Divine Inspiration Fitness

I used to think it was great diaphragmatic breathing when my belly rose & fell with each breath. I could definitely feel my diaphragm contracting downward creating intra-abdominal pressure & that assured me I wasn’t overusing neck muscles to inhale, a habit a lot of people have. Good enough, right?
It turns out I was short-changing my intercostals (the muscles between the ribs). Over time my lateral rib movement decreased resulting in a stiff upper back. Either my breath pooched my belly or stayed up high in my chest & neck, not a whole lot happened in the actual place it should: the sides & back of the body.
So I’m learning to breathe 360. It’s a tricky thing, reprogramming the breath pattern, especially when you think you’ve had it down. IMO you can’t be exercising while exploring this. It’s best to be lying in constructive rest pose, which facilitates a calm state & provides feedback from the ground. Then it actually takes practice.
Things that are helpful:
🔹a band tied around the ribs to feel expansion there.
🔹placing your hand on the neck to monitor incorrect breath.
🔹a sandbag on abdomen to discourage all belly breathing.
While you should never ever hold your abs in on the inhale that should not be the main place you feel breath in your body.

A blast from the past for me with this one. A time when were fun and something to shoot for in a workout.
Things change though. I have MS now. The kind that mostly affects my vision. No more hanging upside down says my neurologist.
Luckily Pilates, weight lifting, yoga and running still offer so much to keep healthy and mentally stable.
We’re all living in an environment that wears us down. All we can do is everything we can and hope for the best.

The energy center comprising our sacrum gives shape to new life. Not only biologically but to projects, ideas, intentions and art. It influences our ability to express ourselves creatively, connect deeply with others and embrace the full spectrum of emotions.
When we are stuck here we’re often stagnant in life, feeling insecure about our abilities and talents. We may experience mood swings or emotional numbness. Reproductive issues could present. Physical pain in the low back, SI joint, hip and digestive issues all have their root in this energy center.
This place in our body is considered the 3rd brain or gut brain. It includes the intestines, kidneys, adrenal glands and the psoas (which process information received by the 1st brain -nervous system, circulated by the 2nd brain -heart) determining what is beneficial & what needs to be released.
Certain exercises can help address imbalances here. Becoming aware of what is needed is no small task but a Pilates or yoga routine might just lead to internal blossoming.
Why not try?
🖼️ Annette Grynevich & Eric Cherry

What does progress feel like?
When the goal of bending your spine in the right places becomes elusive, we must make sure all our body’s parts are on board.
Are the feet flexible? They often tell the story of the spine and must be addressed compassionately.
Are the hips willing to open? Good tone that can contract and relax is needed in the glutes and hamstrings.
And sometimes you just need your arms to help with opening the chest for a healthy inhale to occur.
Progress. Not perfection. It’s a beautiful process.osullivan

Did you know that your knees are an energy center? When they lock, or worse- hyperextend, they create a dam of energy, making receptivity from ground to core nonexistent.
Knees represent adaptability and flexibility. Can be we ok with the past in order to make the present useful for physical change or spiritual growth? Can we transcend our current state and evolve to a new one?
We’re all evolving, after all, but sometimes we can get stuck or locked in the knees…and life. It helps to be in touch with where you’ve come from in order to anticipate where you’re going.
Allow your knees to be conduits of energy. Be open to new ideas. Create new patterns, like Pilates work that consciously addresses knees or psoas work that untangles stored up trauma.
There’s no time like the present to unlock your own potential for growth.

The thing about feet is that they take you to your destiny.
Destiny is often thought of as what happens in the future, but also refers to moving from where you are now by creating a new path.
Millions have treaded a path that lead to where you are today.
Parents and ancestors took risks to try something unknown in pursuit of something better.
Our feet are encoded with the memory of all those that came before us. They also hold data pertaining to the entire body, connecting us to the ground.
Let us honor the energy center that feet are, and the journey toward our greater good they take us on.

It’s brutal out there! Negative temps outside but positive vibes inside 🙏
Stay warm and toasty with me virtually.
annettepilates.com

All set for teaching Virtual Cardio Pilates at 5:30 CST and passing out treats at the same time 🍬
Warming up with 2 versions of cat 🐈
Sign up for class at sanavitastudio.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 👻

What do tight calves have to do with the psoas?
They can get in the way of walking in sync with your psoas muscles.
The foot needs to know how to ground & articulate in every step.
One thing you can try is rolling you calf on a roller.
Side to side, from the knee down to the ankle.
It’s one step in the journey to a healthy psoas.

It’s time to start bringing back
Find time for something you know your body needs.
The errands really can wait.
Your intuition would like to have a moment where it leads for a change.
Mine led me to and it was

The front of the hip often gets overwhelmed with congestion. Most likely from sitting. That road-trip, those Zoom meetings, even too much walking/running can be annoying to the hip flexors.
Until we realize that the psoas muscles need your awareness of them, so that we don’t sit, stand or walk with poor alignment, the hips will always be a pain in the ass.
When you arrive at that vacation spot find time to stretch the hips. It’s a temporary but necessary fix.
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To be the architect of your own reality you must begin with a choice.
You get to choose each now moment. You get to choose what food to put in your body. You get to choose which emotions you need to feel. You get to choose which emotions you need to purge. You get to choose what kind of support system you need in your life. You get to choose how pure you want to be.
The purer you become, the higher the state of consciousness you can achieve. When this process unfolds, you begin your Divine Remembrance. You remember who you are as a Holy Being of the Cosmos.
You remember that you have the power to choose the level of spiritual initiation in this incarnation. You remember you have the power to choose which Diving Guidance to embrace. You remember you have the power to choose your evolutionary path from one incarnation to the next.
With this Divine Remembrance comes the knowledge that you are not bound by time and space and that you have the power to construct your own reality.
You are the future. You are the past. You are the present.
Channeled by Timothy Allen as his Higher Self.

Happy Pilates Day!
Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our very life depends on it. Since we cannot live without breathing, it is tragically deplorable to contemplate the millions who have never learned to master the art of correct breathing. One often wonders how so many continue to live as long as they do under this tremendous handicap to longevity. Lazy breathing converts the lungs into a cemetery for the deposition of dead germs.
Therefore, above all, learn to breathe correctly.
-Joseph Pilates from Return to Life Through Contrology
Grateful for the awesome shirt from

We are the sum total of everything that has happened to us. For better and for worse, our bodies are ever changing repositories of everything we have experienced.
Every time we move through space, we rifle through our pasts and, sometimes, we find something unexpected, maybe an injury which we thought had healed, but which we find left behind some scar tissue, or a feeling we forgot we were capable of feeling.
Like flight, it can be at once terrifying and exhilarating, so we often avoid moving. We think if we remain still we may protect ourselves from becoming overwhelmed.
However, it's all there inside of us and even the most careful of flights can encounter turbulence. You can't know when the currents will change and dislodge a memory. So we might as well prepare ourselves for the inevitable by moving and allowing our bodies to soar.
Beautifully written by

The spine corrector offers an experience like no other. A perspective for the psoas that is healthy to explore.
How lucky we are that we have this equipment, thanks to Joe Pilates.
In this pic my client Mark works on lateral flexion and a new perspective. He’s been committed to this work (& my client) for 17 years! He tells me all the time that keeping your mind open to new ideas and your body physically fit is key to slowing down the aging process. Pilates is a key part of that.
Maybe it’s time for a new perspective!

If your psoas muscles could communicate with the rest of your muscles they’d most like say help me out here!
Without the support of a uniformly developed body, the psoas ends up doing way more than it is meant to do, ending up in back discomfort, hip pain and a myriad of other things.
It’s time to summon the entire team. Get the body working fluently. There are so many options to make feeling your best a reality.
I offer 1/2 hour private virtual lessons for $20
annettepilates.com

I wonder if you know,
the work your body has done today.
And every day.
How much disease it has fought off.
How many times it could have failed but battled on,
how many ways it could have broken but did not.

I wonder if you know,
the work your body has done today.
And every day.
And each day it has done this amazing job,
without your help,
without your approval,
your acceptance,
your kindness.

Each day it has soldiered on,
regardless of the constant stream of negativity,
pulsing its way from your brain to your cells.
Not good enough.
Not attractive enough.
Not the right shape.

Perhaps it’s time to see your body for what is truly is,
An amazing and mind-blowingly competent machine.
To get your soul to where it needs to be in this life.
To let you live.

I wonder if you know,
how much better you would be as a team.
I wonder.

Donna Ashworth
From ‘I wish I Knew’: https://amzn.to/3JVMJlZ

Art by The Ronald West Gallery

Every toe provides feedback to the legs, hips and trunk about our relationship to the surface.
Their dexterity depends on our awareness and connection to feeling each as a member of the body unit.
The Toe Corrector, pictured here on my client ,helps to establish a friendly relationship with each foot soldier but is especially good for helping undo some damage from bunions, working to restore overstretched ligaments.
Do your toes need correction? You can use a broccoli rubber band in much the same way.
Or seek a
annettepilates.com

What do you envision happening to yourself in 2023?
Did you know that you are the creator of all that you are and all your experiences?
We are blessed with this ability!
Let’s learn to understand it in 2023 💫

There’s no place like home…
For an ass kicking workout…

Need some guidance and motivation?
Let me know, or visit
annettepilates.com

This skeleton’s got the right idea! If she had psoas muscles she’d totally be in heaven with this to die for stretch.
Btw, ever notice every model skeleton is female? No male pelvises anywhere to be found. 🧐

Supporting strength progression is super important.
Alignment should always be top priority.
Buildings are not built on faulty foundations.

You need this. It’s quick. It’s challenging. It’s free.
Plank with me & some peacocks 🦚
annettepilates.com

Where do you find inspiration?
Social media can be exhausting. It serves a purpose when it beckons the need to retreat.
Going inward, learning to listen to nature, your body, your feelings and your heart in order to contribute lovingly to this world is the place to be.