Making the Body Mind Journey
The Third Installment
An ongoing conversation for
health and well-being
Click for second installment

When I interviewed Pilates Studio Owner & Author Brooke Siler, it was like chatting with a long lost confidante. She has a sense of self that is catching.  After reading and learning the Pilates Philosophy with Tara at the Duke Fitness Center, and to focus on training the body and the mind to work together towards a goal of total body health and well-being, I was hooked.

In Brooke's first book, The Pilates Body, Brooke says “I had never connected body and mind with fitness. In general, Pilates is based around the band of muscles that encircle your lower abdomen. This is your center and stabilizing core. Every muscle emanates from there. I think of it as a convection  oven--you start heating from the center and radiate out.

That’s where her newest book came into action as she applied Pilates to everyday activities. In Your Ultimate Pilates Body Challenge, Siler believes that everyone's anxiety goes down a notch doing a Pilates workout and it reshapes your body. Plus it gives you endurance, energy and puts you in a good mood."

Brooke went onto say: “Bigger girls can do Pilates as well! You get one body this lifetime and you want to feel good about your body at any size. The more you connect to your body – the more you connect to you and enjoying your life."

"Stop and smell the coffee - it does not matter what size you are! - Find the 'Zen' in your body, for the connection is internal – it does not have to do with how many layers of skin are on top of the muscles – find ways to get deeper – by triggering the underside of your arm or leg you are connecting your core stomach muscles.”

Brooke was very clear with some important thoughts about the benefits of Pilates:

• “Consciousness is the ‘big word’ for Pilatesâ - The more I live there - The less I have to do. The minute I started learning and thusly teaching the Pilatesâ Method I felt this internal strength. I felt in control and started feeling more graceful and beautiful and it comes from the core strength. ”
• “You will become a psychologist of yourself of sorts – So take ‘baby’ steps and learn how to care for yourself and train your body.”
• "What makes Pilates different from other exercise systems is that it involves your mind. You have to concentrate and learn. You're not just coming in to train, you come to study."
• “When performing Pilates in any form, it is most important to remain safe and to listen to your body. Nothing in a Pilates session should ever hurt.”

Friends and Co-Workers said I looked amazing but more importantly -- I felt amazing. After 8 weeks of classes. I had not even stepped on a scale since I came home from Duke Fitness Center. It was a great surprise when I finally got on the scale and saw 26 pounds had melted off. In NYC I went to at least 2 Pilates BodyMat classes a week at The Sports Club LA in NYC with a former teacher from Brooke Siler’s downtown studio. Kara Price. Kara was propelled to continue to modify positions when they were too challenging with my bigger frame or slower right leg and it was a true ‘body and mind’ high. I also loved that Kara reminded me of founder and creator Joseph Pilates theory on body maintenance: “50 minutes in and out of the studio – Get in and Get out.” Kara had this to say about working on the mat:

"You can cheat on a machine, but doing it on the mat is a million times harder. There is absolutely no way you can get away with less than total concentration. Which is just how it should be.”

To get the best bargains on books by Brooke Siler, just type her name in the search box below...

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