[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]![\"Andrea](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Slavin_080508_2401-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Quick reminders from Joseph Pilates himself on keeping healthy habits to live the good life<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Exfoliate the skin<\/b><\/p>\n While almost everyone routinely indulges baths or showers, Pilates\u2019 founder, Joseph Pilates, believed that only a small minority really achieve \u201cthorough\u201d cleanliness. He advocated the regular use of an exfoliator such as a stiff brush to scrub. Even better if it doesn\u2019t have a handle forcing us to twist, squirm and contort ourselves in every conceivable way to reach different parts of our body!<\/p>\n Why is exfoliation so important? It stimulates circulation, thoroughly cleanses out the pores and removes dead cells. \u201cThe pores of your skin must breathe,\u201d said Pilates. \u201cThey cannot do so unless they are kept open and freed from clogging.\u201d After a good scrub, your skin will take on a fresh, glowing appearance and develop a texture smooth and soft to the touch.<\/p>\n Sleep well<\/b><\/p>\n It seems so obvious, and yet who among us is really getting the prescribed 8 hours per day? According to Joseph Pilates, good sleep at night<\/a> is of utmost importance.<\/p>\n \u201cA quiet, cool, well-ventilated room is best,\u201d he once wrote. \u201cDo not<\/i> use a soft mattress. \u2018Firm but soft\u2019 is a good rule to follow\u2026 use the lightest possible bed covering consistent with warmth.\u201d Pilates advised against large bulky or stacked pillows \u2013 he believed the best was to use none at all.<\/p>\n In order to enjoy good recuperative sleep, one needs quiet, darkness, fresh air and mental calm. Nervousness is usually aggravated by a lack of proper exercise, especially if your mind is troubled<\/a>. According to Pilates, the best way to alleviate this is through exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your sleep is disturbed, rise immediately and perform your exercises,\u201d Pilates once said. \u201cIt is far better to be tired from physical exertion than fatigued by the poisons generated by the nervousness of lying awake. He recommended the spinal \u201crolling\u201d and \u201cunrolling\u201d massage exercises<\/a> that relax the nerves and induce sound, restful sleep. Do this in dim yellow light for good effect.<\/p>\n Also Read: <\/b>Sleep Yourself Slimmer<\/a> by Heather Shalabi<\/p>\n Eat just enough of the right food<\/b><\/p>\n According to Pilates, we must \u201ceat only enough food to restore the fuel consumed by the body.\u201d However, he always kept enough of it on hand to furnish the extra energy required if needed.<\/p>\n \u201cMerely eating to satisfy one\u2019s lust for good food is both foolish and dangerous to one\u2019s health,\u201d said Pilates. Unfortunately, this doesn\u2019t go well with today\u2019s foodie culture of food trips and Michelin guides.<\/p>\n Pilates believed that eating in excess of our needs prohibits us from becoming truly physically fit. There\u2019s also such a thing as age-appropriate eating amounts. The younger you are, the more food you need. However, the older you get, the less your food intake should be.<\/p>\n Aside from watching the quantity<\/i> of food we eat, we should also pay attention to the quality <\/i>of food that enters our bodies. Since most of us in this day and age are \u2018sedentary indoor workers\u2019, we require proportionally less food and of a different kind than say laborers engaged in hard manual toil outdoors.<\/p>\n \u201cHeavy eating followed immediately by sitting, or even lying down is comparable to overloading the firebox with coal and then closing the drafts of the furnace,\u201d said Pilates. He stresses that this generates poisons that eventually find their way into our bloodstream (think: excess sugar converting to fat!).<\/p>\n Focus on building flexible muscles vs. bulky ones<\/b><\/p>\n Why should we be more interested in developing flexible muscles over bulging ones? Because the latter hinder the attainment of flexibility. Over-developed muscles actually interfere with the proper development of under-developed muscles.<\/p>\n According to Pilates, true flexibility can only be achieved when all muscles are uniformly developed. \u201cNormal muscles should function naturally in the same manner as those of animals,\u201d he said. \u201cCats and other wild creatures acquire an ideal rhythm of motion because they are constantly stretching and relaxing themselves, twisting, squirming, turning, climbing, wrestling and playing.\u201d<\/p>\n In Pilates, we properly and scientifically exercise every muscle in our bodies to improve blood circulation. We do not overdevelop a few muscles at the expense of the others with resulting loss of grace and suppleness, or at the expense of the heart or lungs. Pilates was conceived to limber and stretch muscles and ligaments to make the body supple, reflecting grace and balance even in daily activities.<\/p>\n Aside from Pilates, he believed swimming is the next best exercise to employ all our muscles.<\/p>\n Breathe properly<\/b><\/p>\n Breathing is the first and last act of life \u2013 nothing is more important to our survival. To breathe correctly we must completely exhale and inhale. During breathwork practice<\/a>, for example, one must try very hard to \u2018squeeze\u2019 every atom of impure air from the lungs. When you stand erect again, the lungs will automatically fill themselves with fresh air; this supplies the bloodstream with vitally necessary life-giving oxygen.<\/p>\n Complete exhalation and inhalation also stimulates all muscles into greater activity. This enables the entire body to be charged with fresh oxygen, as seen in the way your cheeks and fingers get pink after sustained cardio.<\/p>\n Since we cannot live without breathing, it\u2019s a shame to never master the art of correct breathing<\/a>!<\/p>\n Correct your posture<\/b><\/p>\n Because of poor posture, practically 95% of our population suffers from varying degrees of spinal \u201cmis\u201d-curvature, not to mention serious ailments. Pilates believed that we were born with a flat back because the spine must be straight. \u201cWhen the spine curves, the entire body is thrown out of its natural alignment \u2013\u00a0off balance,\u201d he said. Bad posture goes hand in hand with round, stooped shoulders and protruding abdomens.<\/p>\n The good news? The spine wants to correct itself<\/a>! Reclining exercises do wonders for the back, for example. Remember always to keep the full length of your back pressed firmly against the mat or floor. When rising or lowering, always do so with a \u2018rolling\u2019 or \u2018unrolling\u2019 motion imitating a wheel, which leads to a gradual restoration of the spine<\/a> to its normal position with increased flexibility.<\/p>\n Lose the excess baggage<\/b><\/p>\n During your annual medical exam, check your weight against your height to see if you\u2019re in the range of normal \u2013 you can even do this yourself! Unnecessary weight on our bodies usually takes the form of undesirable fat. If humans could hibernate like bears, we could draw on this stockpile of reserved energy in the winter. However, we are not <\/i>hibernating creatures, and don\u2019t have that instinct to \u2018sleep\u2019 for long periods of enforced inactivity.<\/p>\n Excess of fat isa detriment to humans, imposing an unnecessarily heavy burden on our heart, liver, bladder and other digestive organs. Even worse is the unnatural formation and accumulation of fat directly around the heart itself. Carrying around this extra poundage produces needless fatigue!<\/p>\n Expose yourself to sunshine and fresh air<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cBy all means never fail to get all the sunshine and fresh air that you can,\u201d said Pilates. \u201cYour body also breathes through the pores of your skin as well as through your mouth, nose and lungs.\u201d Clean, open skin pores permit perspiration to eliminate the body\u2019s toxins.<\/p>\n Pilates recommended not <\/i>exercising in sweatshirts; he advocated wearing shorts and lighter, looser clothing \u2013 allowing the sun\u2019s life-giving and vitamin-rich rays to reach and penetrate our skin.<\/p>\n Get regular medical checkups<\/b><\/p>\n According to Pilates, every adult over 40 years of age should go for a medical examination three to four times a year. If younger, once a year should suffice, although twice would be even better. This is to discover latent ailments in their early stages, \u2018nipping them in the bud\u2019 so that no potentially serious illnesses get the chance to grow.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t over-exercise!<\/b><\/p>\n You didn\u2019t think this was possible, but Pilates actually warned against repeating selected exercises more than the prescribed number of times. This actually does more harm than good because it can create muscular fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is really no need for tired muscles,\u201d said Pilates. Remember, build your strength gradually over a realistic period of time, do not shock your body into doing anything it isn\u2019t ready for.<\/p>\n Pilates believed that relaxation at fixed intervals throughout our workday is important. \u201cThe man who uses intelligence with respect to his diet, sleeping habits, and who exercises properly is beyond any question taking the best preventive medicines provided so freely and abundantly by nature.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Applied](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/c700x420.jpg\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_35308-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/10-healthy-habits-for-your-pilates-practice-trx.jpg\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pranayama.jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/YogaWheel-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/BACKsmall-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2015-10-28-at-11.54.38-PM.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chiropractor\"](\"https:\/\/flexhk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chiro.jpg\")
<\/b><\/p>\n