The HeartAware™ Online Evaluation

Thanks to Nikole, a Clinical Education Specialist at Mercy & Chandler Hospital and 100 Club Client, for telling us about this online evaluation for a "heart evaluation". from Chandler Reg. Hospital. Please read below to learn more, and click on the link to take the online evaluation! Pass this on to those you love!

PS: The first question asks you who you work for and gives you a drop down menu. I just selected one, and it worked fine.


Knowing your risk profile will enable you to take control of your health and provide you with the best defense against cardiovascular disease. At the end of the online evaluation, you will receive a personalized report and strictly confidential information that will help you:

Assess your cardiovascular health status;
Identify medical or lifestyle conditions that may lead to development of disease;
Take action to reduce your level of risk; and
Receive, at your option, free continuing education via e-mail about your specific cardiovascular health and risk factors.

Click here to access the HeartAware™ risk assessment, or call 480.728.3639 to schedule a free, in-person consultation with the program’s cardiac clinician.

We are also conducting a research study that will continue to investigate the relationship between the traditional risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease and newly defined genetic markers of disease. To learn more about the research study or to find out if you are eligible to enroll, please click here or call 480.728.7086.

GOOD LUCK!!

Are You Interested??

Here is what we are thinking...starting a stretching/lengthening/strengthening class which would utilize the mats, foam rollers, bands, and whatever else we can find! BUT we would like to find out if a) anyone is interested b) if so, what times/days.

The class would be 45 minutes and taught by Morgan. The class would cost $15 a session.

Let us know at the studio, or post a comment on the blog! Thanks!!!

Hard-bodied Faith Hill marks 41st birthday with bikini pose

Oct. 20, 2008, 7:32 PM EST
MSN Entertainment

While some famous blondes might celebrate turning the big 4-1 by consulting their plastic surgeon or needle-wielding dermatologist, Faith Hill has decided to doff her duds to show the firming power of Pilates.


"... Wearing a bikini on a magazine cover is my 41st birthday present to myself," the ab-tastic country star tells the December issue of Shape, crediting her thrice-weekly Pilates workouts for her ultra-toned figure. "I could bend in ways I haven't been able to since I was a teenager. My husband loves it!"

Hill, who's mom to Gracie, 11, Maggie, 10, and Audrey, 6, admits it took her years to come around to the idea of a consistent workout routine. "I was always very athletic, playing basketball and softball and running track," she explains. "But in my 20s and 30s, I'd go through phases with exercise, working out for four weeks before a big tour or video shoot and not doing much afterward. Then I had three kids and turned 40, so I decided to make a lifestyle change."

Giving Faith an added push was the knee surgery she underwent in January, which turned her sedentary for six months. "I had never gone that long without doing something," she admits. "I was not happy." Hill and McGraw started doing four miles a day on an elliptical machine in July, along with some weightlifting, crunches and push-ups.

"I found I slept better, had more energy and was stronger," says Hill, who soon added the instructor-led Pilates to her routine. "It was so hard, but ultimately so worth it," she encouragingly declares. "My core is much stronger, and my arms are more toned."

New Inductees into the 100 Club

Congrats to:

Bridget Hanger
Nikole Hampton
Jolynn Humphrey

Nice job ladies! Please make sure you get a shirt, and to those of you who haven't gotten your's yet, please let us know! We will be putting in a new order if we don't have your size!

Have a great weekend!

BREATHE... Your Body Will Thank You

Whether you are taking a Pilates class, driving on the 101, checking your 401k, or chasing your toddler...... you must BREATHE.

Stop for a second and focus on your breathing. Now look down. See anything moving? Probably not. That's because most people typically take very short, shallow breaths -- the kind that simply come from your chest. This type of shallow breathing may weaken many major systems in the body and make the body more susceptible to chronic and acute diseases of all kinds. Not breathing properly may increase infections, constipation, respiratory illnesses, digestive problems, ulcers, depression, sexual disorders, sleep disorders, fatigue, headaches , poor blood circulation and premature aging.

For you to truly improve lung function, you need to practice taking deep, whole breaths. It should take about 5 seconds to inhale and 7 seconds to exhale. Remember what makes the lungs move? Your diaphragm. That's the muscle that pulls your lungs down, so your lungs expand and you can really circulate oxygen throughout the whole lung. As your diaphragm pulls your chest cavity down and you inhale, your belly button should be moving away from your spine as you fill your lungs. Your chest also will widen -- and maybe even rise ever so slightly -- as you inhale. When your lungs feel fuller than a sumo wrestler's lunchbox, exhale slowly. You can pull your belly button toward your spine to force all the air out of your lungs.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....

Here's something to ponder. Breathing Rates & Lifespan.*

A horse / dog breathes greater than 20 times per minute - average lifespan 15-20 years.

A human breathes approximately 12-18 times per minute - average lifespan 70+ years.

A snake/turtle breathes approximately 1-2 times per minute - average lifespan 300-400+ years some up to 1,000!

A Qi Gong master breathes approximately 2-3 times per minute. - Lifespan well longer than an average human.

Take A Hike, Take A Stand

Mimi Ellis, a client of BSP, is organizing the 2nd Take A Hike, Take A Stand event. The hike will be held Sat, Nov. 1st at South Mountain Park in Phoenix at 9 am. The entry fee is $35 and comes with a t-shirt! The sign-up sheet is hanging up in the studio!

What is Take A Hike, Take A Stand, Inc?

We are a non-profit organization that is committed to ending problems with body image, nutrition, fitness, and weight that currently plague our society, through fundraising, education, and activism.

Take a Hike, Take a Stand, Inc is out to stop the continued growth of body image problems in our society by working on prevention with our school-aged kids, before problems start. Traditional curricula and most modern approaches to health and fitness although well-intentioned, often exacerbate body image problems and perpetuate the myth that healthy, fit bodies must always be thin (or “buff” for the boys). Fortunately, a curriculum called Healthy Body Image, by Kathy Kater, LICSW, (ten cross-curricular lessons that can be easily integrated with existing curricula in grades four through six) has been proven to positively impact the attitudes and behaviors that precede weight, body image, health, and fitness problems. Our organization is fundraising, and working with teachers, counselors, and administrators to have all Arizona schools use this curriculum. It is our intention that things will be different for the next generation, and that our daughters and sons, not Hollywood, will decide what they should weigh, eat, and look like, to be a productive, happy and healthy human being.

Joe Pilates doing it right!

Here is a quick video of Joesph Pilates doing Arm Circles on what is called a Ped-o-pul. We often perform movements similar on the reformer and the wall unit. Look at his shoulder stabilization and body control, as well as the flexibility in his rotator cuffs! Amazing!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFCCr2xEu4

Next week, be ready for the New Routine............... Better eat your Wheaties!