Align Pilates® Minneapolis

Ah, Costa Rica. What can I say? Your beaches are blissful, your ocean is oh-so inviting and your sunsets produce sentimental moments of pure and utter juicy joy. Yes, Align Pilates just returned from its 3rd annual Wellness Retreat in Nosara, Costa Rica. And, yes, it was THAT good. We’ve arrived back in the Twin Cities feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and ready for two more months of winter. Okay, that last part is a huge lie, but we’re just trying to keep the positive vibes alive here. Even though we are back in reality, we can still reflect on the little bit of heaven we left behind us.

If you were fortunate to be there, you’ll surely remember that each day’s Yoga and Pilates classes were focused on one of the seven chakras—seven chakras for seven days. (How prefect and Zen-like.) For those of you who were not there, first of all, you MUST sign up for next year. Second, here’s a sort of crash chakra course. (After all, we don’t want you to feel totally left out of the bliss.)

You can learn how the chakras travel your body, from the base of the spine to the top of the head, and correspond to certain functions and feelings both in and outside of ourselves. Try putting one to use each day and see how it can transform your Yoga or Pilates practice.

Namaste!

Ah, the yoga mat. It supports you, it accepts you just the way you are and it only gives you dirty looks when you neglect it. Just when you thought your six foot pad of harmony couldn’t get any better, the Yogamatic mat comes along. The gurus behind Yogamatic use artist-inspired designs to create expressive mats with functionality AND character. When you strike a pose on one of these pretty babies, not only will you avoid unsightly slips, bruises and foot marks, but you’ll be thoroughly inspired by their one-of-a-kind designs.

Yogamatic mats are colorfully printed from edge to edge to reflect your style and personality, provide a durable and solvent-free surface for your poses, are made of eco-friendly materials AND come with their own bag for ease of travel.

With outstanding qualities such as these, perhaps they should be called yoga mates.

When it comes to burning calories, it’s often the little things that count. Making small yet smart choices about your diet and exercise can get you closer to the big picture: trimming and toning your whole physique. For example, today’s CNN article points out 7 small choices that can lead to big results. And isn’t it convenient that there are also 7 days in the week? The article even schedules a different choice for you to make Sunday through Saturday. I particularly like Saturday’s choice: yogic breathing. We tend to eat more when we are stressed. So to conquer this, try relaxing. And just breathe:

“Rest your right thumb near your right nostril, ring finger and pinky by your left nostril. Close the left side and inhale through the right for four counts, then close your right nostril and hold for four counts. Open your left nostril and exhale through that side for four counts. Repeat cycle again on other side; continue alternating for at least a minute. You’ll relax in no time—and may even forget about that cookie you longed for.”

Today’s Monday—a great day to start shaking things up. Start off the week by adding a few new, small choices to your routine…maybe even schedule a yoga class and put your yogic breathing into practice. And in a couple of weeks, who knows. Each small step could be one giant leap toward your fitness goals.

Many people flock to yoga to relieve chronic back pain, and rightfully so. Yoga helps alleviate physical hurt while teaching you to mentally approach the source of the soreness from a more relaxed, meditative perspective. Here’s one of the best explanations I’ve read of this physical-mental relationship:

Pain is often caused by physical things, but the mind fuels the fires of suffering by thinking about it and coming to negative conclusions, which activates your stress response system.

All that stress build-up sounds icky, and pretty familiar, huh? What’s the solution? That’s right, I’ll say it again: y-o-g-a YOGA! Chances are you’re already a faithful yoga-goer. So this article is a great reinforcement of how you are fueling your body and mind with the first-rate healing powers of natural motion.

Keep up the good work.

Are you sweating it and forgetting it? Eventually, most women reach a point when they experience hot flashes and memory loss. It’s politely (and annoyingly) referred to as “The Change”, which is almost as bad as the afore experienced “Aunt Flow” or “The Weekly Visitor”. (Who thought of such cutesy names anyhow? Mr. Rogers?) But hang in there—we have good news. A new study suggests that women who practice yoga for one hour, five days a week have 50% fewer hot flashes and sweats, as well as enhanced memory function.

So I suppose now you can sweat it before you forget it?

Ah, yoga. We love it. Unlike most activities in life, it allows us to find a little inner balance in this topsy-turvy world of ours. But let’s admit it: the outer benefits aren’t bad either. And we’d be lying if we said we didn’t salivate at the idea of obtaining one of those fit & fabulous yoga rumps. (You know the ones—you see them walking in and out of the city’s finest studios & gyms.) I’m just sayin’.

So to that end (literally), here are some great tips and things to remember when you are striving for that derrière extraordinaire.

It’s Friday and the first week of Boot Camp is complete. I feel fantastic! I am undoubtedly proud of myself for committing to five workouts this week, but fitting these classes into my weekly schedule was no easy feat. If you are a fellow Boot Camper, I am sure you can relate. Your time management skills probably went into full effect in order to go from home to work to studio and all the stuff in between without having to make some exceptions.

But it’s worth it, and believe me, it is doable. And I think it’s the little things that make the transitions much more easy and enjoyable. This quick how-to article from eHow gives some great suggestions for freshening up while you’re on the go. After last night’s yoga class, I pulled the baby wipe trick out of my bag so I could meet a friend for dinner without feeling like Stinky McStinkerson. When you are running from workouts to other daily events, it’s nice to have tools that help you run a little more smoothly.

Now I’m a happy and freshly-scented camper.

I was first introduced to yoga when I was in college. Initially, my goal was to fulfill some hanging credits before graduation. Stuffed in a studio with 30 other 21 year-olds striving for the same goal, I somehow started to ignore the room full of butts in the air and learned to love the movements. I guess I did learn something in college after all.

Ever since that first class, I have craved yoga. Although there have been times when life conflicts with the commitment to a consistent class schedule, I have never strayed too far from the mat. If I take time off, I always come back to it. And every time I return, I enjoy it even more.

The last 10 years have introduced me to many different yoga instructors. As luck (or chance) would have it, each instructor has seemed just right for where I am in life and in my practice. When I have reached a plateau in one class, something leads me to a new one. I have started to think of each teacher as a personal yogi guide…leading me down a new path when I, for whatever reason, have come to a crossroads.

Enter Sydney Holly. Due to new circumstances, I was recently acquainted with her Vinyasa yoga class at Align. I soon discovered that it is the perfect yoga blend: challenging yet wonderfully relaxing at the same time. Her welcoming demeanor and elegant teaching style make it easy to be in her class. And her imagery is spot on—things that I didn’t get before, I get now. In her class, I’ve found that I can take what I’ve previously learned and apply it in a more succinct and meaningful way.

After three weeks in her class, I can see the clear transition from my last class to her class. And it’s just where I need to be.

Yoga can be a bit contradictory. On one hand, a yoga practice is calm, relaxed and serene. In class, you move your body and try to find your center; the peaceful loving part of you that wants to be good and do good.

But as an acquaintance pointed out to me the other day, perhaps a dark underbelly lurks behind our drive to practice yoga. Aside from our pursuit of a peaceful state of mind and life, why else do we go to yoga class? To relent, release and relieve the bottled up stress, tension and emotion we hold in our muscles. In short, we’re pissed off, emotionally burdened and we need to let the damn tension out of our bodies before we freak out and do something VERY irrational.

That’s why we love the warrior pose. Strong, attentive and forceful, the warrior exhibits the contradictory nature of yoga as well as the reasons why we come to the mat. The pose pumps us up, yet it still extends a harmonious message: I am strong, I am ready and I can survive peacefully…as long as I keep going to yoga class.

Shootin’ at the walls of heartache, bang bang, I am the warrior.

I love these yoga mats. Exclamation mark. Exclamation mark.