Teaser

Our new newsletter will be sent out on Wednesday (make sure you're on the list!  You don't want to miss the great info and fantastic discounts!)  The tough part about editing a newsletter is that there is always so much amazing information that inevitably some of it must be omitted :-(  This exercise was cut from an article on fluidity, one of the principles of Pilates.  It makes more sense in the context of the article, but give it a try anyway.  It will help you get a better understanding of the concept of fluidity so when you see the article you'll be ahead of the game!

Try this: Take two breaths focusing only on your inhalations. Make your inhalation long and smooth and controlled. On your exhalations, let everything go. Don't control it at all. Breathe naturally for a moment (I don't want you to hyperventilate!), and then do just the opposite for two breaths. Inhale normally with no conscious control, but exhale in one long continuous breath at a slow steady pace. That is control [another principle of Pilates]. For your next two breaths, consciously control both your inhalation and exhalation, making them as slow, steady, and even to each other as possible. That is control and precision [you guessed it, another principle]. For your last two breaths, focus only on the space between the inhale and the exhale. Unless you are holding your breath it should be almost imperceptible, like a single point in the rotation of the wheel, just one moment in a single motion. That is fluidity, the inhalation naturally gives way to exhalation and the exhalation gives rise to the inhalation. Where does one breath or movement end and the next begin? When you move with fluidity that transition will be difficult to discern.