It's no longer called the life-span, we need to now think of it as our health-span.

In this Live video I did on Facebook, I talk about my 3 "M" system to optimal health.  Mind, Meals, and Movement.  

You need all three in order for the system to work.  One M can't work without the other.

And is M is designed to heal our stress.  Ultimately it's stress that's causing our symptoms.  Yes, there's stuff medically going on, but in a very general view, stress is the culprit.

Stress comes in three forms.

Physical: chronic body pain, injury, poor movement patterns or postural habits

Emotional: due to life experiences and how you interpret them

Metabolic: how your body is responding to everything you put into it (ie, food you're eating.)

These three forms of stress are wreaking havoc on your body and it's time to play the rest card.  It's time to learn how to properly heal the body so you can live for years and years with life and vitality. That's what I...

Sit up straight!  Stop slouching!  Pull your shoulders back! 

How many times did you hear this growing up?  And then we forced ourselves into “proper posture”.

This forcing into position made it appear like we were improving our posture, but really the spine was never lifted or lengthened.  All we did was brace and tighten superficial muscles around the chest, back, and abs resulting in restricted movement of the spine.  And when you think about it, our spine IS NOT straight, so we are actually forcing it into something it's not meant to do when we push up straight.  

Oh, our poor spines!  As restless kids sitting in the classroom to lining up rigidly in single file when walking to art class, to never having the freedom to run around except for a 20-minute recess (which didn’t always mean outside playing) and a 40-minute gym class once a week. 

Fast forward many years and we’re still sitting at desks, in...

Have you ever noticed in Before and After pictures, the “before” person looks miserable and in the “after” they are all smiley and life is great. 

So let me see, if I can get myself to look like an "after" picture then I will be happy?

What hogwash.

For years I worked to achieve the after photo, striving to look perfect so I could finally start living the way I really wanted. 

You know how it goes "when I lose the weight I will"…

Always putting plans off for the future. 

Here’s the thing, there’s no such thing as BEFORE or AFTER.  There’s only NOW. 

I know, I know, you hear that all the time. Live in the Now.  But seriously, there’s no real destination.  It’s all a ride. A journey.  The wonderful “I am who I am right now at this moment” journey.

So my advice, "Enjoy the ride!" 

Take it in.  The nitty-gritty, the ups, and downs,  the jeans are tighter...

Tools; they get us through life.  The tools of life.

Left and right we can feel triggered emotionally.  Up and Down.  When I was younger, I would get consumed by the downs.  They would literally take me down where I didn't leave my bedroom - especially late in high school and through college. 

Since then I’ve taken control of my health, especially with what I put into my body.  Food is a source of stress for all of us and once I learned how different foods affect hormones, metabolism, and emotions, I quite literally changed my life.  (We talk about this in my Core Club.)

Beyond that, there’s the mental piece.  It’s such a complex place, that can feel out of control at times.

I always say, if you're feeling out of control emotionally, you've GOT to have a toolbelt of tools to access at all times to help you through, ESPECIALLY when times are tough.  The tools help build a strong foundation, plus they can be...

The name of the game is quality.  

• The quality of a calorie - 100 calories of broccoli or 100 calories of a donut
• The quality of relationships - lof of surfaced or a few filled with depth and joy
• The quality of sleep - 8 hours of restless or 6 hours of deep satisfying energizing sleep
• The quality of water - sipping toilet water or ice-cold filtered water on a humid day
• The quality of exercise - an hour of cardio on the elliptical or a 20-minute focused workout session geared towards alignment, form, and intention.

It comes down to quality.  When you aim for a higher standard, you expand and move forward.  

Pilates is all about quality.  It's a practice that involves connecting with every single pose and posture that you do.  You don't learn it all in one session; it takes years.  I’ve been doing Pilates for 20 years, teaching it for about 17, and I’m still learning new things every day.  I love how each stage of life...

I stopped doing diets about three years ago and before then I was on a chronic diet since basically the age of 12.  For 28 years, I was CONSTANTLY on and off a diet.  How exhausting...

I’m not sure if it’s because I hit 40 or because of the exhaustion, but I finally got it.  Diets (any kind of program that involves restriction) don't work; instead, they set you up for failure.

If you were to step back and look at the way you treat your body, would you be happy?  Would you think, yes, I love my body? 

Or...

Does looking at your body bring you pain or feelings of inadequacy?  Do you treat your body from a place of pain or a place of love?

Often I write about the importance of self-love, carving out time in your day to truly take care of you.  And yes, I often hear how there isn’t enough time or money to do that.  And listen, I get that.  I really do.  I’m right here living it.  However, if we don’t...

As I get older, I feel less connected to traditional fitness.  It’s structured in a way to never feel good enough and I’ve always felt like I never measured up, especially as a fitness instructor.  Now in 2019 mind/body fitness is much more acceptable, but in the 90s it was not the case. Step, boot camp, cardio kickboxing, body pump... The more intense the class and the more fit the instructor looked, the more popular the class. 

I was just a regular girl wanting to feel good in my body and wanting to help others feel the same way.   I remember comparing myself to the other instructors and feeling like such an imposture. Then I found Pilates.

I dove deep into a two-year training program, craving the comprehensive learning about the body. I loved how I felt after every training.  Never depleted.  Always energized.

In traditional fitness, everything physical is measured in numbers - how fast you are, how many reps you do, how many pounds...