We all know that meditation is good for us – but it’s not easy!
Did you know that since Pilates is considered a form of mind-body exercise, you can actually reap the benefits of meditation WHILE doing your workout? Pretty cool, right?
I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
In today’s 15-minute Pilates workout, you’ll focus on your body, movement, and breath to experience the benefits of meditation in addition to the benefits of exercise.
For many of us, it’s hard to focus when our bodies aren’t moving – so this routine is designed to be a moving meditation to clear your mind and refresh your spirit, while also moving and strengthening the body.
I’m pretty passionate about today’s Mindfulness Assignment. Be sure to watch today’s video through to the very end for more details on what it means to “create pockets of silence” in your day.
Keep up the great work!
xo,
PS – This Workout is now available exclusively to members of The Balanced Life Sisterhood! CLICK HERE to learn more!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, The Balanced Life receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Full disclosure.
While Pilates is my main thing, I also love teaching barre workouts. Barre is a great way to change things up while continuing to focus on proper form and efficient movement.
In the Beach Barre Cardio routine, you’ll not only tone and strengthen your entire body, but boost your heart health, improve circulation, and work up a sweat.
Keep your Pilates principles in mind, grab a chair for balance, and enjoy this quick & effective, 15-minute Pilates-barre workout!
Today, we’re focusing on meditation once again! Your Mindfulness Assignment for the day is to find time for meditation. It can be moving or sitting still, 5 minutes or 50 minutes….it’s completely up to you.
xo,
PS – This Workout is now available exclusively to members of The Balanced Life Sisterhood! CLICK HERE to learn more!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, The Balanced Life receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Full disclosure.
We just wrapped Pilates with a Purpose, a 5-day online Pilates challenge designed to do good and feel good – and I am on cloud 9! It was so much fun to see our community come together to do good. The impact was incredible.
Isn’t that amazing? Our donations can send 100+ girls through a 10-week program designed to build confidence, support the next generation of girls, and show girls they can do anything they set their mind to.
Whether you donated, helped spread the word, used the workouts, or just followed along, THANK YOU for being a part of this! We couldn’t do it without you.
And I don’t know about you, but as we go into the holiday season, this inspires me to find ways to pay it forward on a regular basis. There is truly so much JOY to be found in giving.
If you want to join me in this, here are a few fun ideas:
pay for the person behind you in line at the coffee shop
leave snacks out for the delivery drivers who work so hard this time of year
pick up the bill of someone dining at the same restaurant as you (an older couple did this for my husband and I when we were young and barely able to afford a date night – it was so generous and impactful that it brought me to tears!)
deliver home-baked treats to a neighbor
There are so many fun ways to pay it forward – if you have a favorite random act of kindness, come tell me about it on my latest instagram post!
Feeling a little under the weather, have low energy, or getting over a cold?
Then this quick Pilates routine is just what you need. This workout is gentle and rejuvenating and perfect for those days when you don’t have much energy, but know you need to move your body.
These gentle exercises will help you release tension, relax, and promote healing to help you get back to yourself as soon as possible!
Check out this gentle Pilates routine over on my YouTube channel today and let me know how it goes!
Revisit this workout anytime you need something relaxing and quick to help you feel better!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but can also be the busiest!
It can be easy to put our health + fitness goals on the back burner with all the fun events, gift shopping, and prepping for the holidays. Thankfully, we know we only need ten minutes for a good workout + to remain consistent during a busy season.
To help you stay consistent and make time for yourself this holiday season, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite workouts from The Balanced Life Youtube Channel. Each of these workouts are quick + efficient, but will leave you feeling energized and ready to take on your day!
And if you’re feeling under the weather or need something relaxing today, check out the below workouts…
I hope these workouts help you stay consistent this holiday season!
How do you make time for yourself during a busy season? I’d love to hear in the comments!
Have you ever forced yourself to workout even though you felt run down, tired, and exhausted?
It can be hard to know when to push through and when to rest. I’ve had to get really clear on what my body truly needs to stay healthy & feel good.
Sometimes that’s a hard workout, and other times (actually, most of the time), I need something that is more restorative. Something that is strengthening, energizing, and challenging – but that doesn’t tax my body in the way that many mainstream workouts do.
The next time you’re feeling tired, run down, or not 100% – try this relaxing evening Pilates routine to help you unwind and reset.
Revisit this routine anytime you need to unwind and also do something to take care of yourself. You’re important, you’re worth it, and you’ll never regret the time spent on your mat.
Bookmark this post for future reference! It will be so nice to have on hand when your body needs a little extra TLC.
Prior to teaching Pilates and running The Balanced Life, I worked in commercial real estate. It was a fast-paced job, I was fresh out of college, and newly engaged.
Life was good – but something was wrong. I had mysterious symptoms:
neck pain
body aches
fatigue
acne breakouts
bloating
weight gain
stomach aches
I went to doctor after doctor, but couldn’t get any answers. I went through test after test, only to be called an “enigma.”
After months of appointments, tests, prayer, and google searching, I finally demanded a specific test that found an infection in my stomach. I was thrilled to have an answer.
While that cured my stomach issues, a variety of symptoms still persisted. The aches, pain, and fatigue started to interfere with my ability to live life well.
One day, in a desperate attempt to ease my aching body, I went to a Pilates class…and everything started to change.
The instructor led me through an exercise designed to release tension from my body and right then and there, I got a tiny glimpse of the tension I had been holding inside.
After a few months of Pilates classes and eventually meeting with a counselor who set me up with practical skills to reduce stress (such as taking 20 minutes after work to unwind with Pilates and calming music alone in my room), my pain disappeared, my skin cleared up, my energy increased, and I felt like a new woman.
Much to my surprise, it turned out that the cause of my mysterious aches, pains, and fatigue…was stress.
Stress was manifesting in real, physiological ways – even though I didn’t feel stressed on a day-to-day basis.
Research shows that chronic stress can cause depression, anxiety, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and a whole host of other health issues.
But one of the biggest problems is that most of us don’t realize just how stressed we really are.
It’s just life. It’s just how we operate. We’re just making it through each day, holding tension and stress inside our bodies without even realizing it, and not pausing to consider the effect it may be having on our health.
PAUSE RIGHT NOW: Notice if your shoulders are tense. Take a big deep breath, relax your shoulders, and keep reading because I have good news for you…
Pilates is one of the most effective ways to manage stress while also building strength.
In one short workout (that you can do from home), you can release tension, increase blood flow to the brain, boost your immune system, improve your mood, and get in phenomenal shape. It’s incredible.
I’ve been working on something REALLY exciting the past few months that I’m so excited to share it with you!
If you want to manage your stress, improve the way you feel each day, and build strength, it will be PERFECT for you.
Introducing…the Pilates Strength + Stress Relief Challenge! Kicking off on March 9, 2020! This challenge is 5 days of 15-minute Pilates workouts + stress-relieving strategies to help you build strength, release stress, and feel amazing!
CLICK HERE to sign up – I can’t wait for you to experience these benefits!
Prior to teaching Pilates and running The Balanced Life, I worked in commercial real estate. It was a fast-paced job, I was fresh out of college, and newly engaged.
Life was good – but something was wrong. I had mysterious symptoms:
neck pain
body aches
fatigue
acne breakouts
bloating
weight gain
stomach aches
I went to doctor after doctor, but couldn’t get any answers. I went through test after test, only to be called an “enigma.”
After months of appointments, tests, prayer, and google searching, I finally demanded a specific test that found an infection in my stomach. I was thrilled to have an answer.
While that cured my stomach issues, a variety of symptoms still persisted. The aches, pain, and fatigue started to interfere with my ability to live life well.
One day, in a desperate attempt to ease my aching body, I went to a Pilates class…and everything started to change.
The instructor led me through an exercise designed to release tension from my body and right then and there, I got a tiny glimpse of the tension I had been holding inside.
After a few months of Pilates classes and eventually meeting with a counselor who set me up with practical skills to reduce stress (such as taking 20 minutes after work to unwind with Pilates and calming music alone in my room), my pain disappeared, my skin cleared up, my energy increased, and I felt like a new woman.
Much to my surprise, it turned out that the cause of my mysterious aches, pains, and fatigue…was stress.
Stress was manifesting in real, physiological ways – even though I didn’t feel stressed on a day-to-day basis.
Research shows that chronic stress can cause depression, anxiety, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and a whole host of other health issues.
But one of the biggest problems is that most of us don’t realize just how stressed we really are.
It’s just life. It’s just how we operate. We’re just making it through each day, holding tension and stress inside our bodies without even realizing it, and not pausing to consider the effect it may be having on our health.
PAUSE RIGHT NOW: Notice if your shoulders are tense. Take a big deep breath, relax your shoulders, and keep reading because I have good news for you…
Pilates is one of the most effective ways to manage stress while also building strength.
In one short workout (that you can do from home), you can release tension, increase blood flow to the brain, boost your immune system, improve your mood, and get in phenomenal shape. It’s incredible.
I’ve been working on something REALLY exciting the past few months that I’ll be sharing with you very soon.
And if you want to manage your stress, improve the way you feel each day, and build strength, it will be PERFECT for you.
Stay tuned, you’re not going to want to miss this!
More details coming soon…
xo,
Want to join our online Pilates community? Sign up to be notifed when we re-open enrollment to the public!
By signing up, you'll be added to The Balanced Life's email list and will receive regular emails that include inspiration, tips, and special offers to help you build a healthy + balanced lifestyle. We take care of your data in accordance with our privacy policy and you are free to unsubscribe at any time.
We all know that meditation is good for us – but it’s not easy!
Did you know that since Pilates is considered a form of mind-body exercise, you can actually reap the benefits of meditation WHILE doing your workout? Pretty cool, right?
I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
In today’s 15-minute Pilates workout, you’ll focus on your body, movement, and breath to experience the benefits of meditation in addition to the benefits of exercise.
For many of us, it’s hard to focus when our bodies aren’t moving – so this routine is designed to be a moving meditation to clear your mind and refresh your spirit, while also moving and strengthening the body.
I’m pretty passionate about today’s Mindfulness Assignment. Be sure to watch today’s video through to the very end for more details on what it means to “create pockets of silence” in your day.
Keep up the great work!
xo,
PS – This Workout is now available exclusively to members of The Balanced Life Sisterhood! CLICK HERE to learn more!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, The Balanced Life receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Full disclosure.
By signing up, you'll be added to The Balanced Life's email list and will receive regular emails that include inspiration, tips, and special offers to help you build a healthy + balanced lifestyle. We take care of your data in accordance with our privacy policy and you are free to unsubscribe at any time.
While Pilates is my main thing, I also love teaching barre workouts. Barre is a great way to change things up while continuing to focus on proper form and efficient movement.
In the Beach Barre Cardio routine, you’ll not only tone and strengthen your entire body, but boost your heart health, improve circulation, and work up a sweat.
Keep your Pilates principles in mind, grab a chair for balance, and enjoy this quick & effective, 15-minute Pilates-barre workout!
Today, we’re focusing on meditation once again! Your Mindfulness Assignment for the day is to find time for meditation. It can be moving or sitting still, 5 minutes or 50 minutes….it’s completely up to you.
xo,
PS – This Workout is now available exclusively to members of The Balanced Life Sisterhood! CLICK HERE to learn more!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, The Balanced Life receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Full disclosure.
By signing up, you'll be added to The Balanced Life's email list and will receive regular emails that include inspiration, tips, and special offers to help you build a healthy + balanced lifestyle. We take care of your data in accordance with our privacy policy and you are free to unsubscribe at any time.
