A physical therapist explains the therapeutic benefits of Pilates. 
Click on this link or  read below : http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/SignUp/RegDocFetchFile.aspx?BRID=52299570410111

Joseph Pilates has written that “physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.” To enjoy and receive the full benefits of Pilates, understanding the application of the basic principles is imperative. It takes both time and patience for each of these principles to become a natural and inherent part of each movement. This is why Pilates is different from other forms of exercise, and can be so enjoyable, interesting, always challenging, and even addictive.

Awareness and Concentration
Developing a strong mind-body connection is an essential component of Pilates. It begins with learning about the body. There is never a sense of “going through the motions.” There is careful attention to each and every movement. The more you develop a strong sense of awareness, the more you will benefit from Pilates. Clients are taught the correct positions they should be in and how to hold those positions with movement such as in maintaining a neutral spine during leg work. Body awareness is also taught in regards to which muscles one should use and where to initiate a movement.

Balance
After a Pilates session, a client should feel “balanced.” More specifically, the client has completed a well-rounded exercise program that has worked on improving both strength and flexibility. There is great attention to the selection of exercises that would best address an individual client’s postural dysfunctions. After a class, in addition to feeling “shaky and worked,” clients will often say they feel taller and lighter on their feet.

Breathing
While the benefits are enormous, teaching a client the concept of breathing during Pilates is not easy and takes time. Proper breathing is taught very early on in one’s Pilates practice, but the powerful benefits of breathing often are achieved much later in one’s practice. Pilates stresses posterior lateral rib cage breathing which emphasizes using the diaphragm muscle (the primary muscle of inhalation) and the abdominals (important spine stabilizers and assist with exhalation). Initially a client is focusing on so many things, but once the movements in the body are learned, more attention can then be put on breathing. The breath and the movement go hand in hand.

Centering
Centering oneself or focusing on one’s core is part of every Pilates movement. Each exercise begins with correctly tightening your core (originally termed the powerhouse) to stabilize and protect your spine. Many people are drawn to Pilates for this very reason—to strengthen their core to eliminate back pain or to improve performance in a sport.

Control and Precision
During Pilates, a client is always in control of her body and the movements she is performing. Because of this, Pilates can be a very safe and effective form of exercise for anyone. As Pilates movements become more advanced, the control of a movement becomes increasingly important. The end result is a very advanced exercise that looks easy and effortless. Emphasis is on precision of a movement and maintaining good form. The more precise one can be with a movement, the more one will benefit from the exercise. Once a client starts to lose good form, the exercise is over. Doing 6 repetitions of an exercise correctly, with good form, is much more effective than 15 repetitions with bad form.

Efficiency / Flow of Movement
Pilates has a strong focus on movement versus holding a pose or position. Throughout a class, there is constant movement from one exercise into the next. As a result, strength and stamina are developed. Many movements are designed to improve posture and lengthen the spine, improve flexibility of muscles, and mobility at joints. Harmony Good Pilates practice requires discipline. The outcome of this mind and body exercise is dependent on continuing to work on improving the flow of exercise, challenging oneself and developing a true sense of harmony and well being.
article by  Mollie Fitzsimmons, DPT, MSPT, CPI, staff physical therapist and Pilates practitioner at Physical Therapy and Pilates Restoration LLC in Cheshire, CT.

Most of my Structural Integration clients come to me because of chronic pain. It may be a mild discomfort in the shoulders or neck that comes and goes. It might be a constant tightness in the low back that must be babied for fear of spasms. Sometimes their pain is so severe that it is debilitating. As each previously attempted treatment failed to give lasting relief, their frustration turned to resignation. Pain management, not resolution, becomes their goal. As a professional, these are the cases that I find especially rewarding. Through Structural Integration, these clients often gain a new lease on life –rediscovering what they thought was lost.

We All Have Chronic Patterns

Chronic patterns of tension and tightness are not the problem. We all have them. They support us and help us in everything we do. These chronic patterns develop based on how we use our body. A helpful 
analogy for understanding their slow growth process is the shaping of a bonsai tree. The gardener will wrap a branch with metal wire and bend it in a desired direction. After several months, this metal splint can be removed and the branch will stay bent. The very structure of the branch, every fiber of the wood, has grown to support the branch in that state. The same happens within us. If we sit, stand, and act the same way, day in and day out, our body’s structure grows to support that use. Ultimately, we shape our chronic patterns.

What Puts the Pain in Chronic Patterns?

When our chronic tension patterns develop in an open and aligned state, they help to support and strengthen us. If they develop in a compressed and misaligned state, they weaken and destabilize us. Misaligned joints wear out faster. Chronically tensed muscles become knotted and grow trigger points. Nerves may get impinged, causing numbness or shooting pain. Breath becomes shallower and circulation is hindered. Our overall health and vitality suffers. These dysfunctional patterns grow within us, year after year, because of poor posture, a lack of bodily awareness, and confusion about proper body mechanics. It may take a decade for these patterns to become painful, but by the time they do, they are part of our very structure.

This Thing Called Structure

In Structural Integration, structure is a broad term used to describe our fascial web and its balancing relationship to our skeleton. The fascial web is an intricately woven fibrous web, made mostly of 
collagen fibers, running throughout our entire body. In a sense, it is the leather in our bodies; designed to 
hold long term. The fascial web organizes our tissues, keeps things in place, and connects everything to everything else. Any strain that has resided within your body for more than a few months is now held in 
place by the fascial web. Your posture, your habituated movement patterns, and yes, your chronic pain are all maintained by your fascial web.

Structural Integration’s (I trained with Tom Myers and am certified in Kinesis Myofascial Integration)  effectiveness at resolving chronic pain comes from its ability to loosen and rebalance the entire structure. Our chronic pain is always related to and maintained by a systemic, structural pattern. For example, chronic neck pain is often caused by a misalignment of the spine. A misaligned spine implies problems in the pelvis. And problems in the pelvis suggest uneven support from the legs and feet. The pain in the neck is a symptom of the way the fascial web is misaligning the skeleton. It cannot be resolved by addressing the neck alone. The solution must be in the context of the whole body. Otherwise the underlying misalignment that causes the neck pain will remain, eventually resulting in a return of the symptoms. In Structural Integration, no matter what tissue we are working on, it is always in the context of the whole pattern.

Taking the Pain Out of Chronic Pain

Structural Integration is a series of bodywork sessions (10-16 depending on the style, KMI consists of 12) designed to free up, lengthen, and align the fascial web. In each session we focus on a specific part of the body. By studying the client’s standing posture, I determine how that part of their fascial web is  enabling the old, pain-inducing pattern. I then form a strategy for changing those tissues, using deep, slow manipulations, to provide support for a more functional, pain-free pattern. Each session builds on the next, enlisting more and more of your body to shift toward this new state.

The physical changes we make through Structural Integration give you the opportunity to use your body 
differently. However, if that potential remains unclaimed, your habituated way of doing things will 
persist. Therefore, as part of this process, you must search and explore your body between sessions. 
Learn to feel and recognize the old habits and patterns. This gives you a base line from which to 
recognize the new potential created at the table. Awareness is the beginning of change. As the series 
progresses, more freedom and alignment in your body become available for you to experiment with. 
You will discover new ways of using your body that are less taxing  ways that are based on the new 
pattern.

Keeping Pain Out of Our Chronic Patterns

Imagine that you have completed the Structural Integration series. It has been a powerful growth process and you have learned a great deal about your body and how to use it. Your chronic pain is resolved, andyou have a new lease on life. What now? Will this last? Yes, but not through more Structural Integration work. Once the series is completed, a six to 12 month 
break is required to absorb and integrate the work. Your homework is to simply maintain your improved 
awareness and pay attention to your posture and body mechanics. Fortunately, your standing, sitting, 
running, working, and playing are now based on an open, aligned structural pattern. All your future 
actions will guide the development of your chronic pattern toward health and vitality. By the year’s end, 
the changes gained will be integrated into the very fibers of your structure. Without much effort, you 
will be able to maintain these pain-free results for years.

Eli Thompson is a licensed Massage Therapist, a certified KMI practitioner, and a certified teacher of 
the School of Anatomy Trains (www.AnatomyTrains.com). He offers Massage Therapy, KMI Structural 

Integration, and private Instructional Yoga classes in Brookline, MA. He also travels the country 
teaching the Anatomy Trains – myofascial meridians intensives to Bodyworkers, Yoga practitioners, and 

Personal Trainers. You can learn more at www.EliThompson.com, or by contacting Eli at 617-776-9494 or [email protected].

In Costa Rica: 8342-8854

I liked this article about the reason why people practice yoga. It explains some of the health benefits, but also how yoga can change your brain and really how in the end, Yoga is just a way to be in the present moment, to be mindful and open.


https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/urban-survival/201506/why-does-anyone-do-yoga-anyway

Read my new article for the Voice of Guanacaste : http://www.vozdeguanacaste.com/en/articles/2014/01/15/how-get-back-shape-summer

With the New Year may come the resolution to get (back) in shape. It is a good resolution, but what can you do to ensure success and avoid the guilt or disappointment that goes with not carrying through with your resolution?

It takes about 6 weeks to ease yourself into an exercise routine. This is because when you stop exercising routinely your lungs lose elasticity and capacity, your blood volume decreases and your blood vessels shrink, causing your body to use oxygen less efficiently. With significantly less muscle to support your exercising joints, and smaller blood vessels delivering the ingredients for lubricating fluid to those joints, your knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists, ankles and hips can feel incredibly stressed when you try to suddenly push them back into a workout routine.

Here are some steps you can take to get back to your exercise routine, to start a new exercise program and to avoid soreness and injury:

Set yourself a goal: What is your ultimate specific goal? Is it to be able to run 5 miles several times per week or to compete in a marathon or a triathlon? Do you want to lose weight and improve posture?

Make a plan: Make time for your exercise routine and design a program that works with your schedule. Plan ahead and write out a specific– and consistent– schedule, and stick with it until it becomes a habit.

Make it fun: You should be enjoying your exercise. Motivate yourself with a specific goal in mind, exercise with a buddy and vary your workout

Take it easy: If you have stopped exercising for two months or more you will not be able to just force your body back into your regular routine.  Pushing yourself can result in an injury, which will force you to again take time off. 

• For the first 6 weeks, extend the time of both your warm-up and your cool down to protect your body from injury.
• For the first two to four weeks, aim to work out three times per week on nonconsecutive days and keep sessions less than 45 minutes. As your fitness builds, you can add more workouts per week and increase the time spent working out. You will know you are ready to progress when your workout routine is no longer challenging.
• Allow your body some rest.  Trust your body’s signals, such as fatigue, to let you know when you have reached your limit for each session. Do not wait until you are in pain to stop. Stop when you feel your muscles tiring.
• Alternate types of exercise. If your goal involves an aerobic activity, try to fit in a couple of sessions of muscle training, such as weights, yoga or Pilates and vice versa.

Eat a healthy wholesome diet and avoid sugar as much as possible. Make sure you always drink plenty of water and have some pipa juice after a particularly sweaty workout.

To illustrate, if you used to run (and would like to get back to the same level you were at before taking a break from it) or would like to start running: for at least the first two weeks, run about three non consecutive days per week. Start your workout each time with a long warm-up phase of walking, increasing speed gradually. Avoid big inclines to start with. Then alternate one minute of slow running with four minutes of fast walking for about 30 minutes. Finish off with a 5-minute cool down of slow walking and end by stretching your leg muscles. After two weeks if the routine becomes easy, you can slowly and progressively increase the intensity and length of your workout.

If you want to get back to lifting weights: start with about half of the weight you used to be able to lift when you were in shape. Choose weight loads that you can lift for a set of 10 to 12 repetitions, but not more.  Do not work the same muscles two days in a row, but allow them to rest. Increase the weight only when the exercise becomes easy. Start with one or two sets of each exercise and only increase to more after four to six weeks.

Finally remember to focus on the positive results of your new routine!

Exercising in hot sunny weather presents a set of challenges one has to take into account. For those coming from cold climates, it takes about two weeks for your body to acclimatize and be able to maintain a lower inner temperature and heart rate, therefore reducing the risk of dehydration. After two weeks, you will start to sweat sooner and your sweat will be more diluted than before, which is a good thing.

Sports involving running present more of a challenge as your blood needs to supply both your working muscles and your skin to cool your body down. With less blood available to the muscles, your heart rate will increase more than in a colder climate.

Here are eight tips to allow you to exercise in this hot environment in a safe way:

1. Always drink plenty of water to prevent cramping, exhaustion or, worse, heat stroke. Avoid sports or sugary drinks, which are usually loaded with calories. Water is enough to replenish your body unless you have sweated profusely. In this case, drink coconut or pipa water or make your own sports drink by mixing water with squeezed lemon and a pinch of salt.

2.    Use clothing made with fabric designed to pull moisture away from the body. Avoid fabrics that soak up sweat and do not allow it to evaporate. And protect your skin, preferably by wearing a light long-sleeved shirt and a cap.

3.    Try to exercise before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m. and avoid midday for sure. Seek shade.

4.    Increase workout intensity progressively to allow your body to get used to the heat.

5.    Water sports such as body boarding, swimming and surfing are ideal since being in the water cools your body. However always use proper sun protection and rash guards when exercising in the water.

6.    Walking barefoot in the sand at low tide also provides many health benefits.  The contact between your skin and the ground, known as “earthing” or “grounding,” allows your body to receive free electrons, which are potent antioxidants and help fight inflammation in all systems of your body. However, walking barefoot in the sand is not recommended for people suffering from lower leg tendonitis (Achilles tendonitis) or plantar fasciitis, in which case wearing a good sneaker may be better.

7.    Beware of heat stroke. Stop your workout immediately if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous and cool yourself off by running cold water over your forearms or using a spray bottle on your skin. You can also use an ice pack on your neck, armpits or groin area. Exercise with a partner for extra safety.

I encourage you to read the following brochure created by the American College of Sports Medicine, and updated by William Braun, Ph.D., and Gary Sforzo, Ph.D. This article explains the well known feeling of muscular pain usually occurring one or two days after a workout, called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It also continues to explain that even though many people think, "no pain, no gain", it is NOT necessary to experience DOMS in order to increase muscle strength. However, DOMS is not something to worry about if the symptoms disappear within a few days. Should the pain be important, it is recommended to give the painful muscles a rest and go for a walk or a gentle swim to help loosen them up. 
 
Click on the link to read the full article :

http://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/delayed-onset-muscle-soreness-(doms).pdf

​We believe in the Body’s wisdom and our goal is to provide you with services, instruction and ideas which will lead you to self responsible health and fitness.We are dedicated to help you increase your lifestyle and body awareness by offering professional health and fitness services at one of the most beautiful pristine beaches in the world.