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Pilates Exercise: Knee Folds

Photo via nocpilates.com

Knee folds are a component of the Pilates Fundamentals, which means they are a great tool for teaching beginners important concepts that will help them advance through their Pilates practice. Knee folds also help you find and work your deep core muscles while allowing you to feel how your legs can move while keeping your pelvis and torso completely stable. Additionally, knee folds teach moving without tension and maintaining length through the spine. In order to stabilize your pelvis and minimize tension during knee folds and other Pilates exercises, you must engage all of your powerhouse muscles from the abdominals and glutes to your inner thighs, pelvic floor and hip rotators. This exercise really allows you to engage all of those muscles to do just the right amount of work, teaching efficiency and movement without tension.

How they’re done
Knee folds are a very simple exercise:
• Lay on your back with your legs bent, feet on the mat, feet lined up with the middle of your hip.
• Find a neutral spine position, maintaining the natural curves of your spine.
• Keep the spine stable as you exhale, pull the belly button in to the back, and float one leg into a tabletop position (90 degree angle at the knee).
• Return the leg to starting position and repeat with the other leg.
• Continue alternating legs, exhaling on the lift, inhaling to return.

Why I love ‘em
What I really love about knee folds is that they are great for ALL clients, from first timer to expert. With the right variations, knee folds can be a huge challenge, and for everyone they engage the transversus abdominus muscle, instantly narrowing the waist and increasing your core strength and stability. Creating a deep fold in the hip socket while keeping the pelvis stable is a great core stability challenge and lesson in efficient movement.

Helpful hints:
• Engage your abdominals to bring your leg up.
• Think of your leg floating into tabletop position to keep the work out of the leg.
• Do not let your pelvis tuck as the leg comes up, maintain space between your lower back and the mat.
• BREATHE! Exhale to engage the abdominals and lift, inhale as you lower

Kick it up a notch:
• Try the knee folds while lying on a roller for an extra core stability challenge.
• Add a cervical curl (like a crunch) as you lift your leg.
• Once you find your core and build up strength try lifting two legs at once for a double knee fold.
• Try it while sitting on a physioball!

Be well!

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Turmeric and Cardamom in My Juice!

I recently tried a new, adventurous drink that touts some pretty mega benefits: turmeric juice.  I was taken back by the complex, spicy flavor of the “coconut nectar” flavor juice at first, but after a few sips I got used to the flavor and enjoyed it for what it is, a super healthy drink with some super great nutritional benefits. Here are some of the ingredients in the juice (Turmeric Alive’s Coconut Nectar) and the super awesome powers they have to make you feel and look great.

Turmeric: Helps with liver detoxification, natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, can moderate insulin levels, may help prevent tumor growth and certain types of cancer. It also has antioxidant powers and can lower cholesterol levels!

Ginger: Helps eliminate pain and inflammation, settles the stomach, prevents nausea, and can treat and prevent cancers such as ovarian and colon.

Cinnamon: Regulates blood sugar levels, lowers LDL cholesterol, has an anti-clotting effect for blood. Cinnamon has anti-bacterial and  anti-inflammatory powers and is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.

Cayenne: Can break up and move mucus, providing anti-cold and flu benefits, prevents migraines, anti-allergen, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory, aids digestion,  boosts metabolism, and could potentially prevent cancer.

Cardamom:  Lowers blood pressure, prevents blood clots, natural diuretic, has detoxifying properties, improves blood circulation to the lungs, and helps improve digestion.

Turmeric Alive boasts that it’s Yoga in a bottle and with the super ingredients above, you can see why! Even if it takes you a minute to get acclimated with the flavor, I recommend giving turmeric juice a shot.  Either experiment with the ingredient on your own at home (try this one ) or purchase  pre-made juice (Check out the Beauty Bar at Tony Walker Body & Beauty in Williamsville); you’ll benefit either way.

Be well.

 

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5 Ways to Feel Good at 5 a.m.

I have a new routine. It involves waking up at 5 a.m. and being ready to be awesome all day by 6 a.m.  I’m used to mornings and I’m not a miserable morning person but 5 a.m. is a whole other level of waking up in the dark.  Instead of grunting about it everyday and upping my caffeine intake, I’ve decided this is a good opportunity to make some good habits and see if I can feel fabulous at 5 a.m.  Here are my 5 favorite ways to feel awesome at 5 o’clock in the morning.

1. Eat light (or not at all) before bed.

I’m not suggesting you starve yourself or anything, but I do highly recommend eating early enough that you are going to bed with a settled, close-to-empty stomach. Waking up hungry and not feeling heavy from what you ate the night before are the best ways to feel fresh and ready to move shortly after waking.  If you need a snack, or have no choice but to eat late, just keep it light and as unprocessed as possible. Avoid fried food, a lot of cheese, and gluten when possible when eating later in the evening.

2. Get up with the first alarm.

This may sound counterintuitive since more sleep usually equals more happiness but I firmly believe that getting up right away instead of fighting it will ultimately make you feel better.  Those extra five or ten minutes of sleep really don’t do anything for you and there’s something about getting right out of bed that really makes you feel like you can conquer anything. It’s a hard habit to break, and I think the only reason I did it is because I don’t want my boyfriend have to struggle through three alarms when he has two more hours to sleep, but alas, I love the results. I feel better. Try it. You can do it.

3. Take five minutes for you.

Snooze is gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sit on the couch and just be for  or 10 minutes between waking up and getting going. Whether it’s before you start getting ready or before you walk out the door, take a few minutes to inhale, exhale and mentally prepare for the day. Sippin’ coffee, thinking about what’s on the agenda, or even perusing Facebook, it’s all good for taking a few minutes to wake up and get set to go.

4. Drink water spiked with lemon.

Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.  It helps. It helps more than coffee, believe me. Your body can’t function properly without hydration so dehydrating it further with coffee and depriving it of water aren’t really doing you any favors. And the lemon? It makes the water special, sure; but it also aids digestion, boosts your immune system, clears your skin, and sets you up for a day full of good, healthy decisions.

5. Make getting ready luxurious.

Morning routines are monotonous, uneventful, and worst of all, rushed.  What if you could take just five extra minutes so that you could have some extra time in each of your morning tasks?  Brush your teeth a little more gently, make sure you cover your whole leg with lotion, not just the part that might show…It’s the little things in life that we forget to enjoy a bit and don’t realize that doing so could just make us feel really good. Kind of like those five minutes on the couch, taking extra time while you’re getting ready helps prepare you for the best possible day you can have.

There ya have it: five things you can do tomorrow that will help you feel better for the whole day.  It’s okay if you only pick one.  Baby steps. 🙂

Be well.

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A New Take on Hummus

Hummus is an awesome, healthy go-to snack that is surprisingly easy to make and always great to have on hand.  The protein and fiber from the beans keep you sustained and satisfied for a good amount of time and the nutritient to calorie ratio is very high.  Sometimes, however, roasted red pepper or garlic hummus can get a bit boring.  We also need to expand our views of hummus to go beyond chickpeas.  In this light, I give you an exotic hummus substitute, CURRIED WHITE BEAN DIP.  This dip is thick and hearty like hummus but features white beans instead of garbanzo beans and packs a powerful curry punch.  I had this dip with a sliced cucumber for lunch today and it kept me full for hours, not to mention how delicious it is!

 

Curried White Bean Dip (Based on recipe from Foodnetwork.com)

15 ounces white beans (drained)

1 packed cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped  (I used dried parsley and it worked out fine–use 1/2 cup if using dried)

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil (Start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed when processing)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)

2 tsp curry powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Zest of 1/2 lemon

 

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  Season with salt as needed.  Enjoy with fresh veggies, or multigrain chips.

 

Be well!

 

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The Best Part of Waking Up is Green Juice in Your Cup

I recently read an article in which a pastry chef said she starts her day with fresh juice because it lets her feel like she “detoxes before she retoxes.”  I don’t highly recommend drinking juice in the morning just to eat cakes and pizzas all day and feel okay about it, but there is definitely something in her statement.  Starting your day with freshly juiced fruits and vegetables boosts your energy and gives your cells a little cleaning so you start your day on the cleanest, healthiest note possible.

I love drinking juice in the morning.  I really do feel clean, light, fresh, and believe it or not, satisfied when I have juice for breakfast. Please note that I don’t mean Tropicana. I mean lettuce and kale in my cup.  Here is my absolute 100% favorite juice to drink for breakfast.

Hayley’s Fav Green Juice

1 head organic romaine lettuce

A few overflowing handfuls of organic kale or spinach leaves

1 organic lemon (peel and all)

1 organic honey crisp apple (so sweet and delicious!) cut into quarters if its a big one

~One by one, push all the above through your juicer, pour in to a tall glass, and enjoy your detoxifying breakfast cocktail.

 

Be well!

 

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