As a Pilates instructor, I am passionate about helping my clients become more aware of compensations that have turned into bad habits. During each session we have together I am on the lookout for the detrimental patterns that can lead to injury when left unaddressed. There is a new focus all across the fitness industry to limit pain and dysfunction through teaching and reinforcing good body mechanics.

We all experience times of stress in our life and it is during these times that we tend to revert to old habits and patterns, no matter how much we have worked towards creating new ones. We stop talking care of ourselves, exercising goes to the wayside, and we often stop sleeping well or drinking enough water. We chose bad foods over healthy fruits and vegetables while watching our favorite TV shows. Our bodies store the stress we experience so reinforcing good habits can seem counter intuitive. Finding a positive way to handle and release tension can prevent stress from solidifying in our joints and muscles. The goal is to prevent things like rounded shoulders and spinal compression, which can sometimes be the result of stress. We have to actively make the time to learn about our bodies and create that awareness within ourselves.

Remember that the body and mind have a symbiotic relationship with each other - we have the power to control our thoughts just as much as we do to control our awareness of movement.