This 30 day Pilates challenge was designed for you!  Each day of the challenge has a different focus & it progressively gets more challengeing over the 30 days. But don't worry each video has a lot of modification to ensure that you can work at your level and still get all the benefits. The challenge is completely free for you to join.  Once you sign up to join the challenge you'll receive a new Pilates video each day in your email inbox for 30 days. Each video has different modifications so you are able to work at your own level and still get all the benefits. The challenge videos are between 10-20 minutes each, because, well everyone can make the time to do that daily and you'll still feeeeel the benefits.  

It was designed as a challenge to complete in 30 days but feel free to go at your own pace! 

You'll also have access to the 30 Day Challenge Private Facebook page where you can interact with others who are also doing the challenge.  This is a great place to get inspired, inspire others and to ask your most pressing Pilates questions and receive answers fast!  (Plus it's a lot of fun!)

Join up for the challenge now and I'll see you on Day 1!

 Pilates is a fantastic form of exercise & it has many amazing effects on our body such as: injury rehab, correct muscle imbalances, improve your posture, increase your flexibility, improve your overall body awareness, reduce stress and build muscle tone. 

However Pilates is not a great form of cardio, and getting cardio is extremely important for your overall health.  Cardiovascular exercise helps you to: loose weight, have stronger heart & lungs, Increase bone density, reduce stress, reduce the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer, have relief from depression and anxiety,  sleep better, feel more energetic, be more confident  and much more!

Pilates sessions with cardio exercise really compliment and help bring out the benefits of the other.  I know a lot of people think cardio means running but there are so many ways to get cardio into your week.  Finding something you like is the key.  If you hate running DON'T run, if you hate biking DON"T bike! ; )
There are tons of ways to get cardio.  I happen to love running, so that's what I choose to do. Some of my North Vancouver ladies walk daily with their dogs up in the mountain trails.  Others love going to the pool and doing laps.  Some love the elliptical at the gym, and others love biking the trails down by the beach.  I even have one lady that takes circus trampoline classes! The point is it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you're doing it!

There are tons of articles, blogs, websites dedicated to telling you how much you should exercise each week.  I'm not going to.  In my opinion, the more you start to move the more your body will crave it.  You may find yourself going for a walk 1x a week and in a month or so you'll be walking 2-3x a week because it just feels so good and you crave the time for yourself.  If you approach fitness as something you HAVE to do V.S. something you WANT to do I can guarantee a hard road trying to stay committed to your chosen fitness plan.  Choose things you love to do, classes that excite you, and forms of movement you can't wait to do every week.  Your imagination is the limit!  Over the years I have taught a lot of beginner adult ballet and jazz classes and they LOVED it because dancing made them feel so wonderful and happy!  PLUS it's a killer workout!  Find what makes you HAPPY & do it.
I'd love to know what type fitness activities make you HAPPY, that you LOVE doing and why.  Be sure to leave your comment below!

Spring time! A time to be active, be outdoors, at the beach,lake,or hiking in the mountains. Just be sure that as the weather heats up you are drinking enough water throughout your day!  I came across this book a while ago at Banyen books.'Your not sick your thirsty' by F. Batmanghelidj and it makes you really stop and think. It just put's it into persepective all the things that can happen when we don't take care of ourselves on such a simple level such as hydration!So don't forget your 8-10 cups a day!  Check this book out on amazon!I'm also sure your local library would have it. It's well worth the read!

Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty!

By F. Batmanghelidj

Asthma, allergies, arthritis, hypertension, depression, head-aches, diabetes, obesity, and MS. These are just some of the conditions and diseases that are caused by persistent dehydration. But there is a miracle solution that is readily available, all natural, and free: water. In WATER: FOR HEALTH, FOR HEALING, FOR LIFE, Dr. F. Batmanghelidj reveals how easy it is to obtain optimum health by drinking more water and supports his claims with over 20 years of clinical and scientific research. Thirsty readers will discover what they never knew, that water can actually: Prevent and reverse aging, Cure asthma in a few days, naturally and forever eliminate pains, including heartburn, back pain, and migraine headaches and much, much more.

http://www.amazon.com/Water-Health-Healing-Youre-Thirsty/dp/0446690740#reader_0446690740

I found this article on the Pilates Anytime (http://www.pilatesanytime.com) website blog and thought I couldn't say it better! (Believe me I've tried! : )
I hope you enjoy the article and that it clears up the Yoga v.s. Pilates question at bit for you!

So what exactly is the difference between Pilates and Yoga? I have been trying to succinctly answer this question for a long time, but here I am eighteen years into teaching Pilates and still searching for those magical words that would clearly explain the unique benefits of each. I am a Pilates instructor that happens to love yoga, but manages to practice it only on occasion. To me, taking a yoga class and taking a mat class are very different experiences even though they yield similar results in terms of connection to my physical and mental centers. At the end of either type of class I am more centered, more open and more aware. Both Pilates and Yoga challenge me in a way that fatigue my muscular system fully, yet simultaneously rejuvenate me.

There are many similarities between the two disciplines. Both Pilates and Yoga can be physically intense or physically restorative. Either practice, done with consistency, can provide a pathway to greater understanding of self and spirit. Finally, and perhaps ultimately, both attempt to tap into the core of the body, mind and spirit through movement and breath.

The greatest difference I see and feel between Pilates and Yoga is the path each discipline seems to take to reach the core. One adopts an internal approach, the other an external approach.  


An Internal Approach to Well Being.
Yoga begins with stillness. In yoga, time is taken in the beginning of class to find harmony between the body, the mind and the spirit. It is a process of breathing, letting go and becoming present. Once accomplished, the poses and movements become the means for moving the energy through the body so your entire system feels at ease, connected and and balanced by the end of class. In my opinion, when practicing yoga, the path towards harmony is initially manifested from the inside then slowly, expansively moves outward.


An External Approach to Well Being.
Pilates begins with action. The exercises, the movement patterns themselves, are the vehicle driving us towards increased awareness, greater balance, and connection to our mental and physical centers. In Pilates, to achieve a sense of harmony, to experience the synchronicity of the body mind and spirit we also focus on breath, on letting go and on becoming present. Pilates, in my opinion, differs from yoga primarily in its path towards harmony. In Pilates, the path intiates from the outside, then deliberately and precisely moves inward.

Why Pilates? What will it do for me?

Pilates is for everyone - the young, the old, the sedentary, the athletic, those recovering from a physical disability and you!
Pilates helps improve your strength, tone, flexibility and balance, and makes the body less prone to injury. It reduces your stress, relieves tension, and boosts your energy through deep stretching. It creates a stronger, more flexible spine, improves posture, promotes recovery from injury, increases joint range of motion, improves your circulation, heightens neuromuscular coordination, helps correct muscle imbalances, enhances mobility, agility and stamina, and improves the look and feel of your body.

A regular Pilates regimen results in a flatter stomach and a thinner waist and thighs, as well as increasing mobility in joints. Like yoga, it also relieves stress and anxiety. Chiropractic consultants recommend Pilates for strengthening the back and the spine. Physiotherapists also recommend Pilates, to those seeking rehabilitation after injuries. Pilates has become quite popular among athletes, dancers and actors because the workout improves not just the body but mind as well. Pilates' balanced approach ensures that no muscle group is overworked and as a result the body works as the efficient, holistic system is was meant to function as. Over all Pilates just makes you feel FANTASTIC!  (And F.Y.I.   Pie & Lattes will also make you feel fantastic….just in a different way! ; )