You’re always going to be working on something in your body. That makes your practice fascinating; it keeps everything real and allows you to have a work-life, family-me balance. Otherwise, we will keep going as soon as we get up in the morning until we go to bed! No, let’s change that. “Being versus doing balance”! Yes, I made that up. Let’s see how this can help you feel more powerful and more in control.

Let’s say you’ve finally taken  5 minutes in the morning to release your spine because you love starting your day like that. Or 5 minutes after work to release from a long day. And because of that, you’re starting to get the big picture of connecting yourself with your personal workout at your own pace. Suddenly, you feel excited to move towards beginner/intermediate and intermediate/advanced exercises. 

Cue music; it’s time to celebrate. 

Reaching some of the more intermediate/advanced exercises requires more core stamina, meaning knowing how to lift yourself from the right place, alignment, fewer breaks, and finding your core connection on your own in each move and position, whether on equipment or mat.

Your movement takes a different dimension – your goals have just shifted – because you have accumulated all the understanding and skills in your body and mind. As you now explore yourself, you notice possible limitations:

• your chest is tight, making you use your shoulders and neck more
• you were tucking hips to exhale instead of using your abs 
• you were not aligning yourself well, which didn’t facilitate your abs to support you enough
• you were making all the specific noises when you breathe but not integrating them into your body
• you’ve been moving on autopilot 
• you were holding your breath

There are endless variations and combinations, which makes it very interesting. Your workout is no longer ticking the box for the week just by “doing” it but a way of “being” in the movement itself, fully immersed in it, which brings you to the next level – you’ve earned it; your investment has paid off. 

Here’s how to explore yourself this week – if your chest is tight and you’ve noticed this is how it feels in specific exercises, you’re in luck. Using the theraband today, I invite you to explore opening your chest so that you can breathe better, do The Hundreds better, heal your shoulder pain, and prepare to move towards the beginner/intermediate and intermediate/advanced exercises. 

Since you’re now a serious practitioner, here are 7 tips to help you amplify your strength.

1. Align your body before you move

2. Don’t look down when you exercise in an upright position; look at the horizon

3. Go back to your lateral breathing when you inhale

4. Slow down when something is challenging

5. Begin each move by lifting your chest when you take your inhalation.

6. Commit to one theme for a week, two weeks, or one month.

7. Watch your thoughts when you exercise. If negative thoughts come in, override them with positive ones. 

Care to share where you’re on your journey? I love listening to that. You can email me or leave a comment under my video or on my site; I welcome all of them.

Xo 

More Upper Body Strength articles and Pilates video worksout