones or antibiotics and fed 100% veg. and guess what? there are no fillers, gluten or nitrates!!! the sodium level is a wee bit on the higher side, but seriously, all you need is a few of them thrown in with a bowlful of roasted spaghetti squash and peas in tomato sauce garnished with parsley, and you've got yourself a filling, colorful and healthy dish! serve it with a little couscous and you're good to go.

making food for one can be really boring sometimes, and making food for many can be time consuming sometimes. i think i can speak for those of us who like to stay busy, that i honestly do love it if there is prepared product out there that we could really use and appreciate. semi-homemade can be okay sometimes!!

using pilates to open your chakras

wow it's been a busy month. and because of it, i confess, i've been holding alot of tension in my shoulders and neck. i've been doing my best to strengthen my lat muscles to ease the strain from my upper trapezius muscles (which make up a good portion of the shoulder area). i've also been doing alot of upper back extensions, working on keeping the shoulder blades down.

pilates is incredibly helpful in working the yogic chakra systems of the body which run along the mid line of our bodies from our head to our pelvis. in this photo, a client is in full spinal extension. of the many things she is accomplishing, she is opening up that front hip area by pushing that pelvis forward. although she is in this extension, her powerhouse is still well-engaged, protecting her spine and working her inner organs. as you can see, her head is tilted back all the way as well, opening up that throat area, which is considered the 5th chakra, associated with how one communicates. i guess i had been communicating quite a bit (or not well enough!) because my neck was killing me ;-)

according to the principles of yoga, issues that are dominated by certain body parts are tied to our lifestyle, i.e. the way we live, how we grew up, how we handle stress, etc...as you get deeper into your pilates practice, i guarantee that you will find ways to unlock certain tensions in your body that you had never imagined before. you will find a way to control your body and free yourself from being controlled by your body; how's that for process?

a great example of how it all comes together

russell simmons recently blogged about how meditation helps him. he, too, is a yogi. as part of his "seva" (service), he supports organizations that teach displaced members of society the method of transcendental meditation.

i love these examples of really high profile people who make the effort to stay connected. enjoy!

conscious choices

today i will chose to share a passage from one of the teachers i follow, dr. deepak chopra. i have been heavy with others' pain lately, but my heart has been filled with happiness because i am able to provide a little relief to them through my service. it is times like these that i feel so blessed to be able to do what i do and that i've made the choice to do it. for those of you who need a little assurance with your choices, please read and enjoy these nice words about listening to your body.

"your body sends a message of comfort, that’s the right choice. if your body sends a message of discomfort, then it’s the wrong choice.

ask your heart what to do. it may be the faintest level of feeling, but it’s there in your body. only the heart knows the correct answer. most people think the heart is mushy and sentimental, but it’s not. the heart is intuitive, it is holistic, contextual, relational; it doesn’t have a win-lose orientation, it taps into the cosmic computer and takes everything into account. at times, it may not even seem rational, but the heart has a computing ability that is far more accurate and far more precise than anything within the limits of rational thought…whether we know it or not, life is a continuum of choices, some are made consciously and some are made unconsciously…your future is generated by the choices you are making in every moment of your life.

the more you bring your choices into the level of your conscious awareness, the more you will make those choices which are spontaneously correct for both for you and those around you. and then it will become easier for you to write the script of your life."

- the seven spiritual laws of success

becoming your own masseuse

my yoga teacher says that through our (physical) yoga practice, we become our own masseurs - this certainly applies to a personal pilates practice as well. what do masseurs do after all? more often, they work to release tension and even out imbalances of muscle and energy.

a main principle in pilates is the idea of control - when you are in control of your body, you recognize blockages in energy and muscles, and actively work to find ways to unblock these areas. one of the more effective ways in doing so is by strengthening other surrounding areas around the same body area.

here's an example, if you are the type of person who experiences tension in your neck or shoulders, then we work on developing the latissmus dorsi muscles which are at the bottom of and below the shoulder girdle. when these muscles work like they’re supposed to, they actually complement the muscles above the shoulder girdle and alleviate the extra load that those muscles have been carrying by themselves.

with a regular pilates practice, you can learn to redistribute your physical (and mental) energy and through your own movement, actively unblock certain areas that are overworked, overloaded and overstressed. in turn, you will awaken and fortify those underutilized and neglected areas. this neck and shoulder tension we spoke of that was once there can be minimized, if not obliterated. all you have to do is dedicate yourself to finding a way to release that area’s tension, redirect that energy and lighten its load.

boosting your brain power

gotta love it - yes, dancing is listed as #1! read the link people, it talks about exercise, flossing and learning another language :-) allons-nous a danser!

reposting a good story on mind body connections

here's a great story from a student: she was carrying her groceries down a flight of stairs and suddenly she lost her balance. in years past, she tells me, she would have dropped the bag, spilling the contents and fallen immediately, surrendering to gravity and most likely obtaining a few bruises, scrapes, maybe pulling a muscle and such. in essence, she gave up immediately to the situation.

this time around, things were different for her. she lost her balance, but she fought to regain it. she focused to stay on her feet. she not only managed to do that, she reported, but she also kept the contents of the grocery bag from spilling out! she proudly told me of this accomplishment, saying that it was because she used her powerhouse to control her balance and prevent her fall. she also was pleased with the fact that she could focus on her ability to coordinate these things WHILE still holding onto the bag, keeping it upright. she had changed not only her physicality, she changed her whole attitude as well.

she fought and she focused instead of surrendering and giving up. of course this is my personal interpretation of this story, but i think it's a pretty good one, do you?

this is how pilates can help us all. as we strengthen our physical powerhouse, that strength will automatically fortify our mental state. a strong powerhouse means having great posture, and having great posture communicates confidence to the world. think about it - what connotations do you think about when you read the word "spineless"? we aim to support our spine with pilates exercises so that we can live our lives fully and healthily.

if you have a good story on how pilates has helped you, please share them with me. i've love to hear from you.