Mind, Body Connection: One Pilates Class at a Time!
Mind, Body Connection: One Pilates Class at a Time!
We all have our own way of healing. Mine for the past several years has been through fitness. As Greg Pitt said, “Your mind is the strongest and most valuable muscle you can grow in the gym.”
Growing up, my parents enrolled me in an Armenian dance studio and truly it was awesome. I would do dance lessons three days a week and consistently stayed in the same studio until I graduated high school. I loved being in an environment with rules, synchronization, movement, learning about myself and about my dance partner(s), learning how to trust, and learning why consistency is very important in all aspects of your life. In college, I enrolled in yoga classes and took advantage of the newly built gym at CSUN, which gave off Equinox vibes. Fitness was always part of my life, it allowed me to show up with a positive attitude and embrace all challenges.
After college, I got introduced to Pilates reformer classes and gosh did I LOVE these classes. Again, structure, synchronization, habits, positive affirmations throughout class, feeling tall, sexy, and being part of an amazing community - I knew I had found something special.
Honor Your Body
Being healthy and moving my body became my way to cope with stress and build a “fit-mind.” I dug deep to learn about how my body felt and I honored my body by listening to it. If you silence yourself and take a deep breaths, you’ll often be able to “hear” your body. I know if you’re new to exercise, this may sound strange. However, one of my favorite quotes by Deepak Chopra is “Let your body take care of you.” I honor my body with proper nutrition and movement, and I allow my body to take care of me. I love the challenge that Pilates reformer classes brings. The truth it, I’ve shown up every day in class knowing that I’m going to learn something new about myself and this workout is good for my health.
If you’ve purchased my book Get Grounded, you’ll know that I refer to “fit-mind” often as I truly believe that healing starts when you are fully aware of the mind, body connection. Staying healthy, being able to move my body, is a privilege. Allowing myself to continuously “fail” in class has also been a blessing. There are exercises I still can’t complete on my toes and I have to modify that particular exercise, I allow myself to fail and succeed in the 50 mins of class. I succeed by trying, perhaps maybe I am on my toes for only one rep or two reps, I feel how my body moves on the Reformer and I trust that my body will eventually build enough muscle and strength to move to advances poses.
“Mind. Body. Soul. These are the three things self-care is all about.”
Well said, Kathy Sledge! Pilates has allowed me to dig deep, find my purpose, and I encourage you to take the quiz on my website, https://arminegambaryan.com/pages/your-compass, to find your compass and how you can benefit from my book, Get Grounded: https://arminegambaryan.com/pages/get-grounded. It’s an eight-week workbook that slowly builds on a better version of yourself. Pilates has allowed me to take up space, show up daily in positive and healthy spirits, stay consistent, and focus on alignment with mind, body, connection.
