​“You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”   - Dr. Seuss
 
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy, and keep choosing it every day.” -Henri Nouwen
 
Life is beautiful. It is also messy. Emotional wellness is not always discovered in our circumstances; even when life is going great. As we all know, life is often stressful and the challenge is learning how to choose to stay peaceful, calm, and centered, through the messiest of times. Emotional wellness doesn’t just happen when you have enough money, or you’re in a great relationship, or all of your kids are healthy and safe. Emotional wellness is something that we create, regardless of our circumstances, using our “muscles” of choice and intention. These muscles require our focus and attention in order to strengthen-- just like any other muscle! Today we are talking about some of the self-care habits I've put into practice to stay, not only physically, but emotionally healthy.
 
Pilates for Emotional Wellness (no surprise here! - this is a Pilates studio blog)
The role of exercise in improving emotional wellness has been thoroughly established in the research, and Pilates is especially well positioned because it is a true mind/body exercise. Pilates is mindfulness: its movements are intricate and controlled, with a heightened focus on tensing some muscles while relaxing others, and incorporating your breathing. Because of the many different components working together at once, your mind has no choice but to live in the present, focused on your body and the soft, encouraging guidance of your instructor. In this way, Pilates enhances your body and your mind.
 
Exercising through the practice of Pilates three or more times a week has been shown to:

• Reduce stress and depression
• Improve memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities
• Reduce normal rates of cognitive decline as we age
• Delay the start of Alzheimer's for people at risk of developing the disease or slow the progress of the disease
• Slow the rate of brain tissue loss as we age

 
For more in depth information on the role of exercise in mental health, check out my blog post “The Anti-Aging Fitness Regime: Pilates to Protect Against Dementia.”
 
I know it’s not easy to commit to a regular Pilates practice: life has a habit of “getting in the way,” and if you’re anything like me, you are always feeling pulled in a million different directions. But our physical and mental health is foundational to everything else we do! When you prioritize showing up for yourself and carving out that exercise time, you’ll find it’s that much easier for you to show up for everything and everyone else.
 
Rounding Out Your Practice: Essential Oils for Emotional Wellness
 
I know what you’re thinking- “Heather’s going to get all ‘woo woo’ on me while we burn incense and sing folk songs.” I was skeptical at first, too, but then I learned the the science behind this stuff, witnessed its power in my own personal circle- and guys- this is for real! The olfactory system is the ONLY sensory system (smell, touch, taste, hear) that involves the amygdala and the limbic system in its primary processing pathway. This explains why smells can bring back strong memories and how scent can affect our emotions. For example, when I smell cinnamon I immediately think of my grandmother who always made us cinnamon toast and feel nostalgic.  If you're so inclined for a little biology lesson, here's a high level view of how it works:
 
 When you smell an oil, some of the molecules dissolve in the mucus lining of the olfactory epithelium on the roof of the nasal cavity. There, the molecules stimulate the olfactory receptors, and neurons carry the receptor signals to the olfactory bulb, which filters, processes, and sends the information to the brain’s limbic system.  The different parts of our limbic system then release neuro messengers like serotonin, endorphins, and other hormones to provide feelings of relaxation, calm, or stimulation (depending on the oil). 

As clear as the science is, you can’t expect that you can just smell an essential oil and feel better instantly. Key in an essential oils practice are mindfulness and setting clear intentions. Mindfulness involves being aware of our thoughts as they happen so that we can change damaging thought patterns and replace them with more positive, helpful thought patterns. Author Elizabeth Erickson describes this as building new train tracks in our minds. Sometimes we can get caught in the same thought patterns, like “I’m not worthy.” We think these thoughts for so long they’ve built train tracks in our mind and the train runs on them constantly. When we mess up, or when our boss or spouse gets upset with us, or when we don’t like the way our body looks in the mirror, that train starts chugging. Mindfulness is about recognizing that train, and building new train tracks--new thought patterns--for the train to ride on. You can set a mantra, or an intention, like:

• I am strong, I am beautiful, I am enough
• This too shall pass
• This is a moment of suffering. Suffering is part of life. May I be kind to myself in this moment. May I give myself the compassion I need.
• I will get through this

 
Oils from Young Living that I really love to help with my mood and emotional wellness are:

Joy essential oil blend
A blend of oils to promote positivity-- Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Jasmine, Palmarosa, Rose, Bergamot, Lemon, and Tangerine

Lavender
Shown in studies to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, promote sleep, and improve feelings of well being. Promising results in the treatment of painful periods.

Orange
Helps with anxiety, depression, inflammation, and stress

Peace and Calming II blend
Includes Tangerine, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, German Chamomile, Vetiver, Cistus, Bergamot, Cassia, Davana, and Young Living’s exclusive Northern Lights Black Spruce essential oil. Contains the naturally occurring constituents germacrene D, linalool (promotes relaxation), alpha-pinene (reduces inflammation), and bisabolol (skin healing and anti aging properties)

Peppermint
Uplifting and invigorating, this oil can refresh us from fatigue, help clear our minds, and promote mental and emotional clarity

Jasmine
Helps with depression, improves mood, promotes energy and positive feelings, encourages a sense of calm

​Understanding that we can choose what we want to feel, and for how long we want to feel it, is the start of a more meaningful, intentional and healthy emotional state. At The Pilates Center, we are committed to partnering with our clients to discover our best self, both physically and mentally.  To learn more about our Pilates offerings and/or our Essential Oils offerings, contact the studio today at 817.737.2673. 

It’s very rare that science can actually point to one thing as a silver anti-aging bullet, and I always approach any “too good to be true” claims with skepticism. (“Reduce Belly Fat with Chia Seeds!” Really??.). But one claim DOES have the science to back it up, and that is that exercise really is the fountain of youth. Exercise has been shown to:
 
Physically

• Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Strengthen your bones and muscles
• Improve your sex life
• Help you live longer

Mentally

• Reduce stress and depression
• Reduce normal rates of cognitive decline as we age
• Improve memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities
• Delay the start of Alzheimer's for people at risk of developing the disease or slow the progress of the disease
• Slow the rate of brain tissue loss as we age

 
The protective effects of exercise against dementia are especially important, since strong evidence indicates that memory and other cognitive functions start declining at age 50, and people are living longer than ever.
 
How does exercise protect against dementia?

Recent research shows that physical activity seems to help your brain not only by keeping the blood flowing but also by increasing chemicals that protect the brain and countering some of the natural reduction (brain tissue loss) in brain connections (nerve cells) that naturally occurs with aging.
 
A recent study found that physical activity might reduce the buildup of a normally occurring protein in our brains called b-amyloid. When b-amyloid clumps together and forms “plaques” on our brains, it erodes our nerve cell synapses, which are essential to things like storing memories, processing thoughts and emotions, and planning and ordering how we move our bodies. Preventing the deterioration of these synapses preserves these areas of our brain.
 
Low-grade inflammation is common during aging and seems to be linked to brain tissue loss. Lower levels of inflammation and healthier nerve cells equates to better cognitive functioning.
Researchers from Brazil and Belgium have found that regular physical activity helps reduce the cytokines in our bodies that promote inflammation (“pro-inflammatory cytokines”) while improving the concentration of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein that, in our brains, helps the nerve cells mature, grow, survive, and function optimally.
 
Lastly, exercise has been found to help our existing nerve cells communicate better as well as help us develop new nerve cells (neurogenesis)! Researchers found that physical activity increases the length and branching of our dendrites (dendrites are a nerve cell part that brings electrical signals--information--to our cells to tell them what to do) and also increases the production of neurons (nerve cells) in our hippocampus (the area of our brain responsible for memory, learning, and emotion). 

Image credit: https://www.ducksters.com/science/nervous_system.php

With all the benefits of Pilates clear, it’s no surprise that Pilates is being used in rehab after injury or surgery--or to prevent the need for surgery. Recent research has shown that individualized and carefully developed Pilates programs can be effective in enhancing the recovery process after foot and ankle injuries, hip and knee replacement surgeries, hip fracture, and ACL reconstruction surgery, and more. That doesn’t mean you can just pop in to any Pilates studio for rehab, though: the research is also clear that the rehabilitation stage, client limitations, and qualification of the instructors are all essential factors when considering Pilates after an injury or surgery.

Fortunately, our instructors are specially equipped to work with this population! We have the expertise, background, and passion to train clients with a multitude of conditions and injuries, from the more common to the very severe. 

Some of our recent success stories include:

A client who was encouraged by her doctor to have surgery for her frozen shoulder. We’ve been able to rehab her to remobilize her shoulder and remove the need for a costly surgery with a lengthy recovery time.

A client with a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder, Ataxia Telengiectasia. People with AT have progressive difficulty coordinating their movements: difficulty walking, problems with balance and hand coordination, involuntary jerking movements, muscle twitching, and disturbances in nerve function. The lifespan of kiddos with AT is between 19 and 25 years, and most are wheelchair bound by adolescence. Treatment centers on control of symptoms, and we’ve been able to work with this client who, at the age or 28, is still walking.

We’ve also had immense success rehabbing clients with rotator cuff tear/repair, hip and knee replacement, scoliosis, herniated disks, spinal stenosis, and a myriad of neurological and degenerative conditions.

Expertise
Our instructors are professionally trained in a rigorous, college-level training programs that have a heavy focus on anatomy and injury pathology, meaning we understand body mechanics in both healthy and injured bodies:  what muscles tend to weaken or tighten with certain indications, and how to develop a Pilates program to bring the body back into muscle balance and strength. We continue our training with frequent workshops like Spinal and Trunk Abnormalities, Knee Abnormalities and Gait and Its Common Deviations to keep us at the forefront of non surgical healing options for pain and injury. Most importantly, we don’t “wing it”! We follow tried and true protocols for injuries and conditions from sources such as Samantha Wood’s Pilates for Rehabilitation.  

In addition to their Pilates certifications and ongoing training, the background of the instructors at The Pilates Center means you’re working with an instructor who has “lived” what you’re living: 

Dancing & Gymnastics

Jacqueline, Shalyn, and Kristyn have a combined 50+ years of experience in dance and gymnastics, enabling them to create Pilates programs attuned to the unique demands that these sports puts on the body, setting clients up for both peak dancing performance and injury prevention and rehab. A professionally trained dancer, Jacqueline has been dancing since she was 3 and has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance. Shalyn, once a competitive gymnast, also brings an extensive health background to her Pilates clients, with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.And Kristyn’s background includes not only 20+ years in dance and gymnastics, but experience positively managing her scoliosis in the midst of it all.

Neck, Back, and Knee Pain

Our instructors are living and breathing success stories of the ways that Pilates can alleviate chronic pain and injury. Having walked a mile in the shoes of pain sufferers, we practice what we preach: the programs we develop for you aren’t based on conjecture- we use them for ourselves! For example, Sarah came to Pilates after a significant sports injury, while Lori and eliminated her chronic back pain with Pilates. Michelle used Pilates to alleviate her neck pain brought on by years of hunching over patients as a Dental Hygienist, made worse by a terrible car accident. Jacque found healing in Pilates after her knee and shoulder surgeries, and as a Licensed Massage Therapist, brings additional expertise to all of her clients. Both Lacey and I were avid runners until we started experiencing severe back and knee pain, both of which we’ve been able to eliminate with Pilates!

Whatever your injury or condition, chances are we’ve developed a Pilates program for it!  We so look forward to walking this healing journey with you. We recommend private sessions for clients who are experiencing an injury or looking for post-surgery rehab: click here to book now.

 

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