People talk about building “the home of their dreams”. It’s a huge goal, one that is planted firmly in the psyche early on. We want that dream house so badly, we’re even willing to borrow & finance beyond our means to do so. And while it’s always tempting to take (what we think is) the shortcut, the consequences often outweigh the benefits. So, is it wrong to dream of the better life? Absolutely not.

The problem isn’t the size of the dream. It’s (often) how we go about pursuing it. The world is full of stories of people who “made it big”. Who achieved greatness. And doesn’t it often seem like they “made it” overnight? Maybe this is part of the appeal of looking for the quick fix. The easy money. The buns of steel in two weeks! So how can we overcome our self-imposed handicap of “want now (work later)”? We believe the answer is through the Pilates Method ~ a proven way of cultivating strong mental & physical self-awareness, focus and core strength.

A favorite quote of mine, by founding father Ben Franklin, goes something like this: “If I have three hours to cut down a tree, I spend two hours sharpening my axe, and one hour cutting down the tree.” This was a man who clearly understood the concept of developing the right tools to succeed. Franklin was a post-modern multi-tasker before it was cool. Achieving the many things he did in his life took, above all, an ability to focus on the task at hand. Fair enough. But how can Pilates, a strength-training method improve mental focus?

As we’ve talked about before, Pilates is personal. We help you develop focus & balance by beginning your training on a one-to-one basis. No noise. No distractions. No room full of TVs locked on the 24-hr news cycle. Just you and a certified trainer, building the mental & physical foundation you’ll need to succeed in 2010 (and beyond). Here are three ways Pilates will help you make this your best year ever.

Focus Your Mind

Everyone who begins to learn the Pilates Method begins with breathing. By first focusing on the basics of proper breathing, you are preparing yourself mentally to engage in physical activity. Trainers of all disciplines will tell you that initiating a proper breathing technique is crucial to good performance. However, you will also learn to foster a renewed mental clarity. Though this technique is being applied to prepare you for physical training, our clients regularly tell us that they find themselves using the breathing exercises to “feel sharper” during everyday tasks. We say, “Great! Ben Franklin would be proud!”

Focus Your Body

With the mind clear of the day’s distractions, we focus next on core awareness. This means developing greater mental & physical balance. Combining the proper breathing technique with subtle adjustments of your posture, your Pilates instructor will help you develop a better awareness of your body. Which muscle groups are strong? Which are weak & neglected? Which have been injured in the past? This is ultimately how Pilates succeeds where other methods so often fail. By training your mind & body together, the axe of self-improvement is more finely sharpened.

Western conditioning & training tends to focus on the muscle groups most often used by the practitioner. While this makes kind of sense ~ if I’m a cyclist, I should develop lower-body strength, etc ~ targeting specific muscles & training hard on them can have a debilitating effect. The Pilates Method is like building a house. The land is prepared, the foundation is built, the frame is set and then the specifics are worked on. It’s A Core Thing trainers are essentially the architects of what should be our first “dream home”. Our bodies.

Focus Your Life

Don’t be fooled by what might appear to be “Zen-trend language”. Pilates is a very grounded, very physical workout. Building core strength means engaging often-neglected muscle groups. You will sweat. You will be sore (at first). But you will (re)gain control, focus and physical & mental clarity. Whether you want to augment your current exercise regimen, improve your performance on the court, field or golf course, or are just tired of the quick-fixes that fix nothing, Pilates is your answer. Our certified Pilates professionals are ready to help give you the edge in 2010. It’s A Core Thing has made our New Year’s resolution: to give Myrtle Beach residents the sharpest axe in the forest!

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 9:25 am and is filed under Core Training, Pilates Method. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.