Tag Archive for: wellness

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L + L at Home: Modified Front Row

Welcome to the first post in our series of Long + Lean At Home Favorites! To begin the series, all the Long + Lean instructors are sharing their absolute favorite exercises to do at home!

Founder Hayley’s favorite exercise to do at home is a Pilates Reformer exercise modified for the mat that is great for posture and feels amazing. Here’s why Hayley loves doing Modified Front Row at home:

“This exercise gives me everything I need right now (and always): it stretches my back and hamstrings, opens my chest and shoulders, gives me gentle work in my abs and spinal extensors, and feels invigorating.”

Want to try the Modified Front Row for yourself (you totally should)? Here’s how to do it:

Setup
Sit with your legs extended out in front of you. Make sure you are sitting on your sitz bones with a neutral spine (let your knees bend slightly if you cannot sit up straight with your legs extended). Flex the ankles so your toes point up to the ceiling.

Steps

  1. Round your spine one vertebra at a time, starting from your head, as the arms reach forward towards your feet. Feel the back ribs pull back while energy from the fingers and the heels shoots forward. Think of widening the shoulders on the back, but don’t let them sneak up to your ears. Feel the abdominals gently pull the belly button towards the back as your spine rounds.
  2. Stack the spine up one vertebra at a time, returning to neutral, while carrying the arms straight up overhead. Keep those shoulders relaxed down and the ribs relaxed, not popped forward.
  3. Circle your arms down to the starting position. Feel the pinky fingers reach away from you as though your arms could reach the walls. Repeat 3-5 times.

 

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Michaela’s Organic Guilt-Free Nutella Recipe!

Ok Nutella lovers; who knew our fabulous Michaela was also a chef! Here is her recipe for all organic, guilt-free Nutella!fullsizerender-6

Ingredients:

1 cup Organic Hazelnuts

3 Oz. Organic, 80% Cacao Dark Chocolate

2 Tbs. Flaxseed Oil

2 Tbs. Organic Confectioner’s Sugar

2 Tbs. Organic, Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

3/4 Tsp. Sea Salt

Read more

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Jenn’s 5 Fav Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Long + Lean Pilates instructor JennStart the Day off Right
I like to start the day off with a smoothie filled with spinach, banana, frozen fruit and green tea matcha powder for an early morning boost. If I have time, I’ll normally make a piece of toast with avocado and two poached eggs.

Prioritize Exercise
Exercise is very important to me, which is why I went for my bachelors in Exercise Science and minored in Health and Wellness. Even though Pilates is my core, I also love to spice up my exercise routine from time to time. I absoutly love the outdoors, whenever I can I try to do any kind of activity outside to get the blood pumping and a dose of vitamin D. With winter upon us I try to get to the gym 3-4x a week or a few sessions a week of Pilates Jumpboard for cardio!

Stretch Every Day
Stretching helps increase range of motion, prevent injuries and overall keeps the muscles and joints of the body happy and healthy. In today’s world everyone is so busy that it’s hard to commit to stretching everyday. However, it really only takes 5-7 minutes to stretch all the major muscles of the body. I normally stretch when I first wake up or before I go to bed at night, in order to awaken or prepare my body for the day.

Enjoy Every Moment
In my mind there’s no point going through life without enjoying moments and indulging in cravings from time to time. Cheat days and red wine with dinner are what keep my health kicks going and my mind motivated!

Take Time to be Mindful
I take a few minutes before I fall asleep each night to be mindful of my actions of the day, make a note of what I’m thankful for and just take a minute to connect with my inner thoughts. This helps with stress levels, helps me fall asleep faster and just to be a better person when I wake up.

Long + Lean Pilates instructor Jenn

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Hayley’s 5 Fav Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Hayley, owner of Long + Lean PilatesWe all know life gets busy and it can be hard to maintain the healthy habits that keep our bodies and minds happy and well.  Here on our blog we’re going to share with you each Long + Lean instructor’s favorite tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, even when our worlds are spinning out of control! Today, owner Hayley shares the healthy lifestyle habits that she sticks to no matter what!

 

Lots of Variety

I need variety in my life. Luckily for me, variety keeps my body healthy, too.  I try to be adventurous in the grocery store, choosing a different fruit or vegetable that I don’t usually buy to add to my diet each trip. I always have apples and bananas on hand, but adding pomegranate seeds one week, persimmons the next, and staying open to new vegetables in salads and stir-frys, ensures that my body gets tons of different nutrients all the time. I also try to switch it up with my workouts.  Pilates is my foundation, but I like to try something different whenever I get a chance. From Yoga and hiking to dance classes and weight training, I give my body lots of different movement options!

 

Embrace Balance

Balance is my key to happiness and sanity. I find pleasure in green juice, and nachos. In 3 hours of Netflix, and a 3 hour hike. We can’t all be perfect pictures of health, and I personally don’t think we should try.  I believe in living life to the fullest, even if it means skipping a workout every once in a while or putting off paperwork for a day. We all work so hard, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time to do the things that make you deliriously happy to balance out all the tough stuff.

 

Never Skimp on Sleep

Don’t mess with a good night’s rest! I have learned the hard way that I do not function properly with less than 7 hours of sleep, so I refuse to compromise on getting the rest I need.  It’s my non-negotiable, absolute must have for staying healthy and well enough to be my best each day.

 

Walk Everyday

We are conditioned to live in a sedentary routine that can be super hard to break from, especially in a place with notoriously miserable weather. But humans are meant to walk. Our joint and bone health depend on us walking. Walking allows me to stretch and strengthen my whole body, breathe in fresh air, and let my mind wander without any buzzing distractions (buh-bye television). It’s exercise, injury prevention, and meditation all wrapped up in one very enjoyable experience. Even if I only have time for a brisk walk around the block, I get some walking in each and every day.

 

Feel Good to Look Good

The key to looking good does not live in your make-up bag.  The truth is, if you feel your best on the inside, you’ll look your best on the outside.  My best beauty plan is to get lots of sleep, keep my diet full of raw foods, stay hydrated, consume lots of healthy fats (I love you, avocados) and move as much as I can all day. And when that fails…mascara and lip gloss. 😉

 

Stay tuned for Jenn’s tips next week!

 

 

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Core Strength: What’s the Big Deal?

Reason numero uno for doing Pilates is always….”amazing core strength!” Pilates is a method built around strengthening the core and just about everyone out there tells you to increase your core strength. But why? What does increased core strength give you?  First let’s talk about what the core actually is…

Yes, the core includes your abdominal muscles.  That means not just your six pack muscles (the rectus abdominis), but also your internal and external obliques, and your transverse abdominis. Pilates works all of these abdominal muscles, thank goodness, because they are all integral to having strong and flat abs. But your core goes beyond your abs. Also included (and worked in Pilates) are the pelvic floor, glutes, multifidi, diaphragm, psoas, lats, and quite a few other muscles of the back and hips that stabilize your pelvis, spine, and shoulder girdle. The important thing to know here is that a strong core means more than six pack abs.

Pilates is such a great workout because it works all of those muscles listed above in every exercise. Each and every Pilates exercise is designed to work your core and train your body to stabilize your limbs with those support muscles. Pilates devotees all have super strong and efficient core muscles. When I say efficient I mean they’re quick to engage and support you when the body needs to move and do all the crazy things your life asks you to do.

So let’s talk about why that’s so important…the core muscles, especially the deep ones like the pelvic floor, transverse abdominis, and psoas, are the muscles that turn on just before your mover muscles (quads, pecs, etc.) start performing. The deep core should work intuitively to protect your spine and support your pelvis while your limbs are moving freely. That’s another thing about core strength: when you have it, your other muscles don’t have to try to compensate so they’re free to do their own job easily and effectively. Movement efficiency means you work less to get the same thing done, which is so amazingly important for athletes but also for everyone else too.

As I mentioned before, core strength supports your pelvis and protects your spine. Which will, in turn, protect your from injury and keep you free of back issues and pain. Injuries can occur to anyone, not just athletes and weekend warriors. You can hurt yourself twisting to get a bag in the car, bending over to pick up your toddler, walking down your driveway. Also, core strength will improve your balance and coordination, meaning you won’t fall as easily or you’ll be able to recover from a stumble without spraining your ankle.

Beyond all of these benefits that will make you move better and feel better, core strength will help you look better too! Not only will focusing on your core muscles give you a flatter belly, slimmer thighs, and a toned behind, core strength also helps improve your posture and make it easier for you to sit up and stand tall without having to work too hard at all.  A strong core will give you the ability to maintain great posture without even having to think about it. Woohoo!

Are you convinced that having a strong core is well worth it? Great! Now come do Pilates with Long + Lean and start strengthening that core!!

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