Working ME Out (1)

Working ME out came to me as a title for this blog series because of the connection it makes between the mind and the body. Many of you who are reading what I have to say spend a great deal of time strengthening and toning your bodies. Pilates Anytime invited me here to remind you that total wellness includes all aspects of yourself.You already know that it is essential to identify and workout the kinks and tightness in your body in order to feel the flow and movement that occurs when your natural energy is released. The same can be said for working out the “kinks and tightness” in your mind. Joseph Pilates knew this when he wrote in Return to Life…a body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all of the complex problems of modern living.A flexible body is a healthy body. A flexible mind is a healthy mind. Bring the two together and we are living in harmony.You are going to great lengths to create a fit body. You have made a commitment to yourself to be healthy, but do you ever wonder why you still have persistent discomforts within your self; why there are nagging doubts about who you are and how you fit into the world that you inhabit? Do you wonder how to have the self- esteem that you want? Do you wonder why your relationship, once the daze of falling in love has worn off, just isn’t as you imagined? There is a reason why your internal states continue to be a struggle even though you are taking such good care of your body. Your inner world of feelings and sensations doesn’t evaporate because you’re more toned in the outer world.To truly “tone” your body you must also include exercises that will shape your inner world. Without flexibility in this domain you will continue to suffer. Most of the stresses experienced in the body, the ones that you are so painstakingly trying to remove, begin on a deeper level, a level having little to do with muscles, breath patterns physical ability. It is at this level where you will discover the “me’s” within yourself that need to be heard. These are the parts of your self that have been rejected or hidden somewhere along the way. A consistent Pilates practice will strengthen your core muscles, but it can also be the beginning of a path of self-discovery. Take your Pilates classes and listen to your body. Be aware. The process of discovery and transformation of both your body and your mind begins when you pay attention to yourself, when you nurture yourself, when you recognize the many gifts that you have been given… starting with the many wonders of your body.I know that I am a very unique bird

And that I sing a song never heard

But do you know that’s you as well

Your song is what I am here to sell.

For I have come to say that after all

if you want find a you to call

Dare to pay attention to what you find

When you listen to your very own mind.

And dare to have the faith to believe

That life is only exactly as YOU perceive

And that’s true in how we perceive ourselves

What we believe it’s not about anyone else

So if I were to shout near and far

Permission granted to be as you are

Would you take it upon your -self

To be who you are and no body else?Stay tuned…