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Pilates for Life
37 Plays8 months ago
Welcome to The Positively Healthy Mom Podcast! I'm Laura Ollinger, and today, I’m thrilled to welcome Beth Sandlin, a Pilates expert dedicated to helping people live their best lives through Pilates. Beth is here to share her insights on how incorporating Pilates into your routine can enhance your overall well-being and bring balance to your life.
In this enlightening episode, Beth explores the transformative power of Pilates—not just as a workout, but as a tool for creating a healthier, more balanced lifestyle. Beth’s journey into Pilates began with a passion for fitness and wellness, and she’s made it her mission to help individuals of all ages and fitness levels experience the benefits of Pilates.
Beth guides us through practical Pilates techniques that are perfect for busy moms looking to integrate effective exercise into their daily routines. She covers everything from foundational exercises and proper form to creating a consistent practice that fits seamlessly into your schedule. Beth’s advice includes how to start with simple, accessible exercises and gradually build a routine that supports your fitness goals and personal needs.
For our listeners, Beth provides valuable tips on how to incorporate Pilates into family life, turning it into a fun and engaging activity for everyone. She shares how Pilates can help you build strength, flexibility, and resilience, all while reducing stress and improving your overall quality of life.
Beth’s journey is one of dedication and empowerment.
She and her family have embraced Pilates as a core component of their lifestyle, finding balance and fulfillment through this practice. Today, Beth offers Pilates classes and workshops, helping others to experience the same benefits and enhance their lives through mindful movement and exercise.
Key takeaways from this episode include:
- The impact of Pilates on physical and mental well-being and how it supports a balanced lifestyle.
- How to integrate Pilates into your daily routine and make it a family-friendly activity.
- Practical tips for staying consistent with your Pilates practice, even on busy days, and making it enjoyable.
- Building a sustainable fitness routine through Pilates and creating lasting habits for long-term health.
Join us for this insightful conversation and discover how Beth’s expertise and passion for Pilates can inspire and guide you toward a more balanced and fulfilling life.
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Transcript
Introduction of Beth Sandlin
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey moms, it's Laura Olinger.
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Positively Healthy Mom podcast.
00:00:05
Speaker
Because there's no manual for the hardest job in the world.
00:00:11
Speaker
Hello everyone, welcome to today's episode.
00:00:13
Speaker
I'm so excited to introduce you to Beth Sandlin, who is the owner of Trifecta Pilates in the Denver area.
00:00:21
Speaker
And I brought her on today because she has just a wealth of knowledge beyond just, you know, Pilates in the physical sense, but she has the whole kind of like mind-body connection thing going on.
00:00:33
Speaker
She's all about living mindfully in the moment.
00:00:36
Speaker
And so, Beth, tell us, you know, just to start, I know this is such a broad topic.
00:00:42
Speaker
And so maybe you could actually help us figure out where do we start with this?
00:00:45
Speaker
Because we're talking to moms of teens and tweens who are all busy, exhausted, we're tired, we're kind of running that rat race.
Mindful Living and Presence
00:00:52
Speaker
And what is like your best advice on just getting present in the moment?
00:00:58
Speaker
I think it's starting to get comfortable with finding the hidden opportunities for a pause.
00:01:05
Speaker
And a pause doesn't mean that the rest of the day we're going to do nothing and go to spa all day.
00:01:11
Speaker
But what are the areas in between?
00:01:14
Speaker
If you're working full time like I am and a mom or a parent, then that has its own additional challenges.
00:01:22
Speaker
But for stay at home moms and parents who I know, they're still juggling a lot.
00:01:27
Speaker
And what happens is I get a sense of it's just this constant go, go, go.
00:01:32
Speaker
Wake up, get kids off to school.
00:01:36
Speaker
Think about the activities that we're taking them to that week, how we're going to juggle all of those responsibilities.
00:01:43
Speaker
And it doesn't seem like there's ever an opportunity just to acknowledge what just happened and yes, where we're going next.
00:01:51
Speaker
So I would say just even taking a moment when you drop the kids off at school, that's a deep breath and a pause.
00:02:00
Speaker
When you finish doing the dishes, that's a deep breath and pause.
00:02:04
Speaker
that that can be really helpful to start tuning in to your energy.
00:02:09
Speaker
And you had mentioned, you know, that we just kind of are drained with energy.
00:02:14
Speaker
Sometimes I felt that that's a really great way so that we don't get to that exhausted state at the end of the day.
00:02:23
Speaker
Yes.
00:02:24
Speaker
Okay.
00:02:24
Speaker
I'm really enjoying the idea of just the pause because I think what we probably typically do is the opposite of that, which is just immediately go to the next activity or the next thing.
00:02:34
Speaker
And we don't take that moment
Sustainable Workout Routines
00:02:36
Speaker
to exactly as you're saying, just like pause, you know, allow yourself to connect with your own body and just kind of figure out where you're at.
00:02:44
Speaker
And maybe even, you know, I'm sure you
00:02:47
Speaker
teach this as well.
00:02:48
Speaker
Like, what is it that you're needing right now?
00:02:50
Speaker
Right?
00:02:50
Speaker
Because I bet once you get really good at it, you start to kind of notice that is that I see you nodding.
00:02:55
Speaker
So what are your thoughts on that?
00:02:58
Speaker
100%.
00:02:58
Speaker
And especially when we later on,
00:03:01
Speaker
moving, whether it's with Pilates or workouts in general, this is something that has not traditionally been taught.
00:03:07
Speaker
It's go in for your hour-long workout.
00:03:10
Speaker
It's always going to be challenging in nature.
00:03:13
Speaker
And yet we know from both a physical perspective and just also our nervous system hygiene that that more challenging full-length workout isn't always going to be helpful, especially if we are in
00:03:27
Speaker
a period where we're doing more.
00:03:29
Speaker
For instance, right now, my kids are back into school.
00:03:33
Speaker
So it's a time for not only my work and my workout routine, but I'm volunteering with the kids activities more and my weekends are more full than they were during the summer.
00:03:44
Speaker
And so this is going to impact what's going to be most beneficial for something that's sustainable.
00:03:50
Speaker
And it takes off, I would say it takes off
00:03:54
Speaker
workouts from a half to do that, or I really should do it too.
00:03:59
Speaker
This is really benefiting me more than just like getting in a good workout.
Beth's Pilates Journey and Online Offerings
00:04:04
Speaker
We know that's healthy for our body and all the benefits.
00:04:08
Speaker
This is actually helping me be a better parent.
00:04:13
Speaker
Very, very true.
00:04:14
Speaker
I, um,
00:04:17
Speaker
Man, that's if only we could get everybody to kind of realize that taking that step back and, you know, doing that self-care and things like that can really help benefit you in just not just yourself, but your whole entire family.
00:04:31
Speaker
So I want to hear more about Pilates.
00:04:33
Speaker
Like, how did you get into it?
00:04:35
Speaker
Why are you passionate about it?
00:04:37
Speaker
And how did you get to own a studio?
00:04:39
Speaker
I know that's a lot all in there, but there's got to be a lot, a big story behind that.
00:04:44
Speaker
There is, and it's been about a 20-year journey.
00:04:47
Speaker
I've been teaching for over 20 years now.
00:04:49
Speaker
Before that, I just started Pilates because I wanted to try a new type of workout.
00:04:55
Speaker
I had been going to the gym, and about a year prior before I got into Pilates, I was actually diagnosed with cancer.
00:05:05
Speaker
My cancer journey was and still is one of the reasons why I really like to have
00:05:11
Speaker
a consistent workout routine because I know how it feels not to feel good, not to be able to be there for not only myself, but my family.
00:05:21
Speaker
And what happened is over the years, Pilates, I've done many iterations from working in a traditional Pilates studio to having it a little bit more part-time and working on the university campus as a health educator and teaching Pilates math classes.
00:05:36
Speaker
And I realized that for me, my path,
00:05:40
Speaker
was not necessarily opening up a brick and mortar Pilates studio.
00:05:44
Speaker
So even though I am located in Colorado, I focus all on online offerings.
00:05:50
Speaker
And one of the reasons why is I'm mom.
00:05:53
Speaker
And whether it was I was working part-time in the Pilates studio, my kiddos were teeny tiny, or my kids got older and I was working full-time, that I always had the most consistent Pilates practice from my very own home.
Pilates for Energy and Parenting
00:06:07
Speaker
And I think that was my hesitancy to open up the traditional brick and mortar model is that's not where I've ever been successful doing Pilates.
00:06:17
Speaker
Because sure, I can do a full length class at home.
00:06:20
Speaker
But many times, like today, it's going to be a 30 minute Pilates session because that's what fits in for my day.
00:06:28
Speaker
And that's what's going to be most beneficial.
00:06:31
Speaker
So that's kind of the trajectory of how I got started in Pilates and where I am right now.
00:06:38
Speaker
That's great.
00:06:39
Speaker
I love it.
00:06:40
Speaker
Anything you can do at home just makes life easier.
00:06:43
Speaker
You don't have to drive somewhere.
00:06:44
Speaker
So that's awesome.
00:06:45
Speaker
So how does Pilates help a mom maintain energy?
00:06:49
Speaker
Because I know that that is like probably the core foundation of what a mom needs is energy.
00:06:54
Speaker
So how does that help?
00:06:56
Speaker
I think that when we tune into that energy perspective, one takes the pressure off of workouts, which is amazing.
00:07:03
Speaker
And it gives a mom great opportunity to evaluate, well, is it that full length class is going to be helpful or something shorter?
00:07:11
Speaker
Is it something that's going to boost energy or to recharge you?
00:07:16
Speaker
And what I mean by that is if a workout is faster and more challenging, that hopefully is boosting your energy.
00:07:24
Speaker
Then there's Pilates classes that are going to be a little bit more slower in pace, maybe working on refining how you move.
00:07:32
Speaker
And for a lot of people who move with those types of classes, we call those restorative or connect style classes at Trifecta Pilates.
00:07:40
Speaker
It actually is a space where they feel like they have more energy after they leave the mat and then are recharging because the workout isn't, I don't want to use the word depleting.
00:07:52
Speaker
What I'm going to say is it doesn't use the same amount of energy as a higher intensity workout.
00:07:58
Speaker
And so if we're considering that during our week or weeks, we're in a phase where there's a lot of energy expenditure because we're managing new schedules, we're
00:08:10
Speaker
you know, volunteering, we're taking our kids to different activities, and it may not make sense, especially if we're starting a new routine to go right away into that higher, more vigorous workout, it could be more beneficial to ease into it from a time perspective, and the style of Pilates class you're taking.
Aligned Action and Family Dynamics
00:08:31
Speaker
And that in that way, I found a lot of moms have
00:08:36
Speaker
seeing that they're more consistent with workouts rather than trying one full length high intensity workout.
00:08:41
Speaker
I'm thinking, Oh my gosh, I'm just so tired the next day.
00:08:43
Speaker
You know, it's too much.
00:08:45
Speaker
And then not working out for a long period of time.
00:08:48
Speaker
And if we just turn that back a little bit and tune into different ways to move, it becomes more motivating to do so.
00:08:56
Speaker
Hmm.
00:08:58
Speaker
Yes, I love that because it's all about, again, tuning into your body and what do you need?
00:09:02
Speaker
What would be helpful right now?
00:09:04
Speaker
And, you know, kind of going with what your body is telling you.
00:09:07
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:09:08
Speaker
And so can you tell us about your philosophy of aligned action?
00:09:13
Speaker
Kind of explain what that is and tell us about it.
00:09:16
Speaker
Aligned action is really taking the opportunity to center yourself in the present.
00:09:21
Speaker
And this means not reflecting back
00:09:24
Speaker
five or 10 years ago with what worked really well for your workout routine and not going so far forward that it's like, well, when I have time, I'm going to start working out.
00:09:35
Speaker
Or if I had the perfect day, then I'd be able to fit in workouts.
00:09:39
Speaker
It's what is your reality at this present moment and just taking time to sit with that and accept it.
00:09:46
Speaker
And for so many moms, I know it's, we are here so much for our children.
00:09:52
Speaker
And we also need to be here for us because when we fill our own cup by taking aligned action, it actually helps the family dynamics overall.
00:10:02
Speaker
And so aligned action could be that you're going to get to bed on time and get off social media.
00:10:09
Speaker
Now, if you're a night owl like me, that may be a challenging element to focus on.
00:10:16
Speaker
Or perhaps it's starting with a five-minute workout because what you want to focus on is having that routine be more consistent and not going into, I think, too far too deep is what it is.
00:10:32
Speaker
And then we just have the self-fulfilling prophecy of, oh, you know what?
00:10:35
Speaker
I can't work out.
00:10:37
Speaker
It doesn't work out well for me at this point.
00:10:40
Speaker
And I used to always think that I could not work out.
00:10:43
Speaker
Even though I've been moving with Pilates for 20 years, if I turn back the clock in middle school, high school, I was like, I don't work out.
00:10:52
Speaker
This isn't for me.
00:10:53
Speaker
But what's beautiful now is that we know there's so many different opportunities in which we can move to take aligned action.
00:11:02
Speaker
Perhaps it's working out at home with Pilates or you want to try a dance class again because you really liked that as a child and you want to get out of the house a little bit.
00:11:12
Speaker
So there's so many opportunities and what can be helpful is just focus on what lights you up, what's exciting and how to do that in a way that makes sense for you and your family.
Beginner Advice and Setting Boundaries
00:11:23
Speaker
Hmm.
00:11:24
Speaker
I like what you said about that because so many times it's like we have this checklist in our brains or a goal to work out.
00:11:32
Speaker
And so then it almost becomes this like negative chore or something you have to like check off the list.
00:11:37
Speaker
But instead it's like, what's fun?
00:11:39
Speaker
What feels good?
00:11:40
Speaker
What do you like?
00:11:41
Speaker
What do you enjoy?
00:11:42
Speaker
And that way you, it's like you want to do it instead of kind of like being forced to do it.
00:11:46
Speaker
So that sounds, you know, much more exciting for me and much more enjoyable.
00:11:51
Speaker
So what advice would you give
00:11:53
Speaker
a mom who is just starting Pilates, who's never tried it before?
00:11:58
Speaker
And what are some common obstacles?
00:12:01
Speaker
Some common obstacles are definitely the time, lack of time.
00:12:05
Speaker
How am I going to fit this into my schedule?
00:12:08
Speaker
Feeling like you have to do the most challenging exercises for it to be beneficial as well.
00:12:14
Speaker
And if you work out at home, I would say setting boundaries with your family.
00:12:18
Speaker
So I'll address all of these for setting boundaries with your family.
00:12:22
Speaker
A strategy that I've used with my family from teenagers to even husband is before I go down to work out, I'm going to work out.
00:12:31
Speaker
Do you need anything for me?
00:12:32
Speaker
So if they're in the home, I'm letting them know this is my time.
00:12:37
Speaker
And they have learned over time.
00:12:38
Speaker
If they walk down those basement stairs and they ask me a question, if it's not an emergency,
00:12:44
Speaker
I'll come talk to you afterwards.
00:12:47
Speaker
And so I have to recommit to that.
00:12:49
Speaker
And it's something so simple, but I think that our children are so used to having instant access to us all the time.
00:12:57
Speaker
And not only is that helpful for myself to set those boundaries, but they also know, oh, they have to plan sometimes.
00:13:04
Speaker
Not just going to drop my workout routine because
00:13:08
Speaker
They have a question about homework.
00:13:10
Speaker
Now, of course, I have stepped off the mat for emergencies.
00:13:14
Speaker
Like there are always going to be exceptions.
00:13:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:17
Speaker
The next is start with workouts that are far easier than you think that you can do.
00:13:24
Speaker
This reminded me of, I went to a class once with someone who hadn't worked out in a few years.
00:13:30
Speaker
And afterwards she goes, that seemed like it should be so easy, but it was actually so hard.
00:13:36
Speaker
So even if we are moving throughout the day, if we haven't worked out in a long time, it's going to take some time and some practice to get that back in our body.
00:13:46
Speaker
And I have definitely stepped on the mat and done a workout where the next day it's like, oh man, I'm really sore.
00:13:53
Speaker
I don't feel like moving at all.
00:13:55
Speaker
And what I realized is when I did that in my past, that it didn't actually help motivate me to work out that day or the following day.
00:14:04
Speaker
So if we turn down that dial of intensity and the workout seems easy at first, that's okay because we're just starting and establishing a routine.
00:14:12
Speaker
We'll get that intensity over time.
00:14:15
Speaker
And then number three would be start short and
Adaptability in Workouts
00:14:18
Speaker
mention five minutes.
00:14:19
Speaker
Maybe you want to do 10, maybe you want to do 15.
00:14:22
Speaker
Don't feel like you have to even do 30 minutes.
00:14:26
Speaker
And at the very beginning, I talked about the pause.
00:14:29
Speaker
What I realized is sometimes I was trying to squeeze in a workout so much into my schedule.
00:14:34
Speaker
I was like rushing downstairs to the basement and then rushing back upstairs to do work and then rushing to go volunteer that that actually wasn't helpful for my nervous system.
00:14:44
Speaker
It did not feel good.
00:14:46
Speaker
And so I made a choice.
00:14:48
Speaker
If I have to shorten the workout by five or 10 minutes and I can have more pause,
00:14:53
Speaker
that's actually going to be so much more beneficial and more motivating to continue to work out.
00:14:59
Speaker
So those are the three elements.
00:15:01
Speaker
Set boundaries, start with something maybe easier than you think you should, and start with shorter classes.
00:15:08
Speaker
Yeah, those are all great.
00:15:09
Speaker
That's such great advice.
00:15:10
Speaker
But the third one, for sure, I wouldn't have necessarily thought of.
00:15:14
Speaker
But that's great, right?
00:15:15
Speaker
It's like you're going to get a better workout, and you're going to be more engaged and excited and in the moment if you just take...
00:15:21
Speaker
that moment to do the pause and then you'll be more engaged.
00:15:25
Speaker
Okay.
00:15:26
Speaker
I love it.
00:15:26
Speaker
So what about people, moms who are in different stages of life?
00:15:33
Speaker
Like there's, you know, the new mom, there's the, you know, you and I are kind of in the same stage of life with like the teenagers.
00:15:40
Speaker
And then there's, you know, the kind of left the nest.
00:15:43
Speaker
So how can Pilates help all ages?
00:15:47
Speaker
I think it's a time to center ourselves as a person when we're coming to the mat.
00:15:54
Speaker
And sometimes that means when our kiddos were little, maybe it was them playing alongside next to us.
00:16:00
Speaker
And yes, they're going to crawl on us.
00:16:03
Speaker
Like when my kids were teeny tiny, that was a reality.
00:16:06
Speaker
And at first, sometimes I would get really frustrated with that.
00:16:09
Speaker
Like just need alone time.
00:16:10
Speaker
And what I realized is that was not helpful because I
00:16:15
Speaker
I wanted my kids, I wanted to be there for them.
00:16:19
Speaker
And being more adaptable for myself is also good role modeling to them.
00:16:25
Speaker
But yes, even though now I'm at a life stage where I'm going down to work out, I'm setting a boundary, a teenager is much different than my two year old when they were two years old.
00:16:36
Speaker
So I think being open to those fluctuations is really helpful.
00:16:41
Speaker
And when we set
00:16:43
Speaker
Maybe it's, I want to work out five days a week, knowing that we have other responsibilities.
00:16:50
Speaker
So if we have to merge workouts, which is something we can do, maybe you're used to doing shorter 20 minute classes and on Friday, you know, that it's just not going to be helpful for you to do that workout.
00:17:04
Speaker
You can merge it on a Thursday and it's always okay to skip a workout.
00:17:09
Speaker
This is something I don't feel like we talk about enough.
00:17:13
Speaker
And there's a lot of new, how do I want to frame this?
00:17:18
Speaker
There's a lot of toxicity when it comes to consistency with workouts.
00:17:22
Speaker
Consistent doesn't mean constant.
00:17:25
Speaker
And especially with some apps, it's you track your workout and people get so obsessed with having a check mark every day.
00:17:34
Speaker
Like I heard on the podcast recently, someone who,
00:17:37
Speaker
Literally started doing a spin class at midnight.
00:17:41
Speaker
Now that's not beneficial for our overall health.
00:17:43
Speaker
That's prioritizing workouts to the extreme.
00:17:48
Speaker
Healthy lifestyle workouts is just one small part of it.
00:17:52
Speaker
Should not be all consuming.
00:17:55
Speaker
And I don't want you working out.
00:17:57
Speaker
spin class at 12 o'clock at night.
00:17:59
Speaker
If you have insomnia, maybe you do a little bit of movements to try to, you know, relax a little bit more, but I'm never going to advocate that you have to have all the check marks for every single day of the week.
00:18:12
Speaker
Being more adaptable is the number one way in which we can be more consistent and have a sustainable workout program that feels motivating and lights us up rather than
00:18:25
Speaker
Like we have to do this.
Nervous System Hygiene and Curiosity
00:18:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:28
Speaker
And I think you did end up nailing the perfect word, which is toxicity.
00:18:32
Speaker
You know, sometimes it's like we're working so hard to be good and feel good that it becomes our identity.
00:18:39
Speaker
And if we kind of fail at that goal, we almost like have that shame and blame and guilt.
00:18:45
Speaker
And so I imagine that's what people are trying to avoid by getting all those check marks, right?
00:18:49
Speaker
They want to feel good, but you're kind of like busting that myth wide open and say, it doesn't have to be that way.
00:18:55
Speaker
You can kind of change
00:18:57
Speaker
your view on how these things happen and you know be sensible about it don't go work out at midnight it doesn't make any sense so I love it all right this has been great and what else you know that we what else have we not covered because I know there's so much to this and it's kind of hard to like nail it all down so what do you feel like we haven't talked about yet I would say being curious and
00:19:24
Speaker
Curiosity is something that most of us instill in our children and that courage to explore new elements and new activities.
00:19:33
Speaker
I don't know about you, but with my kids, like they tried baseball and soccer, all these different activities.
00:19:39
Speaker
And it took them a really long time to kind of figure out what they enjoy.
00:19:44
Speaker
And even with that, there was a learning curve.
00:19:47
Speaker
And if they didn't enjoy it,
00:19:49
Speaker
you know, their softball right away.
00:19:50
Speaker
It wasn't, I'm going to pull you out of that.
00:19:52
Speaker
We're going to try something else.
00:19:53
Speaker
And I feel like that happens a lot when we turn into adults that all of a sudden we don't give ourselves the time or the compassion just to stick with it and learn and enjoy that process.
00:20:07
Speaker
Let it unfold.
00:20:09
Speaker
So I always say, when you start something new, give it at least three chances, unless you really don't like it.
00:20:18
Speaker
The first time most likely is going to be the most awkward because you have no idea who the teacher is or what's going to be coming your way.
00:20:27
Speaker
But guess what?
00:20:28
Speaker
You come back the second time, especially if you move with the same exact class because you work out at home.
00:20:33
Speaker
So you press play on the same workout.
00:20:35
Speaker
It's going to feel more familiar.
00:20:38
Speaker
And then that third class is a good litmus test.
00:20:40
Speaker
Like, is this something I want to continue?
00:20:43
Speaker
So at least give it some time.
00:20:45
Speaker
And just speak to yourself as kindly as you speak to your children.
00:20:51
Speaker
Wow, that's wonderful advice.
00:20:53
Speaker
I love that.
00:20:54
Speaker
So I think that's so great to just give something a chance, be curious, you know, even do the same workout twice so you can see how it feels the second time or the third time versus the first time.
00:21:05
Speaker
So that's awesome.
00:21:06
Speaker
Okay, last question.
00:21:08
Speaker
I need to come back to a term I've never heard that I heard you say, which is nervous system hygiene.
00:21:14
Speaker
I have never heard it put that way.
00:21:15
Speaker
So tell me about that.
00:21:18
Speaker
Well, I actually just came up with the hygiene part while we were having this conversation, but why I used it was because we talk about the overall, the nervous system and I'm speaking specifically about the autonomic nervous system.
00:21:31
Speaker
There's the sympathetic, which is yes, it has fight or flight mechanism, but also with workouts and energizing and emergency.
00:21:39
Speaker
So we use that a lot.
00:21:41
Speaker
And then there's the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest more soothing.
00:21:47
Speaker
In some ways, there's another gear to that, which can lead to detachment, which hopefully we're keeping things positive, social connections with ourselves or others.
00:21:56
Speaker
And so when I spoke about nervous system hygiene, it's what does your nervous system need in the present?
00:22:02
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Back to that aligned action.
00:22:04
Speaker
So if our life is really busy, it's filled with a to-do list, we're going from activity to activity, most likely,
00:22:13
Speaker
we're stuck in a sympathetic nervous system response, just go and go, which actually doesn't allow us time to tune in.
00:22:20
Speaker
And what does our body need?
00:22:22
Speaker
So it goes back to just even taking a moment to pause can help us identify with that.
00:22:28
Speaker
And we use that information to what makes sense for our food intake, for sleep, for stress reduction, for workouts.
00:22:39
Speaker
And all of these elements are like a,
00:22:42
Speaker
soup for a lack of better words or stew where they all mingle together.
00:22:46
Speaker
When we're making a soup, it's very hard to parse out what is, you know, the ingredient.
00:22:52
Speaker
There may be a star ingredient.
00:22:53
Speaker
Like if you have making a potato leek soup, potatoes and leeks, but it's not just potatoes and leeks in there that make the soup.
00:23:01
Speaker
It comes all together.
00:23:04
Speaker
And most likely your potato leek soup recipe, if you have that, it might be a little bit different than mine because you found what works well for you.
00:23:14
Speaker
So back to nervous system hygiene, it's knowing when does it make sense to ramp up the energy and focus on workouts?
00:23:23
Speaker
When does it not?
00:23:24
Speaker
So as an example, I found that Mondays generally are really great days for me to do more challenging workouts.
00:23:32
Speaker
Because the weekends, I have had more time to rest and relax compared to Monday through Friday.
00:23:38
Speaker
Wednesday, it's like, okay, we're midweek, but I'm a little bit more tired from everything going on.
00:23:44
Speaker
So I don't pair my higher energy workouts on those days.
00:23:48
Speaker
Well, that's generally what worked well for me.
00:23:51
Speaker
But I was sitting right here in my office chair one Monday and thinking, I am not motivated to work out today.
00:23:57
Speaker
What is going on?
00:23:58
Speaker
Like I've been so consistent.
00:24:00
Speaker
And I had this light bulb moment
00:24:02
Speaker
Oh my goodness.
00:24:04
Speaker
For the past three months, my weekends have not been like relaxing.
00:24:10
Speaker
And on Saturdays with one child at their activities on Sundays, volleyball tournaments all day were their activities.
00:24:19
Speaker
And so I was going into the week, not with that rest.
00:24:23
Speaker
They usually was.
00:24:25
Speaker
So instead of just saying, I'm just not going to work out today.
00:24:27
Speaker
No, what would be beneficial for me?
00:24:29
Speaker
Because I know that movement feels good.
00:24:32
Speaker
I leave the day feeling like I have more energy.
00:24:36
Speaker
So I decided to do something much more restorative and slow for my Pilates class.
00:24:41
Speaker
Felt better in my body.
00:24:44
Speaker
Was more motivated to work out the next day.
00:24:46
Speaker
So that's really what I'm talking about with nervous system hygiene.
00:24:50
Speaker
is that we may get into a rhythm or cadence that really feels good, but what happens as parents, this can change and shift dramatically because we have other people relying on us.
00:25:03
Speaker
And I'm a firm believer that Pilates is always gonna be here for you, especially the full-length classes.
00:25:09
Speaker
And if it makes sense to scale back, because that's what's beneficial from a time perspective or your nervous system,
00:25:17
Speaker
celebrate and move with that.
Connect with Beth Sandlin
00:25:21
Speaker
That's so great.
00:25:22
Speaker
I love it.
00:25:23
Speaker
It was such a great description of that the nervous system hygiene.
00:25:25
Speaker
It's like, you know, I thought of like flossing your brain, but it's really like flossing your body like but really like saying, what do I need?
00:25:33
Speaker
How do I need it?
00:25:34
Speaker
You know, what feels good and wonderful.
00:25:37
Speaker
Okay, so how do people find you online?
00:25:41
Speaker
It's really easy.
00:25:42
Speaker
Trifectapilates.com for the website, or you can join me on YouTube as well at Trifecta Pilates.
00:25:51
Speaker
Oh, cool.
00:25:51
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:52
Speaker
Well, I'm definitely going to hop on and join one of your classes.
00:25:55
Speaker
I'm so excited.
00:25:56
Speaker
And I really enjoyed the conversation today.
00:25:58
Speaker
So thank you so much.
00:26:00
Speaker
And thank you as well.
00:26:01
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:04
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Positively Healthy Mom podcast because there's no manual for the hardest job in the world.
00:26:11
Speaker
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