Week 48 - “Heart: let that sh*t go”
"I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth diminishing your health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear."
-- Steve Maraboli
Hello Pilates People!!!!
Happy Valentine's Day, friends! We hope you feel and share the love today in whatever ways you can!
Today's the day! Our "Feed the Love" LIVE class is at 10am! Have you signed up yet?
We're supporting Feed the Frontlines by donating 100% of the proceeds from today's class to them! What better way to kick off Valentine's Day?!
You can sign up using your already purchased class packages OR grab yourself a "Feed the Love"class in the amount you would like to donate! Not available today but still want to donate? Go ahead and sign up anyway! We'll miss you, but we'll put that money to work!
To join us, please click here.
And we've got our next workshop coming up NEXT SUNDAY with Dr. Christopher Peacock!
We'll be hosting "Meridians and Mirrors" on February 21st from 10am-12pm for just $25 (or $20 as a member)!
In this work shop we will:
Detail what meridians and mirrors are in the body and why they matter
Go over what fascia is and why it’s important
Take a deep dive into the meridian theory and how it relates to our fascial network
Review the meridian systems and their related organs
Go through mind-body connections and the why behind physical pain as a manifestation of emotional pain
How we can use these concepts in our every day lives and why they’re important!
You don't want to miss this one! Not able to attend but interested in the recording of the workshop? Email in and we'll set you up!
To join us for Meridians and Mirrors, please click here. For more information, click here.
And because we're still not done with hearts (I mean, let's be honest, we'll never be done with hearts) we've got another heart week for you coming right up!
What's different this week? Stress.
Oh wait. Stress isn't new? You've been stressed for at least a year now?
Interesting...me too!
What's new is we're going to talk about how stress relates to and impacts the health of your heart.
Buckle up kids, this one's gonna be bumpy for a second...because I have zero respect for a holiday full of warm fuzzy feelings apparently...oops.
Because, here's the thing, stress is bad for your heart. The end. Story over.
So when we're all dealing with stress 24/7, for whatever reason, that's not really the best news for that thing working to keep us alive.
How, you say? Well a few things...I did some research for you again and according to Harvard Health, in extreme cases, broken heart syndrome is real. What does that mean? It means your heart will literally close one of its arteries if you're under too much intense stress in a short period of time - think loss of a loved one - hence the name "broken heart syndrome."
Happy Valentine's Day from your bitter friend over here...it'll get brighter, I promise.
Anyways, more likely than not that WON'T happen. However, daily stress can also increase blood pressure and the inflammation around your heart. They also made a point to say that stress can lead to some heart damaging behaviors as coping mechanisms - smoking, drinking alcohol and making poor food choices.
So again - stress is bad for your heart.
The good news is, I did some more research for you to see what we can do about it, and the even better news is you're likely already doing so much to help your heart cope! According to an article written by Beaumont Health, here are a few things you can actively do to help improve your heart health (things that ARE NOT cardio - I gotchu):
Exercise! YAY! Cortisol is your stress hormone and exercising helps reduce cortisol levels in your body while it also releases endorphins (the happy hormone) - so win, win!
Laugh! FUN! Laughter helps reduce inflammation and increase your HDL levels (the good cholesterol), it also increases oxygen flow throughout the body, relaxes your muscles, improves your mood and your immune system. I guess there really is something to laughter being the best medicine.
Give Thanks. At the beginning of the pandemic, I tasked myself with writing out 3 things I was grateful for each night and I have to say, it really helped me through what were some very dark days. And according to Beaumont, in one study they found a 25% reduction in cortisol levels in individuals who regularly practiced gratitude. So get on that!
Meditation and/or prayer has been shown to reduce blood pressure and helps you to redirect stress calmly.
Breathe Deep! Inhales and Exhales! That's totally manageable! Deep breaths help lower blood pressure and better distribute oxygen throughout your body.
Listen to music - use those playlists ya'll! Music helps you relax, which lowers stress, blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels. Unless it's heavy metal maybe...unless you're into heavy metal? I don't know...just listen to what you like!
Get outside! AND LEAVE THE DEVICES BEHIND! Don't worry, we'll be here waiting for you when you get back!
Writing can help you organize, relax and take yourself away from screens. Another thing I did at the beginning of the pandemic and honestly, have continued to do. What do you think this is? You're helping me focus and relax every week - so thank you!
Get social. This one's a little tricky now but I believe in us! After all, coming to class is at least a little social. You see other people on the screen and most of you make a point to say hi! So, there ya go! And I'm sure you can think of other ways to be social - we'll keep working on it too.
Take a nap!! We LOVE this one! Naps help reduce cortisol levels AND they REST you! Wooooooah!
Hug someone...or if you're like me...hug yourself. Hugs reduce cortisol and blood pressure so, they really do matter, and I promise, you can make a solo hug work - Jenni will help show you how in this Friday's video so, stay tuned Aligned Members!
GET A CAT! (or a dog) I literally started laughing out loud but having a pet has proven to help lower stress, blood pressure and increase oxytocin levels (the love hormone). She scratches me right in the face sometimes but you know, she's helping my heart so, we love her.
This last one is big. Are you ready? Learn how to say no. Put yourself first. Take care. The end.
Our hope this week is to help take you through as much of this list as we can, and really, the ones we won't be able to do are circumstancial - like, I can't MAKE you get a cat, you know? Although, I really do think you should because then Cat can have more friends!
And we want you to know, if you're here with us the really really good news is that you are already working to keep your heart healthy!
So really, this week is just us saying, "Please keep it up!"
Because you're important and the world needs you around.
Happy heart day, friends.
All our love. Always,
Cassandra + Pilates People
P.S. - wanna check out those articles? Here's the Beaumont one and the Harvard Health one.
P.P.S. - your weekly video calendar is right there - just scroll down :)
