Pilates at the MAA

Check out the video that my good friend, and massage therapist extraordinaire,
Alan made for me!

McGill Pilates Winter 2011

A brief outline:

Brain Integration
Standing Warm-up
Pelvic Curls
Arm Arcs
Neck Roll
Knee Folds
Hip Stabilization
Supine Twist
Pelvic Press
Hip Escalator Series
Hip Mobilization
Diamond Roll Back Series
Leg Lifts
100s
Roll-ups
Rolling Like A Ball
Single Leg Stretch
Spine Stretch
Swimming
Double Leg Stretch
Sitting Twist
Arm Beats
Lateral Stabilization
Roll-overs
Leg Circles
Swan
Open Leg Rocker
Seal

Boost Your Health Series : Stretch out the kinks of winter!

On March 10th, a blustery day of snow mixed with rain, I taught a workshop at McGill University's Presbyterian College as a part of the Boost Your Health Series. Unfortunately McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Bloom could not attend but Jill Barker from Athletics and a large number of McGill staff were on hand to "Stretch out the kinks of winter" - literally.

Because many of us are trapped behind a desk throughout the day, feeling the weight of winter wearing us down (and so far spring has been no exception as Montreal received another dump of snow yesterday), I decided to focus on stretches that can be done in a small amount of time, with no equipment or any need to change into workout gear.

When your day is busy and scheduling a workout seems next to impossible, shift out of work-mode and take 10-20 minutes to refresh yourself. Some movement is always better than no movement and the end result is you feel better. So focus on breathing and moving your spine in all directions: into flexion, extension, lateral movement and rotation. Even the act of raising and lowering your shoulders to release the rhomboids, or rolling your arms forward and back can help to stretch out the pecs that tighten while sitting hunched in front of the computer, er... while stationed in an ergonomically correct position at the keyboard... You only have one body, take care of yourself!


Here's a PDF outline of the stretches covered:

Stretch out the kinks of Winter!

Montreal Gazette on Fitness: Let the yoga moves flow

Last September I had the privilege to be included in an article in the Gazette on yoga. You can read the article here: http://www.lenastuart.com/gazette.pdf
The accompanying photos taken by Allen McInnis can be found on my website.