| Frequently Asked Questions: |
| What is the difference
between Yoga and Pilates? |
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Yoga has a philosophy of proper breathing, cleansing,
aligning, and living well. In general, Yoga classes move
slowly from poses. You listen to your body, your alignment,
and your breathing. There seem to be a lot of benefits
to the internal soft organs, in addition to the stretching
and balancing of the muscles. |
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Pilates focuses on proper alignment and balance as well.
The exercises focus on the core muscles. |
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Both yoga and Pilates do not have many repetitions.
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My favorite classes (the HeartMark Yogalates that I
designed) combine the two so that: |
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1. A person constantly changes from one pose to another,
rather than have large interruptions such as the ones
you get when you use props.
2. Movements between poses are controlled—You know
where your body parts and breathing should be as you get
into the next pose.
3. Movements between poses are logical and comfortable—You
don’t go from a sitting position to a standing position
and back to a sitting position…
4. Poses progress up the body and in proportion to one
another. |
| Why is it so important
to progress up the body and in proportion to each muscle?
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It doesn’t feel right otherwise. |
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When you take a class that makes you do sit ups right
in the beginning, you should feel uncomfortable. If you’re
young, then you’ll feel it less, because you’ll
still have less awareness of your body. But all people
should practice healthy habits from the start. I learned
this from the ballet training, where people already put
a lot of thought. Dancers know better than to walk into
the classroom and start turning or jumping. You have to
warm up your toes, then your ankles, then calves, and
so on. In sit ups, you use so many other parts of your
body that you should warm up and prepare first. And you
have to think about your balance. If you just strengthen
your tummy without stretching your torso and strengthening
your back muscles as well, you’ll end up throwing
off your balance. I couldn’t start any class with
sit ups anyway—I have to start with my fingers and
toes and then work my way in. It feels so much better.
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| What is the difference
between Pilates and Ballet? |
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Pilates is similar to floor ballet. Both insist on healthy
alignment. Pilates helps ballerinas to dance better. For
example, dancers use their stomach muscles to lift the
legs, so if you strengthen the stomach and stretch the
legs before you lift them, you will be able to lift them
higher… That’s what I do in the HeartMark
Yogalates class. Even if I don’t proceed to dance,
I want to back where I should be, ready to lift my legs
while properly aligned… Either that or to just pick
up toys in the right form. |
| Why should I take these
classes if I am not a dancer? |
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Everyone would benefit from knowing about their body
what dancers learn about theirs. Dancers learn to have
excellent body awareness. That means that they learn how
to control and align individual muscles, so that all go
where they should to maximize energy and movement. Once
you reach the point where every body part is where it
should be, then you can dance like a ballerina. But you
can leave that part out of the equation. Everyone’s
goal should still be to have excellent alignment and energy.
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I used to dance, so I learned where everything should
be. It was hard to think of all the body parts, align
them, and then to dance with all of them still keeping
them in their place. That’s what I worked on as
a dancer. It got easier when I was in better shape as
a dancer. As a mother, I want to return my body to the
state of alignment and strength, even if I don’t
proceed to put it all together in a dance. I would love
to dance but that’s step two. The first step is
to do a HeartMark Yogalates routine. Ideally, I would
do a HeartMark Yogalates routine, and then a ballet routine.
If I had just a little bit more time… |
| Why is your class on the
floor? |
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1) People can recognize and correct the body’s
alignment on the floor more easily than while standing,
and 2) I like taking my body from a state of less energy
to a state of great energy. This is a great routine to
do before starting any activity that requires a lot of
energy, such as cardio, dance, or just healthy daily routines.
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| What is the difference
between Yoga and the HeartMark Yogalates program? |
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The HeartMark Yogalates program just takes a few concepts
and healthy philosophies from yoga, such as healthy breathing,
proper alignment, and just a few choice poses. Otherwise,
there are more repetitions for core strength than in Yoga.
Also, the poses and the transitions from the poses are
related to one another. That comes from the ballet philosophy,
though I assembled the new exercises in this new format.
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The stretches are slow in my class, but there is a constant
flow. We don’t just hold the pose for any longer
than we can hold our breath. |
| Why is stretching important?
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People naturally stretch when they first wake up in
the morning. People stretch the parts they use, and if
they don’t stretch, then they don’t use those
parts well. When you stretch, you send energy through
better circulation to parts that have been getting less
circulation. You also lengthen the muscles so that you
can realign the bones, and then you strengthen the muscles
in that new alignment. You cannot align your body where
it should be without stretching out of the old misalignment.
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In the HeartMark Yogalates class, we stretch each body
part several times through out class. We don’t abandon
it after we used it once. That way, by the end of class,
we can stretch each part further along, and in relation
to the part around it. For example, we start out stretching
the calves as we warm up the ankles. We later stretch
them further as we work on the thighs, and later the hips.
Once the whole leg works in unison, we strengthen and
stretch the stomach and back. Later, we can stretch the
calves again together with the stomach to find our balance.
(I don’t understand how anyone can try to skip all
those steps and try to balance sooner…) |
| What is the best time
of day to do this workout? |
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In general, I like exercising in the early part of the
day. However, this routine does not have any cardio in
it, so it will not harm one’s sleep cycle. In fact,
even when done in the evening, the class will actually
help you sleep better. You will get deeper, healthier
sleep. You will get “energized” sleep. You
will go to bed feeling calmer, ready to rest. That is
because the healthy exercises and breathing balance the
hormones of the body. I find that my headaches from lack
of sleep will go away by the end of class. And I do sleep
better. I am even more comfortable in every sleep position.
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| What if I don’t
have body awareness? |
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Body awareness is very important. It takes a lot
of education. People who have body awareness can isolate
each muscle by using it. If you used to be able to isolate
muscles, and then you lost that ability, then you are
aware enough to know what’s not working. If you
don’t know how to identify and move these muscles,
then it will be harder for you align your body properly
and to prevent or heal injuries. |
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When you’re young, it’s harder to learn
to feel each body part. But it is important to still
have a responsible routine that caters to every part
of the body. Gradually, the body learns to feel and
control the muscles in these areas. |
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Often, you learn about muscles only when they hurt.
If they are sore from use, that can be beneficial. It
is better than the sort of injury pain you might get
if you reach to lift something in the house without
knowing the muscles you are straining. When you have
body awareness, you can save yourself a lot of pain!
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