24 June Ray Child June 24, 2015 How to Sit Body, Life, Mind body mind life, mindfulness, yoga off the mat 0 Comment Focusing on body alignment in fitness classes is great, but ideally, that awareness would not be confined to just workouts. SunstoneFIT's vision is to become one of the world’s most influential fitness associations who transforms the very idea of fitness from isolated physical activity into an integrated body, mind and life practice. Our classes bring awareness to the body and stimulate a mindfulness that is rooted in our yoga foundation, allowing students to take these lessons "off the mat." Alignment of joints, muscles and bones affects the way you live in and relate to your body every day. An easy example? Learning how to sit. Many people have bad posture and don’t know, don’t care, or don’t know how to change it. But active sitting is simple to learn, and though it requires a lot of discipline initially, it’s a subtle but effective way to tone your core. Start by finding your sitz bone (sitting bones, ischial tuberosity, etc.). The sitz bone is the bony protrusions at the very bottom of the pelvis; you have them even if they have padding over them. Take a minute to find them. That is the part that should directly connect to the seat or floor. Notice that when you relax your core, the angle of your pelvis changes and your sitz bone is no longer directly connected to the seat. This is what happens when you slouch. (The angle of your pelvis also changes when you over-arch your back.) Re-connect your sitz bone to the chair. When you make that connection, your spine lines up over your pelvis. This “uprightness” requires a bit of core engagement, which is why most people slouch instead. It’s a subtle core activation that you will barely feel, but if you have very poor posture or a weak core, it can require constant mental and physical effort at first. It will become second nature if you stick with it! Instead of slouching when you get tired, try reclining on your side, ancient Rome style. This allows your core to relax without putting pressure on your lower spine. Then get back to sitting as soon as you can. Respect yourself enough to make the effort! Not only will it strengthen your core over time and help prevent lower back pain, it’s also a sign that you have truly begun to make fitness a way of life beyond the doors of the studio. Related Articles Schedule Awesomeness With the Holiday season nearly upon us it is time for our annual New Year’s schedule updates! Consequently, it's also when we receive the most questions about how we chose to make those changes. (Trust us, it's not easy.) It's important to us to not only have the best quality classes and excellent customer service, but to also develop an awesome schedule that serves our students' needs. So, with a limited number of classes slots to schedule – and a wide range of class types to offer – how exactly do we determine what classes to put on the schedule, how many of each class, and when on the schedule they should appear? Pilates vs Yoga Pilates vs Yoga – Which is Right for You? Since I was given the opportunity of growing up overseas as a Missionary girl; I learned at a young age to value the art of learning to understand where concepts originated from – so that would include the practice of Pilates or Yoga. I can share with you what I have learned so far and maybe you might be able to add something of value to your own experiences and journey. Why You Should Invest in Coaching in 2020 Consider a few questions: Be Engaged Throughout Your Class Last week, we introduced Sunstone’s vision as well as the Five Teaching Principles that guide our teachers in helping our students cultivate their very best selves. These principles are our core values, the foundation on which we've built our studios. They are equally valuable for you, our students. They create the landscape for what your experience with us can be like. Whether you're in your second class, or well on your way to building a body, mind, and life practice, these words describe behaviors that can turn what seems to be the simple action of taking a yoga class into something truly life-changing. Born to Move Since the recent NYT article “How yoga Can Wreck Your Body.” I have seen a number of comments on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and via email. On the one hand I was sad that yoga (in general) was getting bad press as I personally know of the positive effects it brings to many people’s lives. On the other hand I felt a sense of vindication for 10 years of standing strong on: Personal Transformation Through Yoga I lived with depression, anxiety and poor health throughout my teenage and most of my adult life. Even through all of that I knew that I needed to make positive changes in my life but I did not know what, where or how to begin to make those changes. Yet this unexplainable feeling deep within me knew that I needed to start this journey as soon as possible. I was guided to a lady who practiced yoga and meditation and she shared with me the benefits that she had gained from years of practice. So I began to research both subjects Comments are closed.