The Health and Fitness Zealous

Getting fit has many rewards. Everyone wants a lean, tight body. However, exercise, when combined with good nutrition, also results in disease prevention, stress reduction, and a healthy lifestyle.

Exercise can also provide emotional benefits like a positive body image, improved energy level, self-confidence, and an optimistic outlook.

"Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities".-Aldous Huxley

Pilates is beneficial for general fitness, specific health conditions and most of all for your overall well-being. I’ve been teaching Pilates since 2000 and I love it!! Pilates improves your posture, mobility and flexibility of the spine, lengthen and tone your muscles. It also helps maintain and can improve bone density in older adults, PLUS more!!

Joseph Pilates originally called his work "contrology", and by that he was referring to a body/mind/spirit approach to movement that was founded on the integration of these principles:

• Centering: Physically bringing the focus to the center of the body, the powerhouse area between the lower ribs and pubic bone.
• Concentration: If one brings ones full attention to the exercise, and does it with full commitment.
• Control: Every Pilates exercise is done with complete muscular control and no body part is left to its own devices.
• Precision: In Pilates exercise, awareness is sustained throughout each movement. There is an appropriate placement, alignment relative to other body parts, and trajectory for each part of the body.
• Breathing: Joseph Pilates emphasized using a very full breath in his exercises. He advocated thinking of the lungs like a bellows and really using them to pump the air fully in and out of the body. Pilates exercises coordinate with the breath and using the breath properly is an integral part of Pilates exercises.