Energy And Movement Sustainability

Happy first week of August everyone!
After running around on stage, performing last week, I am thinking about energy, both physical and mental and the importance of knowing how to tap into the chemicals that promote sustained stamina while moving. Sounds a bit scientific today, right? However, I assure you, I am no scientist. I've just utilized a lot of different mediums of movement to discover that I need different levels of "energy" depending upon what exactly it is that I am doing. You see, on stage I get a rush from the outward energy I feel from the audience and I can use that to my advantage by pulling from it and channeling it into my body for movement. I am also thrilled to be performing, so it comes up as a natural stimulant in my body chemistry as well. There have been times in my past where it has been hard to sustain because of too many night gigs in a row and feeling a bit tired, but I find that breathing properly truly helps this process along. Breathing while you are singing and dancing is a bit like breathing and talking while running....it can be difficult, but the more you practice, the more you condition your body to grow stronger, the easier it gets. This brings me to the way you are taught to breathe when performing "the hundred" in Pilates. Though I breathe and teach this method in a 5 count, the true authentic way is a 10 count: with legs in a table top, laying prone on the floor or hard surface, curling the head and tops of the shoulders off of the floor, extending through the arms past your hips, keeping the tailbone down/no pelvic tilting, pressing the ribcage into the floor, you inhale through the nose: 1,2,3,4,5 exhale through the mouth: 1,2,3,4,5. This pattern of breathing most definitely helps you to build strength in controlling your breath and also helps you to focus to your abdominal muscles: the exhale helps you to engage them and thus strengthen your core. Another way of saying this is the breathing pattern here helps you to be aware of your breath, strengthen your diaphragm muscle and create the energy you need to keep moving no matter what activity you are doing. ENERGY occurs when the body has a sustained stamina created by the harmony and synching of our body functions. Below is a video of a Pilates hundred...

​Nutrition Tip of the Week:
​Sustained Energy Eating:
I am advocating the importance of whole grains this week because they give you ENERGY. My favorite breakfast before I train a client is 1 cup of oatmeal (whole grains) with 2 tablespoons of nonfat greek yogurt, small palm size of raw, sliced almonds, 1 teaspoon of black chia seeds in almond milk, 1/2 peach as they are in season, 1/4 banana for potassium and sweetness and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. It is good and packed with energizing ingredients. 
XO, Ginger
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