Align Pilates® Minneapolis

This new year, make a resolution to check out Align’s brand-new reformers! Designed by Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel (founders of the Pilates Center in Boulder and Adrienne’s teachers) and manufactured by Balanced Body, the new CenterLine equipment replicates the original reformer designed by Joe Pilates himself. These reformers have been specifically designed for the classical style of Pilates that Align teaches–you’ll love the how the clean and simple design feels in action. From the alignment of the headrest to the slight drag of the carriage wheels (the better to engage your core!), these reformers have been designed to facilitate ease of movement and encourage fluidity in your Pilates practice.

Reserve your spot in class so you can experience the new equipment for yourself! Coming to Align in January. Visit Balanced Body for a video tour of the new CenterLine reformers.

Fun fact: Align co-owner Adrienne Fitzmaurice is responsible for naming the CenterLine suite of equipment!

The new CenterLine reformer is specifically designed for the classic Pilates repertoire.

What have fine actresses such as Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Cybill Shepherd and Susan Sarandon given us, besides, of course, the excellence that is The Queen, The Bridges of Madison County, Moonlighting and The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Well, for starters, they are four fantastic females of the silver screen who are excellent role models for woman of a certain age, proving that 60-somethings can still work it…and work it well. These ladies exude strength, style and sex appeal, shunning the age-old stereotypes of granny shawls and slippers for more and more show-stopping performances and glamour.

Following in their footsteps is Strictly Come Dancing contestant Felicity Kendal. (We believe this is a British version of Dancing with the Stars…so don’t be surprised if you haven’t seen it on the American telly.) Kendall is a British actress who has been gracing the screen with her acting prowess since the 1970’s. Now, at the ripe age of 64, this las left “judges ‘agog by performing a raunchy rhumba with her dance partner.” (See kind write up on Independent Woman.)

When asked how she performed such graceful, fluid and, eh-hem, flexible moves, the glamorous Kendall said simply, “Pilates and yoga.” So there you have it, ladies—further proof that the secret to timeless beauty al la Mirren, Streep, Shepherd, Sarandon and Kendall (read: sans bingo arm) is in strengthening and stretching.

Whoa. What a busy couple of weeks! There have been out-of-town training sessions, babies born, husbands to be had and old man birthdays to honor, just to name a few. Seems we’ve been carried away from the blog for a spell. We do apologize and don’t want you to think we’ve gone for good. They do say a sleeping baby is a happy baby. And the blog is our baby. You see where I’m going with this?

Stay tuned because we’re back.

When is the last time you got a parking ticket? How did the violation make you feel…angry or annoyed? Did it spur you to hit the pavement with your best down dog and pranayama breath? Well, that’s one way to go about it.

As part of a public art project, the city of Cambridge, MA, has printed 40,000 parking tickets with a series of “calming” yoga poses. The idea is to, “debunk the idea that all parking tickets are a hostile action.” The yoga illustrations may urge parking offenders to take a nice bend at the waist, or a relaxing roll of the neck…or perhaps a gruff pounding of the fist—whether the public truly finds that these off-beat tickets promote a more tranquil receiving experience is really a matter of opinion, and they could even stir up maddening, un-Zen like emotions.

What do you think? Could it be true that it’s not the ticket, but how you receive it that really matters?

bostonherald.com found via socialworkout.com

According to a couple of recent studies, from people who apparently have A LOT of spare time on their hands, folks who wear red appear more attractive to others. And it’s true for both men and women, and across all nationalities. Apparently, red knows no boundaries.

One study took two photos of one man. In the first shot, the man wore a blue shirt. In the second shot, he wore a red shirt. When the two pictures were shown to a group of select ladies, they consistently found the test lad more hunky in red. Another study conducted a similar test, but reversed the sexes. And yep, you guessed it. The ladies were right on target with the males. So next time you hit the treadmill or elliptical to impress your local gym hottie, you might just want to think sparking his and/or her interest with a fiery-colored ensemble. Because red is the best looking color around.

Maybe this explains why I’ve been so attracted to the Align Pilates sign lately?

Next time you do a lateral twist, think about how you’re cleansing the small intestine, which despite its deceptive name, is actually the largest of your internal organs. And when your feet slip ‘n slide on the mat during the next intense yoga class, it’s probably because your tootsies have 500,000 sweat glands that produce over a pint of sweat per day. And when you walk into tomorrow evening’s Pilates class, ponder how the day’s activities squish the cartilage between our bones, making us about 1 cm taller in the morning than we are when the sun descends—another great reason to delve right into those lengthening poses.

How did we become so knowledgeable in the ways of the body? I could say it’s because of years and years of intense schooling with the world’s most renowned smarty pants and a thorough referencing of the best encyclopedias around, but I’d be lying. In truth, it’s all a result of this little nugget: 100 Very Cool Facts about the Human Body. Check it out and impress your friends with fun facts. And when they ask how YOU got so smart, tell them it’s because the human brain cell can hold five times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. (It’s true.)

If you read it online it’s true, right? Ha. But this one I believe. Number 15 in New York Times list of 31 Places To Go In 2010: Costa Rica. As my mother would say, “how fortuitous”. It just so happens I’ll be there in 2 weeks for Align’s Pilates-Yoga-Surf Retreat. Done. Bring on the next 30.

I’m a fan of finding inspiration in unlikely places. And I’m certainly a fan of getting a sneak peek into the diet and weight-loss secrets of others…especially celebrities.
So maybe you don’t have the funds to hire a personal trainer (i.e. Katherine Heigl) or a professional dining service (i.e. Rikki Lake/Tori Spelling) to come into your home and make sure you eat and live healthy. Neither do we. But even the rich and famous have humble ways of shedding unwanted pounds: Katie Holmes jogs her way toward her first marathon to fight post-baby weight, and country crooner Carrie Underwood logs her daily intake in a food journal to keep herself in check. The point is everybody faces diet and weight challenges, especially those who live in the limelight every day. We, the more modest not-so-famous, can gain inspiration from them—remember to keep it real and find the secret that works for you.

I’ll admit it. When I am on the road, it’s usually me against traffic. In other words, I do what I can to get ahead and keep up the pace. Though I always try to proceed with caution, I am not afraid of merging or switching lanes, I do not slow down before getting on the highway just because that silly meter light tells me to, and my turn signal means I am turning, not I am thinking about turning now, but my real turn is three blocks ahead, and when I approach my turn, it will take me 10 seconds to round the corner and 10 more seconds to complete the turn, and while I do all of this putzing, I have no problem with the fact that traffic had come to a complete standstill behind me.

Ugh.

Whether my behind-the-wheel aggression is a good thing or a bad thing has yet to be decided. (I know my mother’s vote would be a solid bad thing.) But maybe, just maybe, if everybody drove in a similar fashion, we’d all get to where we are going a little faster. And for the record, I’ve never received a speeding ticket (knock on wood), nor have I been in a serious accident (knock on wood again). This makes me think that I am doing something right. And this quick article reaffirms my suspicion.

The next time you are rushing from wherever you are to get to that yoga class on time, (see, you knew I’d have a fitness-related point in there somewhere) remember: safety first, breaking a little traffic rule now and again isn’t so bad, and there’ll be plenty of time to release all that road rage in shavasna.

One dress, one year, one dollar a day—this is Sheena Matheiken’s pledge. It’s called The Uniform Project and the goal is to send one underprivileged Indian child to school for one year.

Sheena is a girl who’s no stranger to the uni. Born and raised in India, where school uniforms are mandatory, she used accessories and personal style to stand out in a sea of conformity. This same creative spark has set fire to a much larger social project. That’s where the dress comes in.

Sheena has promised to wear one dress for 365 days. The catch? Each day, she spruces it up with witty accessories and style to make it unique. AND she puts one dollar in a “jar”. At the end of the year, the savings will be given to an Indian child so that he or she can have an education that would have otherwise been out of reach.

Confused? Intrigued? Inspired? Check out The Uniform Project website where Sheena chronicles her daily use of dress and accessories and tells the story behind her mission. It’s great motivation to spread a little creative good of our own around here.

Now, will somebody please get Sheena some Fabreeze?!