Over the course of time, most of the cells in our bodies die off and are replaced with new ones at a rate determined by the degree of activity required of those cells. According to Dr. Jonas Friesen this cellular regeneration means that the average age of our cellular makeup averages 7-10 years.
The nice thing about this particular kind of change is that it requires no effort, no thought on our part. It just happens. Most of the changes we make are a little more difficult and a whole lot more rewarding!
My goal in any class is to help my clients experience change. That might mean a physical change of feeling better when they leave than when they arrived. It might be an intellectual change of increased understanding about how a particular part of their body works. It might be an emotional change because holy cow, the mind-body connection is a real thing! We hold our experiences in our tissues and sometimes releasing and moving those tissues can have a powerful effect. But when it comes right down to it, it’s all about change, about learning more and being specific about one’s own body.
So if you are my client, I believe you bring your personal narrative to the way you move every time you come to the studio, go for a walk, go to the gym or the samba class or the climbing wall. My job is to help you learn you how your body moves and doesn’t move and to teach you the skills you need to get into all the sticky bits, the under-served areas in your body so that ALL the movements you do work better. So that ALL your relationships with your body are more positive, more refined and that you can honour yourself and the amazing body you live in.
The next step is to make sure the changes you see in class become part of the rest of your days. I have always said that what you do in class is less important than what you do for the rest of the day! If you move really well for an hour a week or even an hour a day, but stay stuck in your regular habits all the other 23 hours of the day it still doesn’t make the sustainable change you need to feel great! We all have habits that could stand a little modification, and that’s where we can support all those regenerating cells by moving more and moving better.
Use the skills you gain in class to lift your baby in a way that strengthens your core, rather than strains your back. Learn how to mobilise your feet so that you can stand more efficiently at your spanking new standing workstation. Recognise that how you sit (and when and where you sit!) can be a big contributor to how you feel and that you have the power to change it really easily!
Changing it up in terms of finding unique and varied ways to move is also important. Do you usually do Pilates? Try hiking. Do you usually run? Try Restorative Exercise. Usually do yoga? How about weight training? We need combinations of exercise time, when we think about how we are moving AND we need unstructured play time when we just move for the hell of it! (I am going to combine those two things in the Obstacle Course workshop this weekend if you want to come and have a good giggle while you work your balance, your core and your brain!)
So here is my challenge for you: change one thing this week!
Not sure where to start? Here are some suggestions
Sit on the floor when you watch tv or use your sofa like a play ground!
Stand up for one meal a day (I always have breakfast at the island so I can stretch my calves and hamstrings before I head out into my day. Helps your digestion, too!)
Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand
Use a towel or cushion to bolster your hips when you sit for better pelvic floor and back mechanics. Your core will love you!
Convince your family to go for a walk after dinner. You’ll get some movement AND some family chat time!
Turn on your favourite music and dance your face off for 15 minutes every day. Maybe when nobody else is home…
Every time you pull out a pot or pan to cook with, use it to do a few weighted arm movements. Do that before you put any food or liquid in the pot. You know, just in case you didn’t think that through first…
Want to see these in action? I’ll be on Facebook live a few times this week demonstrating! Maybe not the dance your face off one. There are some things you just can’t unsee and me dancing might be one of them!
Have fun, give yourself permission to play with how you move and don’t move and let me know how it goes!
xox Alison
I’m the owner of Boomerang Pilates and creator of the Move SMART program. I’m a Pilates teacher and therapeutic movement coach. I specialize in helping women with osteoporosis learn how to move their body without fear so they can feel confident, strong and flexible.
