BodyBalance Christchurch

Happy summer solstice!

Today we celebrate the longest day of the year, the official start to summer and a powerful time of renewal and growth. ☀️

Today is the perfect day to embrace the light within and all around us. It’s an opportunity to set intentions for the season ahead, release any lingering negativity, and welcome abundance and positivity into our lives. ✨

Take a moment today to be fully present in nature, honour the vibrant energy of the summer solstice, absorb the sun's invigorating rays and appreciate the joy that this day brings. 🌻

Wishing you all a beautiful solstice. Namaste. 💛

In ancestral times, the beginning of winter marked a sacred and deeply symbolic time. Now celebrated by many as the winter solstice, this shortest and darkest day of the year begins our return to brighter months ahead.

In the modern world, the shift into winter is often barely registered. However, when life carries on regardless of the season, we miss the opportunity to connect with nature and our deeper selves, and we forego the lesson that Mother Earth is sharing with us outside.

Ancient cultures such as the Celts, Druids, Inca, Maya, Maori, Egyptians, and many others, all celebrated the solstice. In Chinese Taoist tradition, the winter solstice is considered the most yin (feminine, dark, damp) day of the year - a time when energy comes to a momentary pause, before giving birth to yang (masculine, light, heat).

Yin and yang form the basis of traditional Chinese medicine - one cannot exist without the other, and these two seemingly opposing forces are intimately connected and complementary. This lovely concept tells us that we need darkness, quiet, stillness, healing and rest, just as much as we need activity, sound and light.

As the solstice serves as a reminder that the winter months are a time to rejuvenate body and soul, we hope you enjoy our Christmas break and the opportunity for self-nurturing that the shorter days and longer nights present.

Much love and light. ❤️✨

The soundtrack to our latest workout - here are the track listings for BB100. How are you enjoying the music and moves in this latest release?

Happy Easter from BodyBalance Christchurch! 🐥🐰 ​​​​​​​​​​​​
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​​​However you are celebrating today, we hope you have a wonderful time enjoying the rest and the beautiful sunshine. ☀️ It's a perfect day to take a moment to reflect on all of the good things in o​​​​​ur world.

Remember that there is no class tomorrow as it's Easter Monday. The Wednesday and Friday classes are running as normal this coming week and we look forward to seeing you at one of those instead! 💚

This week we launched BB99, which features a strong focus on postural strength. 💚

Have you tried this new workout yet? If so, we'd love to know what you think!

Or, if you haven't been able to make it to class the week, why not check out our latest blog post to find out what’s in store.

BodyBalance 99 Highlights — BodyBalance Christchurch This latest creation for spring 2023 has a strong focus on postural strength, with powerful sequences that target the upper half of the posterior chain. Our tai-chi warm up brings us into our breath and our bodies, with an easy first round creating presence and a more immersive second round taking

Sending love to all of our BodyBalance mothers and grandmothers and anyone who is celebrating Mother's Day a bit differently today...

🌸 If you have lost a mother
🌸 If you have lost a child
🌸 If your mother or child is sick
🌸 If you wish to become a mother
🌸 If you have not been blessed with children
🌸 If you have chosen not to become a mother
🌸 If you have had to do it all alone
🌸 If you have a difficult relationship with your mother
🌸 If you have a difficult relationship with your child
🌸 If you are a mother to fur babies

You are special and we appreciate you all. Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing everyone a happy weekend. 💚

Happy St Patrick's Day! ☘️

We often talk about engaging our glutes during class, so we thought you might be interested to learn more about these super-important muscles...

As the largest and strongest group of muscles in the body, the 3 gluteals (comprised of the maximus, medius and minimus, AKA the ‘glutes’) work together to stabilise the pelvis and upper body and facilitate locomotion by extending and rotating the hip.

Unfortunately, in our modern world of prolonged periods of sitting, many of us have weak glutes and tight hips, leading to problems with the spine, knees, shoulders, and even the feet.

Every BodyBalance class includes a variety of exercises which will activate and strengthen the glutes. Poses such as warriors, squats, lunges, bridge, pointer, hovers, table top, all the back bends, and even the balances, are really effective in targeting this area.

Reduced hip mobility is another common concern where BodyBalance can help. Each class incorporates a number of hip opening poses like swan and half lotus which focus on stretching the glutes, along with seated and lying twists which lengthen the entire posterior kinetic chain.

The glutes are also active when we’re not consciously aware of them. We can observe the effect of this in our general posture and in class when standing in poses such as mountain.

If something doesn’t feel right with your hips, back or knees, it could be that your glutes are not firing correctly. Learn to engage them consciously by squeezing them prior to moving into poses which use them – for example, before lifting the hips in bridge or before taking the back bend in angel balance – so that you can feel them working.

Of course, please come and chat to Hannah before or after class if you would like a little 1:1 biomechanics coaching to ensure you are using your glutes effectively.

Invest some time in optimising your glute function and your body will definitely thank you for it!

Be well. ❤️

Having switched to BodyBalance United last week, a few of you have been asking for the track listings... so here they are!

United is fluid, calm and spacious - just what we need in the build up to Christmas.

Highlights include beautiful choreography and dramatic music in the balance track, simplicity with lots of options to explore in the hip track, and powerful postural strength with dolphin pose in the core back track, as well as the shortest track ever at just over a minute long!

We'll be running BodyBalance United right up until our Christmas break so you still have 3 weeks left to come and experience everything this magical release has to offer.

We wish you a very happy Halloween! 🎃

Have fun and stay healthy. 🖤

What a beautiful sentiment. Wishing everyone a happy weekend filled with simplicity. 💚

September Newsletter & Back-To-School Special Offer -

September Newsletter & Back-To-School Special Offer Happy first of September! I hope you are enjoying the end of a wonderful summer, after finally taking postponed holidays, visiting family abroad, catching up with friends you haven’t seen for a while, and making the most of the beautiful part of the world in which we live. 😎

In BodyBalance 96 there is a big focus on triangle pose.

Trikonasana, as it is known in Sanskrit, is a strong pose which connects us to the earth and our breath, improving presence and balancing body and mind.

Triangle offers many benefits in terms of strength, balance and flexibility. The wide stance and spinal rotation strengthen and stretch the legs and back, whilst opening the heart, activating the core muscles and stimulating the digestive organs.

Some of us will find triangle comfortable, and others will need to adapt. Wherever you are, good technique will lead to improvement over time.

Here are Hannah’s top tips for getting the most out of this wonderful pose:

🔘 Step your feet out wide and parallel, with your ankles are placed under your wrists when your arms are stretched out to your sides.

🔘 Turn the foot on your lead leg out at 90°, roughly lining the heel up with the arch of your other foot.

🔘 With your arms wide, draw up into your sit bones and then extend your torso over your lead leg, aiming to keep both sides of your rib cage long.

🔘 Touch down with your bottom hand wherever it reaches, open up the top shoulder and reach up straight with the top arm.

🔘 Maintain softness in the knee on the lead leg with a micro-bend.

🔘 If your lower back feels stiff, rest the bottom hand higher on the lead leg, or if your inner thigh is tight, bend the knee on the lead leg more.

🔘 To increase the intensity, you can float the bottom hand, engaging your core muscles to stabilise your torso.

🔘 Keep your neck long, in line with the rest of your spine – look down or forwards if this feels comfortable or challenge your balance by looking up to your top hand.

🔘 Spread your toes, draw your energy up through your legs into the core of your body and out through your heart, honour where your body is today and breathe into the feeling of expansion.

Is triangle one of your favourites? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

As always, please chat to us before or after class if you would like further guidance on this or any other pose. We are always happy to offer individual coaching on how a pose should feel and how to adapt it specifically for you. 💚

Many of you have been asking if we take a break during August, so we wanted to let you know that all of our live classes are running as normal, apart from Monday 29th, when we will be enjoying a day off and hopefully some bank holiday sunshine! ☀️

Even though it's often be a little quieter at this time of the year, we believe that it is really important to maintain continuity for those of you who are able to attend. And with our flexible booking and payment options, you can simply mix and match with whichever classes suit.

Summer is also a great time to share the amazing benefits of BodyBalance with your favourite people. We're running a first class half price special offer throughout this month, so why not invite some of your family members and friends to join you?

If you can't make any of our live classes during the week, you don't have to miss out! We offer a livestream class on a Saturday morning and a special discounted rate for the LesMills+ suite of on demand workouts. Please visit our website or get in touch if you would like further details of one or both of these options.

At the dawn of time, we lived in harmony with ourselves and our surroundings. We acknowledged our truth, value, beauty and connection as part of the divine nature that is in each and every one of us.

It’s just 2 weeks now until we launch BB96, the newest BodyBalance creation!

With a beautiful flow from start to finish, we’re excited to share this wonderful release with you.

Check out our latest blog post to find out what’s in store. 💚

BodyBalance 96 Highlights — BodyBalance Christchurch The new release for summer 2022 is almost here and we’re excited for you to experience this latest creation, which feels fluid, expansive and powerful! We begin with movements which are simple and immersive. Tai-chi bow and arrow sequences warm and mobilise, as we focus the breath to connect deepl...

Start your week feeling calm, centred and energised. 🧘🏼‍♀️🧘🏾

BodyBalance is an amazing holistic workout which will bring your body into a state of harmony and balance.

Bend and stretch through a series of simple yoga moves combined with elements of tai-chi and Pilates, while an inspiring soundtrack plays in the background.

It's the perfect way to start your Monday and your week! 💚

Our lovely Sam is back from her holiday today and there are still a few spaces left in her 9:30am class if you would like to join us. Click on the link below to reserve your place.

https://bit.ly/3xK9HcV

LesMills+ is the perfect solution for when things get in the way and you can't make it to a live class.

Featuring all of your favourite BodyBalance releases PLUS the entire catalogue of Les Mills programmes, this suite of on-demand workouts offers something for everyone.

BodyBalance Christchurch class members also benefit from a 30 day free trial, followed by a 33% discount on the regular monthly subscription fee!

There's no contract and you can cancel any time.

Interested? Click on the link to find out more - http://link.lesmillsondemand.com/SH1K0

Wishing you peace, happiness and lots of fun this sunny weekend. 🧡

Most of our classes are running as normal during the Easter school holidays, with the exception of Friday 15 April (Good Friday) and Monday 18 April (Easter Monday).

As always, you are welcome to come along to whichever class suits. Mix and match or enjoy an extra day off - it's up to you! 🐣🐥

Today we honour all mothers across the world. 🌷

To our BodyBalance mothers and grandmothers, we wish you a wonderful day with your children and grandchildren, celebrating the amazing gift that is YOU. 🌸

To any mothers who have been displaced by recent events, please know that you are in our hearts. 🌻

And for those of us whose precious mothers are no longer with us on the physical plane, we acknowledge you too on this day, knowing that a mother's love is eternal and that you will find your own unique way to celebrate today the special person you called Mum. 🌼

With our love and light, always. 💚💚💚

Take a moment today to find joy in the simple things in life... the beautiful cherry blossoms and magnificent magnolia flowers, the unconditional love of your pet, the kindness of a neighbour you haven't even met who supports you as part of your local community, and the bliss of finding your zen at a BodyBalance class.

Whilst life can feel more than a little overwhelming at times right now, never underestimate your power to take care of the world by looking for reasons to feel good and becoming the happiest and healthiest version of yourself.

With our love and abundance of light, we wish you a wonderful Friday. 💗