Pilates Class on Monday Recap
We spent the entire class on the physio balls. The balls we used were 65 cm in case anyone is interested in buying one for their homes. 65cm tends to be the best size for most people (even if you are short like me!)
Seated on ball:
Bounce up and down (remember to not let the ball feel your weight - like sitting on someones lap)
Continue to bounce and add in arms - lift and lower, side and down
Jumping jacks on ball
Slow down your bounces and come to a still position
Coccyx curls - don't lose height or compress low back
Hip Circles - right and left
Crunches - ball at bra line and tailbone is anchored down (like 1/2 curls on mat)
1/2 curl with a knee fold - tricky! one side of your body is trying like mad to stabilize you and the ball needs to stay still.
On backs on the mat:
Bridges - knees over ball, straight legs with heels on ball
Single leg balance - in bridge, take one leg off ball and hold then switch legs
100's - ball in between ankles, legs in air
1/2 curls with ball resting on stomach; roll ball up to knees as you curl upper body off mat - keep tailbone pointing towards heels - no tucking
Knee folds - from the 1/2 curl keep your head up, arms straight and ball at knees. Feet lift off mat and lower and lift the legs with ball staying put at knees.
Double leg stretch - ball between ankles - extend legs away from center and pull back in - range can be small if you aren't strong enough to support low back.
Rolling/Balance - hold ball in air and find your balance point on your tailbone - roll back and up each time trying to balance
Spine stretch - sit with legs mat width apart and roll the ball forward as you stretch your back and your hamstrings
Swan - on stomach over the ball, legs hips width apart - anchor your pubic bone and rest your arms to the sides of the ball as you lift your chest slightly off the ball
Kneeling Side Kicks - kneeling with one leg straight out to side and knee closest to the ball is bent - wrap your arm over the ball and press your hips laterally into it as you lift and lower and then circle the straight leg
(modification - try standing with ball against wall, hips pressing into ball and lift outside leg)
Standing with ball on wall, backs on ball
roll down to stretch pressing back/butt into ball
Squats - only go as low as you are comfortable
Plank - kneel in front of ball and place elbows on top - lift body off mat and press ball away until your legs are straight and you are holding your abs to steady yourself. Lower after a few breaths and repeat 2-3 more times.
Arch over ball to get a big back stretch then sit up again and finish with the bouncing you did at the beginning of the workout.
Nutritional Counseling:
We did finally get to talk about greens and green vegetables, but first Alice talked with us about our negative speak when it came to our food preparations. For example - Sonia said she was too lazy to cook and Alice said "You have a full time job, live in a city and lead a busy life. That is not lazy. Lazy is lying on a couch all day. You just haven't developed the 'self-care' skill to make the food which is appropriate for you."
Another discussion ensued about stress eating and again wise Alice proclaimed "we don't have to eat over our stress/feelings." She brought to our attention the idea that maybe we are missing something else in our primary foods. During this discussion, Sarah coined the term "sugar tooth" to describe her recent activities in the sweets department.
A shopping list was passed out as was a list of "amazing greens"
In oriental medicine, green is related to the liver,emotional stability and creativity
"Bitter" is the flavor associated with the liver based on the 5 element theory of fire, water, earth, air and metal. Alice explained that each organ system is associated with a flavor such as sweet, bitter, pungent, salty and sour.
Women tend to lack in minerals and dark, leafy greens contain a lot of minerals.
Greens also contain phytochemicals which boost our immune systems and help fight disease.
Fermented foods help build intestinal flora.
The handout really says it all so if this recap seems lean, I apologize. Don't forget to pick one up next week. Our homework was to try a new green and here are some suggestions:
Kale
Collard Greens
Dandelion
Spinach
Arugula
Endive
Watercress
Bok Choy
Most of these can be blanched, boiled or sauteed. Recipes were included in another handout.
In-8 Week 3 Recap
This week we used the Thera Band to enhance our mat workout and here is what we did:
Our workout started seated with the band at our feet and we pointed and flexed 10x
On our backs we extended one leg up in the air with the band at the ball of our foot and we gave ourselves a hamstring stretch and then did ankle circles x10
We then sat up and placed the band across our feet and rolled down through our spine and back up again
On our backs, we placed the band behind our heads to support our necks and we did upper back curls which allowed us to really access our abs without engaging our neck muscles.
Double knee folds came next with our upper bodies lifted and supported by the bands
100's with band supporting head and pulsing our arms holding the band
Leg circles - extending our legs out into the band allowed for greater stretch
Rolling - band at balls of feet. This was a big challenge!
Double Leg Stretch - first we did this with the band supporting our heads as both legs extended away from us and then back to center and then we placed the band at our feet and changed the resistance.
Open Leg Rock - harder than rolling since our legs were higher in the air with the band around our feet
Arm Exercises Seated -
We held the band and stretched our arms over our heads to open up our chests
Rotator Cuff - band between hands w/palms up, elbows at sides and press arms open without disengaging the elbows from waist
Arm Exercises Standing
Bicep curls - band under left foot, hold with right hand and reach up with palm facing in
Triceps - one hand behind back at waist, opposite hand holds band by ear with elbow pointing forward, extend band up and out and slowly return
Lunging triceps - one foot forward standing on band (hips stay squared off) and both arms press band back and up
Lunging Bicep - switch feet and pull band forward and up
Side Legs with Fit Loop
Band at ankles lying on our sides - lift and lower top leg then do circles - 10x each
Swan - on stomach, hold band with arms long behind back and pull band out as you extend spine up
NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING SESSION:
What started off as "Greens and Green Vegetables" quickly became "deconstructing your cravings."
Alice explained this as if we aren't getting a balance of tastes and textures, our bodies will find a way to get them.
There are 5 different tastes and here are some examples
Sweet (sugar, fruits)
Salty (salt, nuts)
Sour (grapefruit)
Bitter (arugula, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens)
Pungent (garlic, ginger, radishes)
We discussed how if you deny yourself sweet in your diet, you are more likely to find it in a not so positive manner - i.e. muffins + coffee. Aside from the multitude of side bars and Trader Joe's recommendations we discussed how we push ourselves to the point where our blood sugar drops and we make poor food choices especially when we reach the point of "homicidal hunger" (a Katie term)
Some people lean to the savory more than the sweet and those people find their sugar in other ways like with bread or other processed foods. Alice suggested trying sprouted breads, European sourdough, hemp bread or women's bread. For the coffee/muffin combo the suggestion was made to try Kashi Go Lean cereal with Soy Milk, or toasted bread with cheese, tomato. Instead of PB and Crackers, try PB and Apple.
Our "homework" was to pay attention to the 5 different tastes and see if we are lacking somewhere and how we can integrate them all in. Also we were asked to see how we felt when eating one way and then making subtle changes.
Our workout started seated with the band at our feet and we pointed and flexed 10x
On our backs we extended one leg up in the air with the band at the ball of our foot and we gave ourselves a hamstring stretch and then did ankle circles x10
We then sat up and placed the band across our feet and rolled down through our spine and back up again
On our backs, we placed the band behind our heads to support our necks and we did upper back curls which allowed us to really access our abs without engaging our neck muscles.
Double knee folds came next with our upper bodies lifted and supported by the bands
100's with band supporting head and pulsing our arms holding the band
Leg circles - extending our legs out into the band allowed for greater stretch
Rolling - band at balls of feet. This was a big challenge!
Double Leg Stretch - first we did this with the band supporting our heads as both legs extended away from us and then back to center and then we placed the band at our feet and changed the resistance.
Open Leg Rock - harder than rolling since our legs were higher in the air with the band around our feet
Arm Exercises Seated -
We held the band and stretched our arms over our heads to open up our chests
Rotator Cuff - band between hands w/palms up, elbows at sides and press arms open without disengaging the elbows from waist
Arm Exercises Standing
Bicep curls - band under left foot, hold with right hand and reach up with palm facing in
Triceps - one hand behind back at waist, opposite hand holds band by ear with elbow pointing forward, extend band up and out and slowly return
Lunging triceps - one foot forward standing on band (hips stay squared off) and both arms press band back and up
Lunging Bicep - switch feet and pull band forward and up
Side Legs with Fit Loop
Band at ankles lying on our sides - lift and lower top leg then do circles - 10x each
Swan - on stomach, hold band with arms long behind back and pull band out as you extend spine up
NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING SESSION:
What started off as "Greens and Green Vegetables" quickly became "deconstructing your cravings."
Alice explained this as if we aren't getting a balance of tastes and textures, our bodies will find a way to get them.
There are 5 different tastes and here are some examples
Sweet (sugar, fruits)
Salty (salt, nuts)
Sour (grapefruit)
Bitter (arugula, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens)
Pungent (garlic, ginger, radishes)
We discussed how if you deny yourself sweet in your diet, you are more likely to find it in a not so positive manner - i.e. muffins + coffee. Aside from the multitude of side bars and Trader Joe's recommendations we discussed how we push ourselves to the point where our blood sugar drops and we make poor food choices especially when we reach the point of "homicidal hunger" (a Katie term)
Some people lean to the savory more than the sweet and those people find their sugar in other ways like with bread or other processed foods. Alice suggested trying sprouted breads, European sourdough, hemp bread or women's bread. For the coffee/muffin combo the suggestion was made to try Kashi Go Lean cereal with Soy Milk, or toasted bread with cheese, tomato. Instead of PB and Crackers, try PB and Apple.
Our "homework" was to pay attention to the 5 different tastes and see if we are lacking somewhere and how we can integrate them all in. Also we were asked to see how we felt when eating one way and then making subtle changes.
In -8 week 2 recap
Great work this week! We saw some great changes in your form during your mat work out. I hope everyone stays healthy and does their homework. Here is what we did this go around:
Mat Class:
We incorporated the overball which was used for keeping the neck supported and for assisting with alignment. Some people treated it like a pillow and you know who you are....exercises we accomplished are listed below and the ones in bold were new:
coccyx curl w/ball at knees
bridge w/ball at knees
upper body curl w/ball at chest and then at knees
double knee folds w/ball at knees
100's w/ball under neck
seated curls back with ball at knees
balance w/ball at knees
rolling w/ball at knees
Knee stir/modified leg circle w/ball at opposite ankle
Single leg stretch - ball at head
Double leg stretch - option of ball at head or ankles
Spine stretch - use ball to roll away from center
Corkscrew modified with ball at ankles or knees
Swan using ball under hands for leverage
Swimming kick stabilizing ball w/arms/back
Side kicks w/ball - clam w/ball at ankle, straight legs double leg lift w/ball at ankle, place ball under top knee and lift/lower then circle bottom leg for inner thighs
Our nutritional counseling session was really interesting in that we discussed sweet & root vegetables, but we also got into a discussion about Yin/Yang how it relates to food as well as acidity in our bodies. I hope you can follow my notes!
In the beginning of our session we went over what we had tried during our week and Alice said we should all incorporate good quality fats into our diet as our bodies will streamline these.
Sweet & Root Vegetables include:
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Carrots
Beets
Onions
Parsnips
Daikon Radish (a blood cleanser & fat burner)!
Spaghetti Squash
Delicatta Squash
Butternut Squash
Alice recommended we pick 2-3 of these and either roast them or cook on stove. The oven could be heated to 425 degrees and we can place these veggies which should be cut into small pieces in the oven. Another option would be to saute in olive or sesame oil with a few inches of water for 10-15 minutes.
This would be a high fiber, complex carb snack which would stabilize your blood sugar. When your body gets sweet, it doesn't crave sugar.
Several of the squashes we discussed are shaped like women and have seeds in the middle and help balance hormones.
In Chinese medicine there is a 5 element theory of:
Fire
Water
Metal
Earth
Air
Different organs are associated with each element.
We look at our diet as 5 elements as well:
Whole Grains
Vegetables
Fruits
Oils/Proteins
Primary Food (vacation, sleep, family etc.)
At this point we began discussing Yin (of the heavens, expansive) and Yang (of the earth (contracting) and how it relates to our lives and what we eat.
A standard american diet consists of salt which is a contracting mineral (yang). Excess salt contracts the organs. For example, if our livers are contracted we are often angry.
The salt we eat is poor quality. The purpose of salt is minerals. Table salt is just sodium chloride which is void of minerals. Integrate high end salts like sea salts.
Primary foods are both yin and yang.
Living in a city is yang
Living in the country is ying
In the middle is movement, sleep, sexuality, breathing
We lead yang lives and we crave yin like sugar and alcohol which are expansive. Vacation to us is yin. We are also balanced to the extremes. In the morning we want caffeine and sugar and in the evening we want meat and cheese. Where we need to be is in the middle where whole foods such as fruits, grains, beans and tofu exist.
We decided that Fish and Chicken are more Yin and Beef is more Yang.
Eating whole foods cleans out mucous in our intestinal linings. More acidity in blood exacerbates joint pain.
We were given recipes which incorporate sweet and root vegetables as homework.
Mat Class:
We incorporated the overball which was used for keeping the neck supported and for assisting with alignment. Some people treated it like a pillow and you know who you are....exercises we accomplished are listed below and the ones in bold were new:
coccyx curl w/ball at knees
bridge w/ball at knees
upper body curl w/ball at chest and then at knees
double knee folds w/ball at knees
100's w/ball under neck
seated curls back with ball at knees
balance w/ball at knees
rolling w/ball at knees
Knee stir/modified leg circle w/ball at opposite ankle
Single leg stretch - ball at head
Double leg stretch - option of ball at head or ankles
Spine stretch - use ball to roll away from center
Corkscrew modified with ball at ankles or knees
Swan using ball under hands for leverage
Swimming kick stabilizing ball w/arms/back
Side kicks w/ball - clam w/ball at ankle, straight legs double leg lift w/ball at ankle, place ball under top knee and lift/lower then circle bottom leg for inner thighs
Our nutritional counseling session was really interesting in that we discussed sweet & root vegetables, but we also got into a discussion about Yin/Yang how it relates to food as well as acidity in our bodies. I hope you can follow my notes!
In the beginning of our session we went over what we had tried during our week and Alice said we should all incorporate good quality fats into our diet as our bodies will streamline these.
Sweet & Root Vegetables include:
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Carrots
Beets
Onions
Parsnips
Daikon Radish (a blood cleanser & fat burner)!
Spaghetti Squash
Delicatta Squash
Butternut Squash
Alice recommended we pick 2-3 of these and either roast them or cook on stove. The oven could be heated to 425 degrees and we can place these veggies which should be cut into small pieces in the oven. Another option would be to saute in olive or sesame oil with a few inches of water for 10-15 minutes.
This would be a high fiber, complex carb snack which would stabilize your blood sugar. When your body gets sweet, it doesn't crave sugar.
Several of the squashes we discussed are shaped like women and have seeds in the middle and help balance hormones.
In Chinese medicine there is a 5 element theory of:
Fire
Water
Metal
Earth
Air
Different organs are associated with each element.
We look at our diet as 5 elements as well:
Whole Grains
Vegetables
Fruits
Oils/Proteins
Primary Food (vacation, sleep, family etc.)
At this point we began discussing Yin (of the heavens, expansive) and Yang (of the earth (contracting) and how it relates to our lives and what we eat.
A standard american diet consists of salt which is a contracting mineral (yang). Excess salt contracts the organs. For example, if our livers are contracted we are often angry.
The salt we eat is poor quality. The purpose of salt is minerals. Table salt is just sodium chloride which is void of minerals. Integrate high end salts like sea salts.
Primary foods are both yin and yang.
Living in a city is yang
Living in the country is ying
In the middle is movement, sleep, sexuality, breathing
We lead yang lives and we crave yin like sugar and alcohol which are expansive. Vacation to us is yin. We are also balanced to the extremes. In the morning we want caffeine and sugar and in the evening we want meat and cheese. Where we need to be is in the middle where whole foods such as fruits, grains, beans and tofu exist.
We decided that Fish and Chicken are more Yin and Beef is more Yang.
Eating whole foods cleans out mucous in our intestinal linings. More acidity in blood exacerbates joint pain.
We were given recipes which incorporate sweet and root vegetables as homework.
In 8 Workshop Week 1 Recap
We covered a lot of ground in one week and want to keep the information fresh for you. Starting with Pilates, here is what we did:
Pilates Mat Work:
Breathing - relax, imprint your spine onto your mat, feel the bony landmarks
Coccyx Curls - begin articulating your spine from the very base
Bridges - low, keeping ribs on mat, feeling hamstring stability
Neck Curl - a proper sit up where your spine stays neutral (no tucking)
Single Knee Folds - in neutral, lift one foot off the floor and stabilize your pelvis
Double Knee Folds - more challenging to stay neutral, small range of movement
Double Knee with Head Up - adds a level of difficulty, can hold your head w/hands
100's Modified - arms pump up down, knees at 90 degree angle, inhale/exhale 10
Knee Stirs - circle knees in socket from the joint to release hip flexors
Seated 1/2 curls - sitting up you curl your spine back and hold a C-curve
Balance - roll back to the "meaty" part of your butt and lift feet off mat, hold legs from deep belly muscles not hip flexors
Rolling - from the balance, roll back to small of back and up with a complete inhale and exhale - maintain the C-curve so you actually roll
Single Leg Stretch - on your back, head curls up and you extend the right leg out while holding your left knee and then switch while you inhale 2 legs and exhale 2 legs. Keep legs at an angle which is comfortable for your back.
Double Leg Stretch - both legs extend up and away from the midline of the body and your arms simultaneously go behind your body. Exhale and pull back into the center. Again, watch the angle of your legs and support your neck if necessary.
Spine Stretch - sit up with legs in a small V and reach for your toes while contracting your low belly muscles away from your feet - don't hunch upper body forward
Modified Corkscrew - legs bent and up in the air. Make a circle on your sacrum as the legs swing right around and center and then left back to center. Limit range of movement to what is appropriate for your spine.
Modified Swan - on stomach with arms at sides, fingers reaching to heels, exhale and anchor the pubic bone into the mat as you lift your upper back and arms off the mat
Side Kicks - on your side, lift and lower the top leg while extending the feet past each other and then small swings forward and back without shifting your spine forward and back.
I know that is a lot of information so sit with it and we will re-visit on Monday.
Nutritional Counseling Session:
We discussed changing our relationship to food.
Overview points to think about:
You are what you eat
What you put inside your body becomes you because it goes into your blood
Your Body is smarter than your mind - physiological and psychological responses to food
What effects does food have on your body?
Primary food is fulfillment, Secondary food is what you eat
WHOLE GRAINS:
Simple Carbs - white flour, white rice, pizza, pasta. These are addictive which becomes psychological. These process in fat cells like sugar.
Complex Carbs - these raise your blood sugar slower and keep it steady.
Note that neither one of these is bad.
Alice recommended the following book whose title has changed:
"Potatoes not Prozac" or "Sugar Addicts"
Homework was given to try one new complex carb. Examples were passed around such as Soba noodles, 4 grain plus flax cereal, trail mix with tamari almonds, cranberries sweetened with apple juice and raw pumpkin seeds, goji berries.
Pilates Mat Work:
Breathing - relax, imprint your spine onto your mat, feel the bony landmarks
Coccyx Curls - begin articulating your spine from the very base
Bridges - low, keeping ribs on mat, feeling hamstring stability
Neck Curl - a proper sit up where your spine stays neutral (no tucking)
Single Knee Folds - in neutral, lift one foot off the floor and stabilize your pelvis
Double Knee Folds - more challenging to stay neutral, small range of movement
Double Knee with Head Up - adds a level of difficulty, can hold your head w/hands
100's Modified - arms pump up down, knees at 90 degree angle, inhale/exhale 10
Knee Stirs - circle knees in socket from the joint to release hip flexors
Seated 1/2 curls - sitting up you curl your spine back and hold a C-curve
Balance - roll back to the "meaty" part of your butt and lift feet off mat, hold legs from deep belly muscles not hip flexors
Rolling - from the balance, roll back to small of back and up with a complete inhale and exhale - maintain the C-curve so you actually roll
Single Leg Stretch - on your back, head curls up and you extend the right leg out while holding your left knee and then switch while you inhale 2 legs and exhale 2 legs. Keep legs at an angle which is comfortable for your back.
Double Leg Stretch - both legs extend up and away from the midline of the body and your arms simultaneously go behind your body. Exhale and pull back into the center. Again, watch the angle of your legs and support your neck if necessary.
Spine Stretch - sit up with legs in a small V and reach for your toes while contracting your low belly muscles away from your feet - don't hunch upper body forward
Modified Corkscrew - legs bent and up in the air. Make a circle on your sacrum as the legs swing right around and center and then left back to center. Limit range of movement to what is appropriate for your spine.
Modified Swan - on stomach with arms at sides, fingers reaching to heels, exhale and anchor the pubic bone into the mat as you lift your upper back and arms off the mat
Side Kicks - on your side, lift and lower the top leg while extending the feet past each other and then small swings forward and back without shifting your spine forward and back.
I know that is a lot of information so sit with it and we will re-visit on Monday.
Nutritional Counseling Session:
We discussed changing our relationship to food.
Overview points to think about:
You are what you eat
What you put inside your body becomes you because it goes into your blood
Your Body is smarter than your mind - physiological and psychological responses to food
What effects does food have on your body?
Primary food is fulfillment, Secondary food is what you eat
WHOLE GRAINS:
Simple Carbs - white flour, white rice, pizza, pasta. These are addictive which becomes psychological. These process in fat cells like sugar.
Complex Carbs - these raise your blood sugar slower and keep it steady.
Note that neither one of these is bad.
Alice recommended the following book whose title has changed:
"Potatoes not Prozac" or "Sugar Addicts"
Homework was given to try one new complex carb. Examples were passed around such as Soba noodles, 4 grain plus flax cereal, trail mix with tamari almonds, cranberries sweetened with apple juice and raw pumpkin seeds, goji berries.
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