This month marks seasonal transition. The smells change, the flavors change, the temperatures change – it’s boot and sweater season! There is a slowing down or lessening of movement; from a basic physiological standpoint, we all move more slowly in colder temperature (even our cells). You can slow swelling with ice just as you can slow the cooking process with cold water.
This also happens to be Osteoporosis Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In our work with clients living with these diagnoses, we have found that movement is deeply important. Movement can not only support prevention and rehabilitation, but there is also an added layer of healing how their identity changes based on how their body changes. When someone accepts “I have breast cancer” or “I have osteoporosis,” they might cycle through some of these thoughts:
- I have to have surgery.
- I have to have chemo/radiation.
- My body is going to change its composition forever.
- My day to day routine will change, and I may not be able to do the things I need/want for a while.
OR
- I had no idea my bones were at risk.
- I have to be very careful how I move in my body.
- I can’t do the exercise or activities I used to.
- My bones are vulnerable.
When I think of the impact of these two diagnoses, I see how it connects to this season of slowing down, as well as the work we do with our clients. Here are some of the ways these are all connected.
Slowing Down
We often ask clients to slow down their movement in an exercise so that they can more consciously feel their body during the motion and make corrections as needed. Slowing down the pace of movement also gives them a chance to notice how their body responds as the exercise progresses – how does the feeling of the movement change over repetition/time? A client recently told us she is noticing a new relationship with nature since she decided to take up longer walks over running. Another client shared that the act of physically slowing down is informing her meditation practice. You can even extend this idea to how our emotions inform our actions.
Going Inward
This is the act of building an internal mirror. By turning your focus inward, you can practice building awareness of your body in space and how your body feels doing an exercise. It also builds up trust or intuition in your body.
Body’s Relationship to Identity
For better or worse, what our bodies are and are not able to do physically can often inform how we label ourselves and how we think of our identity. In this way, our physical body can contain a story about who we are or who we think we are.
For example: I have a herniated disc. I have back pain that I feel in everything I do. I am injured. I cannot play tennis anymore. I can’t go to the gym. It’s hard to walk. I can’t pick things up by myself. I am reliant on others. I am not strong. I am fragile. I am not well. I am less than I used to be.
Or: I don’t have any injuries. I can do all my favorite things without pain (pain doesn’t even occur to me). I am a tennis player. I am a runner. I am strong and self-sufficient. I am healthy.
It’s important to add that these thoughts and ideas do not just happen internally. There are messages everywhere about what we are capable of and where our bodies are welcome – workout apparel with models of only one tiny body type and skin color, machines that are not functional/accessible for the vastly varying bodies that could benefit from a mindful movement practice like Pilates, all or nothing language communicating that only some are capable. This messaging reinforces how we conceive of our identities, making it even more important to practice slowing down and going inward so that we can see ourselves as whole and strong regardless of what our bodies can and can’t do in any given moment.
Client Spotlight
This month, we are celebrating a client that came to us with pelvic floor dysfunction that was getting in the way of her day to day life and taking up lots of mental space to merely manage. Recently, we’ve been noticing in sessions how her association with pain, soreness, and “flare ups” has changed drastically. She has gone from being very nervous about small exercises and isolated movement to strengthen her hips, to doing more intense at-home workouts, recognizing when she needs to make modifications and making them, and coming out of the workouts the next day feeling good about her soreness rather than scared.
Seeing this progress in herself has led her to the goal of evolving our work to prepare her to rekindle her childhood relationship with ice skating! We are very excited for her!
Healing Movement Sessions for Breast Cancer
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’re offering complimentary sessions to anyone who has been or is currently going through treatment for breast cancer for the last two weeks of October. If you would like to book a session to learn how you can move through the Pilates method in a safe way, address specific issues related to your treatment process, and improve how you move through your day to day, please email us at move@thecopilates.com.
Beautiful Bones Workshop
When The Co team member, Colleen, was diagnosed with osteoporosis a little over a year ago after a routine bone density test, it came as quite a surprise. Colleen has always been active, weight trained, and had virtually no symptoms. To realize that your bones – the building blocks of stability – are unstable is emotionally and physically challenging, to say the least.
Colleen's osteoporosis has influenced her approach for moving her body and how she teaches others to move. It has also inspired her to shed more light on what's possible despite this diagnosis, which is why we are so excited that she’s leading the second iteration of this very special workshop this month!
Join us on Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30pm EDT to learn what an osteoporosis diagnosis means, how it can affect your identity and relationship with your body, and how to move through it safely. This workshop will be part informational and part conversational, with an opportunity to move this knowledge through your body at the end.
Workshops With The Alchemist’s Kitchen
I am truly ecstatic to share that I’ll be partnering with The Alchemist’s Kitchen to lead two workshops in November:
Moving Through The Chakras on Saturday, November 14th at 10:00 AM EST
Mindful Movement For Better Sex on Saturday, November 21st at 10:00 AM EST
Keep an eye on their website so you can learn more and secure your spot when registration opens up.
Referral Program
A referral is the kindest compliment you could give us. If you think we would be a good fit for anyone you know, please consider spreading the word about the work we do together. For any new clients that may come our way as a result of your kind words, we would love to gift you an additional session to any current package you have with us. They can always schedule a call using the link below.
And, if you are part of or know a social justice organization looking for wellness support and collaboration for their clients or employees, please consider connecting us.