Pilates-In-Motion

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By Danielle Belec

You don’t get to sleep in your own bed at night when you are off globetrotting the world. No problem (until you start missing it).

You don’t always get a good night’s sleep at home, even if you’re in your own bed, so all good (so far). Nor will privacy always be a given in either situation, and your favourite things may not be at your fingertips.

Timing really can get a bit off, can’t it? Plus, their choice isn’t always yours, or yours, theirs. So where is the wine with the cheese, I dare ask!

Hard to get it all right, of course, until you finally let go. Get off that clock and step into the magical flow of being on the road. Bon voyage! Alas.

The definition of flow, according to Wikipedia, much like travelling, is “In positive psychology, flow (travelling), also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow (travelling) is characterized by complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one’s sense of space and time.”

This, in essence, is why we travel the world n’est pas, or at least, in part. It enables us to more easily become one with the world, one in the world, and one with…ourselves. A very sacred place to be, this essential and primal kind of connection is soul-gratifying, life-reinforcing, compassion-building and vitality-giving.

Yet, you are your body. So, despite the buzz of travel, physical stiffness will manifest, as will your mental resistance, on and off the road. For where ever you go, there you are.

Our bodies need to work and to rest; our minds need a job and a holiday. But I believe, if we feed our body-mind, much like we water our plants, tend to our animals, and connect with our loved ones, flow will be of the essence, wherever we are!

Here is a Pilates panacea for moments during your life’s travels when flow starts to feel like a distant memory. These movements can be incorporated into your daily life, so that the ‘mind’ of travel can seamlessly be with you at home and in the air, on your way to someplace fabulous!

Knowing these movements are an intention away, ready when you are to get into the zone, whether at home or in a bed other than your own!

Danielle Belec, MA, CMA, PMA®-CPT, danced professionally for over a decade. She first trained in Pilates in NYC in 1989, and opened Second Wind® Pilates Plus® and its associated teacher-training school in 1998.

Known for “putting the soul back into Pilates”, Danielle is the creator of Integrated Movement Therapies (IMT)® and certified through The Pilates Method (PMA).

Connect with Danielle on Facebook @LoveMyPilates.

The Flow

“Spine Stretch” – ahhh!
“Scoop & Hollow” – let your hands go and stay!
“Fly By” – keep long not high.
“Just Hold” – no worries!”
“Bridge”– stand on your own two feet!
Lift off!
“Roll Down Your Spine” – hang out for a bit and…breathe!
“Recovery Pose!” – really? Good for your calves, hips and endurance for walking!
“Open Hammock” – stretches your spine and back pelvis, and relieves hip tension.
“Single Leg Stretch” – with a bit of help
“Scissors” – lengthen those hamstrings!
“Knee Drop” – a gentle twist.
“Knee Drop” – a gentle twist.
“Sitting Hawk” – open your chest (can be done on a chair or the floor).
“Meow!” – a prep for what comes next…
“Just Do it!” – keeps you upright for long walks (more than once please…!)
Wall art #1.
Wall art #2.
Stretch it out #1.
Stretch it out #2.
“Body Drip Front” – alas! A rest pose to rebalance.

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