SOAR Movement

The SOAR Holiday Newsletter os out and within you will find three (3) possible gifts for you! 2 free class announcements and a tasty holiday treat! Enjoy!
https://shoutout.wix.com/so/e8NOBHzQR?cid=62876998-9eb5-42ae-a4d1-114d517f95dc #/main

Happy Holidays! You've spent more time being nice than you have spent being naughty and SOAR has gifts for you.

This was our classroom this morning. The sun was shining, leaves falling, falcons soaring above across the waning moon.... It is a beautiful day in many ways. For that I am thankful 💙

Directly after class I heard cheering and joy in the distance.
When I got home I saw joy in the faces of my neighbors.

I sat upon the earth and said thank you.

There is always work to be done. There probably always will be. For now, for this moment, there can be joy.

Come enjoy the weather with a SOAR Outdoor class tomorrow morning!

https://www.soartx.com/event-details/soar-outdoor

SOAR Outdoor! | soar Work on strength while enjoying the autumn weather. Socially distanced, of course! *You must sign the consent form in your registration email to attend*

The number 1 thing I say when teaching Intermediate and Advanced Pilates is SLOW DOWN.

Today I told my class to move as slowly as Nevada counting ballots and one student went so slow that I thought her screen froze 🤣 But, you know what? Her muscles had to work harder than if she went quickly!

When you do your Pilates quickly you're working your joints more than your muscles.

Pilates is not a race!

Want to learn Pilates form and function so you get the most out of your practice? Contact me or visit soartx.com for your options.

Join SOAR tomorrow morning for yoga as we move, ground, and breathe together though one of the most stressful, anxiety ridden weeks of the most stressful year.

Look, I'm not going to claim that practicing some yoga asana will make everything better or blow light up your 🍑, but when we move and breathe well and turn inward we can reduce stress hormones.

My hope is for SOAR via zoom, in a park, or back in a studio one day to be a safe, welcoming space for you.

That does not mean "good vibes only" which leads to toxic positivity that causes far more harm than help and as a practitioner of yoga I am also a practitioner of ahimsa, or non harm both on and off the mat. I'm also a practitioner of satya, or truth.

So bring all of your vibes and breathe through this with me. SOAR Yoga is donation based and via zoom. Register at www.soartx.com/classes or just shoot me a message to get the link.

I'll see you on the mat. 💞



#2020

10 years ago today I recieved this in recognition of completing the Science & Art of Herbalism with Rosemary Gladstar.

The certificate is a point of pride for me and it is so beautiful. It has hung on the wall of my various offices and studios over the years.

Coincidentally today, a decade after recieving it, I removed it from the wall of the physical SOAR Studio to return to my home. Sadly, the physical studio is closing. Another victim of Covid 19. The virtual studio and online classes will continue so this isn't the end of the story.

In addition to the certificate Rosemary sent me this card which is filled with kind words. I keep it in a safe place among my herbs. I took it out today to read it and I still find hope and encouragement within. So I'm not discouraged. I'm looking to new horizons. Like the plants, we too have seasons of fallowness to restore fertility and growth at a later date.

So, Thank you, Rosemary Gladstar for being a mentor to not only myself but to thousands of herbalists over the years.

Thank you to all of SOAR's supporters, clients, students, friends, and colleagues. Without you I wouldn't have had the studio in the first place, and I certainly wouldn't be able to continue online!

Inside my card Rosemary said, "May the plants continue to blossom in you heart." May that be so for you and whatever your passion may be. Sprout, grow, bloom, harvest, rest, repeat.

Love,
Tanna

I had the honor of teaching a small private group of wonderful ladies today and this was our classroom 💜

You never know if the Texas weather will cooperate, but in the shade today it was lovely.
The trees gave us shade and made sure we weren't in view of others.

One student spotted a bird SOARing overhead during our practice. It was beautiful

Would you like to have an outdoor, physically distanced class? Contact me and we will set it up.

If outdoors isn't your cup of tea SOAR has lots of online classes as well.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and one way or another I'll see you on the mat 💞

Tomorrow's Spooky SOAR Saturday class is Open!
Commonly referred to as "honey and chocolate" because it is so smooth!
You'll go from Tin Man to Scarecrow in one hour!
It isn't too late to register for this donation based stretching and releasing class, but don't wait. Time is running out.

I'll see you on the mat!

Today's we flip over away from last week's quads to the hamstrings, or back of the thigh. We have 2 variations of hamstring stretches and a sleepy kitten.

A common complaint from people with low back pain is tight hamstrings.
And this the the second most poorly taught movement!

In the first variation the wrong way you can see that I'm scrunched up in the neck and shoulders to reach the foir and the down leg is raised off the floor. This all means my back is getting more stretch than my leg. My back is also in the same position I see people sitting in.

To get that stretch in the leg your pelvis needs to be in neutral, thus the leg on the floor stays grounded and the shoulders don't scruch up. Most people benefit from using a strap here.

In variation 2 the wrong way the knee is moving back and forth. The correct way your kner stays in one spot. That is more important than the kneegoing all the way to straight.

You can stretch and stretch, and most of us should. But your minutes of stretching will only bring temporary relief because it cannot compete with the other hours and hours in a day when you're shortening your hamstrings by sitting on furniture.

This week's donation based SOAR Spooky Saturday Classis Open! We will be releasing and stretching out all of that tension you've held onto all week. Join us by registering today!

Good morning SOAR friends!

This is how I wake up the morning after a full moon in October. 🌕
To my intermediate pilates class: I'm coming for you 😈

I didn't know that today was National Vegetarian Day!
But I do now and it so happens we are eating vegetarian tonight. So allow me to share our dinner with you 🥂

Tonight we are having baked chickpeas, freshly baked bread, and pitarakia (phyllo wrapped greens)

Here is the recipe for the pitarakia because the chickpeas are still cooking. 😊

What you need:

2 large carrots, grated

10 oz box of super greens (spinach, chard, mizuna any mix will do)

1 fennel bulb, chopped

3 red onions, chopped

2 leeks, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Lots of herbs - I used fresh basil, thyme, oregano, and flat leaf parsley)

1 pound phyllo

3/4 cup olive oil

What to do:

Cook the greens 2 TBS olive oil until well wilted. About 8-10 minutes. Remove from the pan.
Drain all of the water from the greens.

In the same pan add 2 TBS of oil and over a medium heat add fennel, onions, leeks, scallions, herbs and garlic. Cook about 10 minutes then add this to the cooked greens.

Next cook the grated carrot in a little oil for about 5 minutes, stirring.. add this to the mix.

Season your mix with salt and pepper.

Unroll your phyllo and cover with a damp towel.

Lay out 1 sheet of the phyllo and brush with olive oil. Place a second sheet on the first and brush with oil.

Cut the phyllo 4 strips of equal size.

Take place a tablespoon of the filling in one corner of your phyllo strip and fold into a triangle like you would fold a flag.

Place them seam side down on an oiled sheet, brush with olive oil, bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.

The standing quad stretch has to be to the thing I see demonstrated badly most often.
It is a pet peeve of mine!

I rarely see it demonstrated well.

You can see the misalignments so once youve looked through the first 4 pics lets talk about the 5th and what I want to see.

✔Pelvis stacked over your heels
✔pelvis aligned
✔knees aligned with each other
✔ribs stackedover the pelvis

If this is posing a problem for your body you can:

》use a strap
》place the top of your foot on a piece furniture behind you rather than hold it
》do the lying quad stretch instead

Side note: remember me saying how I hate the tight, modern, commonly called yoga pants? I only wear them when I'm teaching so you can see my alignment.
These I'm wearing are infinitely better! They are cotton, breathable, and versatile.
I got them from Cotton Flower Clothing
No, I'm not in a partnership with them and I'm not getting free stuff or paid to say it. I just recently got them and I love them and thought you'd want to know.

Alright, try your quad stretches to:

1. Release the tension in the front of your thighs that is pulling you forward when you stand
2. Open open up the tight knees that are caused by the tight quads that are pulling you forward when you stand.

I'll see you on the mat 💞

This we look at your quad stretch.

We have been talking about knee pain, alignment, and kneecap tracking.

A couple of weeks ago I asked if you could wiggle your kneecaps and it was difficult for a lot of you and not possible for a few.

Tension in the quads (muscles in the front of the thigh) is a common cause.
A good quad stretch can help, but it must be in proper alignment.

Photo 1 shows the most common mistakes I see in a lying quad stretch.
Because the quads are tight you can't reach your foot so you swing the leg out to the side and hike the hip and raise the chest. The hips are pressing into the floor unevenly and the public bone is off the floor.

Most people, particularly people with painful knees, need to use a strap or belt around the foot so the knee stays lined up directly behind the hip, the hips are even with each other and evenly pressed into the floor, the chest rests on the floor, and the p***c bone is pressed into the floor. Don't forget that last bit. If the p***c bone isn't pressed down along with the hips you're only getting 3/4 of your quads to stretch and that can cause its own misalignments.

Remember if this is uncomfortable you can lay down blankets for extra padding where needed.

Standing quad stretch will be covered next. You almost don't want to get me started on that! I see this one done so badly on instagram, in magazines, and even in fitness books. So stay tuned!

But remember YOU want to look at WHY you have quad tension. What are you doing all day causing it? Because it isn't a lack of stretching. You shouldn't have to stretch constantly to release tension. So, what is your why? Do you know? I'll bet it's something we have talked about in previous posts 🙂.
Drop your answers below ⬇️

▶️Reminder◀️
1 week left in September means only 1 week left to get the SOAR Beginner Pilates Series at the sale price!
Price goes back up October 1.

If you want to learn Pilates:

💜 that works for your body.
💜at your pace.
💜on your schedule.
💜from the privacy of your home.
💜from a highly qualified instructor who is happy to answer your questions should any arise.

Then you should register while the price is reduced!
It won't go this low again!

Once you register you will have immediate, unlimited access.

Sign up at soarstudio.thinkific.com

I'll see you on the mat ❣

Everyone that responded to my questions yesterday said they stood with their weight shifted forward impacting their knees (and back and feet and neck and pelvic floor....)

When I asked why I got some great insightful responses, but no one mentioned shoes.

So, are your shoes part of the problem?

Check these shoes out. They ALL have a positive heel. That is, the heel of the shoe is higher than the toe box.

Now go look at all of your shoes. How many pairs of heels do you own?

How much upright time do you spend wearing heels? Don't count seated leisure time. So when you're walking, running, standing, working, exercising, etc.

Tomorrow we will look at this in detail.

Want to learn more? Want a FREE SOAR class? Contact me and I'll hook you up!

You can also schedule a free consultation for some 1 on 1 time to see if SOAR is right for you. If it isn't I can usually refer you to the right people. ❣

Here is the answer to yesterday's question along with the why.

The question was which is the best alignment for knee health.

You can easily see why the answer is 3 and why. I drew a line straight from my hip to show where your weight is being supported in each position.

1 and 2 put a lot of force right to the knees whereas 3 directs force into the ground via the strongest part of your feet: the heels.

Everyone that answered yesterday answered correctly!

My followup question is which picture reflects how you are actually standing? 1, 2, or 3? Don't be shy. I used to be a 1 and if I tried to stand up straight I became a 2 which immediately caused discomfort.

Next question: if you can easily see that number 3 is best why are so many people standing in either 1 or 2?

Remember my video this week? The one where I wiggled my kneecaps in various positions? If you cannot do that while standing it because you are in position 1 or 2.

Let me know your answers and thoughts and we will continue our knee health conversation from there.

Quiz Time!

Which alignment do you think is most beneficial for your knees?
1, 2, or 3?

I'll post the answer and reasons here, so stay tuned!

This week's Saturday class is Align. So you'll learn the what, how, and why about healthy alignment. We are still learning about floor sitting and getting up and down all month as well.

Register at www.soartx.com/classes today.

Contact me to find out how to get your first class free!