Align Pilates® Minneapolis

The healthiest picks for your weekend pleasures and indulgences.

Got to Have It

Hemp Oil Lotion ~ 40% Off!

• What: An all-natural, soothing, calming and protective lotion.
• Why: It’s like a great big hug for your skin.
• Where: Online at The Bubble Roome.

Bits and Bites

Butterscotch Cornflake Candy

• What: A 3-ingredient recipe for a delectable holiday treat.
• Why: 3 is the magic number.
• Where: Online at Pinch My Salt.

Around Town

2009 IBEW Holiday Lights in the Park

• What: View 1.5 miles of dazzling light displays, from the comfort of your car.
• Why: Bright lights, big city.
• When: Now through December 31st ~ 5:30 – 10:00 p.m.
• Where: Phalen Golf Course ~ 1615 Phalen Drive, St. Paul.

I Think I Can

The Imagination Prompt Generator

• What: Randomly generated cues to stir your creativity.
• Why: Exercise that writer’s muscle.
• Where: Online at the Creativity Portal.

Practice Makes Perfect

FREE Pilates w/ Adrienne Fitzmaurice

• What: Free Pilates = happier holidays.
• Why: Align Pilates is lululemon’s Studio of the Month!
• When: Saturday, December 19th @ 9:30 a.m.
• Where: The lululemon Minneapolis Showroom ~ 313 W 50th Street, Minneapolis.

The healthiest picks for your weekend pleasures and indulgences.

Got to Have It
Maha Yoga Pant

• What: The mighty yoga pant.
• Why: You are a force to be reckoned with.
• Where: Online at angali.

Bits and Bites
Café Agri

• What: An organic restaurant with a local focus.
• Why: Home is where the heart is.
• Where: 4300 Bryant Avenue South, Minneapolis

Around Town
Beginning Reformer Class

• What: A Pilates practice that uses spring resistance to elongate and strengthen the body.
• Why: Be a little longer, a little taller.
• When: Saturday, September 26th ~ 9:00– 10:00 am
• Where: Align Pilates’ NEW location! ~ 3021 Holmes Avenue South, Minneapolis

I Think I Can
Rocky Training Video

• What: Rocky’s gonna fly now.
• Why: It will rock you.
• Where: Online at YouTube.

Beth Orton – Thinking About Tomorrow

Listen now>

Did you ever think that Boot Camp would be anti-aging? According to Dr. Oz it is.

You know him—the famous Dr. Oz who gives the inside scoop about our health while guest appearing on Oprah. He was just on Oprah today (a rerun) and revealed his anti-aging secrets. These sought after secrets to the “fountain of youth” will add years to your life while helping you look and feel younger. And if you are a Boot Camper at Align Pilates, you are already on your way! The combination that Align Pilates Boot Camp offers is everything Dr. Oz recommends. (Maybe Oprah will want to sign up!) Read on to find out how Boot Camp fulfills Dr. Oz’s recommendations for a youthful and healthy life.

It’s common knowledge that regular exercise is key to great health…but what type of exercise, exactly? Dr. Oz recommends the following:

• Get your heart rate up for 20 minutes 3 times a week (Cardio, Reformer and Yoga) Check!
• Strength training such as lunges, leg lifts, etc. for 30 minutes weekly (Cardio, Reformer and Yoga) Check!
• Stretch and meditation (Prana Stretch) Check!

More Dr. Oz Tips

Of course there were tips on diet:

• Antioxidants: blueberries, broccoli, tomatoes, acai berries: 5 servings a day (one serving = 1 fistful)
• Green or whit tea or tea: 4 cups a day
• Fiber: brown rice, 100% whole grain bread, beans: 25 grams a day
• Omega 3 fatty acids: walnuts, flax seed, olives, spirulina algae
• Olive oil: 1 to 2 tbsp a day
• 1 glass of red wine a day
• Anti-aging spices: cinnamon, ginger, curry, paprika, and cayenne pepper

Daily vitamins:

• Vitamin D 1,000 U and 10 minutes of direct sunlight
• Calcium/ Magnesium
• DHA Omega 3, 600mg
• Multi- Vitamin
• If over 40, 2 baby aspirin

Rest and relaxation:

• Sleep at least 7-8 hours a night
• Have sex 2-3 times a week!

For the whole story, go to oprah.com. To start working toward your fountain of youth, go to alignpilates.com and sign up for the next Boot Camp. It will add years to your life!

Yours in health,

Stacy Seebart (Prana Stretch teacher Tuesday’s and Friday’s)

The healthiest picks for your weekend pleasures and indulgences.

Got to Have It
James Perse Yosemite Collection

• What: A sophisticated yet practical line of yoga and athletic gear.
• Why: If you’re going to sweat, sweat in style.
• Where: Online at James Perse.

Bits and Bites
7 ‘Healthy’ Junk Foods

• What: Think outside of the whole wheat cracker box.
• Why: This just in: You CAN eat a potato chip. Experts say it won’t kill you.
• Where: Online at Fox News.

Around Town
2009 Twin Cities Pride Parade Festival

• What: Celebrate Minneapolis’ diverse culture.
• Why: You’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.
• Where: Loring Park, downtown Minneapolis.
• When: Saturday, June 27th ~ 10:00 am – 10:00 pm

Sunday, June 28th ~ 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

I Think I Can
Beautiful Bridge Pose

• What: Calm your brain and alleviate stress with bridge pose. Sweeten the deal by imagining yourself on this picturesque beach.
• Why: Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it.
• Where: Your happy place (or flicker.com).

Practice Makes Perfect
Align Pilates Breathing Workshop with Victoria Olender

• What: Learn the proper principles of breath and how it can support your movement. *Workshop includes a 40 minute Pilates mat class.
• Why: The heat is on.
• Where: Align Pilates studio.
• When: Saturday, June 27th ~ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

When I signed up for Align’s first session of boot camp,

I knew I was in for a high-energy series of body changing classes. What I didn’t know was that Align had taken cardio boot camp to the next level. Enter April Podhradsky. April is a veteran of the Iraq War, where she led Physical Training as a sergeant in the Army National Guard.

Personally, as an avid kickboxer for the past couple of years, I’m no foreigner to intense cardio and strength training. But April’s class is by far one of the best workouts I have had. After completing the first day of her routine, I’m pretty sure you don’t get closer to butt-kicking training without enlisting in the army. The mix of cardio exercises, drills and strength training that April has incorporated into her one-hour boot camp class, along with her genuine spirit and positive attitude, will have you saluting and screaming, “Thank you sir may I have another!”

As with any type of education, you’ll tend to get the most out of a Pilates class when you feel you have a good connection with the instructor. Feeling confident and comfortable with his or her communication and guidance not only allows you to perform your practice safely, but it also ensures you get the most out of your experience. After all, Pilates classes are not a one size fits all.

This article is great if Pilates has peeked your interest, but you are not quite sure where or how to start taking a class. It offers 8 key steps for choosing an instructor that meshes with your goals. However, may we suggest that your make a small edit? Print out the article, grab a red pen, and above step 1 write: Go to Align Pilates.

Bits and Bites

Black’s Ford

• What: A quaint eatery, named after a fishing spot on the Madison River in Bozeman, Montana, serving practical and healthy fare.
• Why: Food that’s good for you doesn’t have to be foo-foo.
• Where :862 E. Lake Street Wayzata, MN • 952.473.2940

Got to Have It

Gaiam Yoga Mat

• What: Gaiam’s sticky, padded mat that provides a secure yet comfy surface for your yoga poses.
• Why: Stick it to the mat.
• Where: Online at REI.com

Around Town

Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear

• What: A hands-on exhibit exploring the emotion that makes us fight or take flight.
• Why: Find your fear factor.
• Where:The Science Museum of Minnesota • 120 W. Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul, MN • 651. 221.9444 or 1.800.221.9444

Practice Makes Perfect

Advanced Reformer

• What: This class welcomes the student who is injury free and looking for a challenge! Students will continue to add to their repertoire of exercises incorporating more arm balances, standing balances, and inversions.
• Why: Challenge is as challenge does.
• Where: Align Pilates 708 N 1st Street / Suite 150 Minneapolis, MN 55401
  (612) 343-7500
• When: Sunday, March 22nd 9:30 – 10:30 AM
• Sign up: alignpilates.com ;612.343.7500

I Think I Can

Motivational

• What: Take charge and make a pledge to improve your lifestyle, or challenge someone else to improve theirs.
• Why: We double dog dare you.
• Where: Online at LIVESTRONG.com

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
- Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

Tomorrow marks the day for many to start fresh and new. Back to routine and full work weeks. Ambitions and resolutions for the new year in hand. Or at least lingering about in back of mind. The holidays are over.

No more excuses to eat two pieces of chocolate goodness before noon. The reasons to skip hitting the gym after work to have one too many glasses of festive cheer are null and void. The last minute Christmas shopping and  out-of-town friends will no longer stand in the way of that 7:00 yoga class.  I must say, it was fun while it lasted. Alas, it’s time to reel it in.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. On May 29th,1953, at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Mount Everest is a pretty admirable feat. I’m just hoping to kick my fell-into-the-big-black-hole-of-holiday-cheer butt back into shape. But after reading this quote from the (remarkably rugged and probably pretty hot in his day) Sir Edmund, I’ve realized that my body doesn’t need conquering as much as the thing that tells my body what to do does.

LOVE this gym bag from Lululemon. Sturdy enough to carry all the gear I need to hit the club or the studio and cute enough for no one to know that my dirty socks are inside. But they may wonder why I am skipping.