The Three Beliefs of the Very Well

February 8, 2024 ellen
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I just spent an afternoon with human resource directors from some of the biggest companies in the world. I listened in on parts of their conversation concerning their employees. The primary conundrum that each of these HR directors faced was how can they keep employees healthy and strong, and thus productive? Many of their employees work long hours and when their workday ends, family responsibilities begin. Basically, everyone’s busy and exhausted, so how does anyone...

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All Knees Are Not Created Equal

February 5, 2024 ellen
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There are two major differences between the male and female knee: 1. the female’s ligaments are softer and thinner, and 2.  a female’s femur bone connects at the knee at a more pronounced slant. There are other physiological differences too, from lower bone density to higher percentage of body fat, but the two I mention above makes the female knee especially vulnerable to excessive high-impact activity and to reactive/sudden pivot-action, a.k.a., masculine training.  Over the years, I...

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Health. Care.

January 24, 2024 ellen
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It was a big “aha” moment when I realized movement is actual medicine. When we twist and bend our spines during exercise, we energize our core organs. Yes, our kidneys, liver, and spleen, to name a few, get space to circulate and a fresh batch of blood flow, helping them function more optionally.  We’re trained to see medicine as some sort of substance that comes from a doctor’s order, a pill or sophisticated medical treatment we need our insurance...

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Low and Slow

January 18, 2024 ellen
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There are year-long courses on breathing and whole books written on breathing. There are breathing specialists and hundreds of breathing studies currently going on around the world. Breathing is a big deal and when it comes to quality of living, society is seemingly getting hip to the vital role it can play. But if you are like me, and you “breathe just fine,” then breathing is super boring. At least that’s how I viewed breathing for most...

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Workout Colors?

January 15, 2024 ellen
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The deeper into winter I go the more black I wear. It’s a habit from way way back. This year, I’m attempting to kick this habit to the curb and wear splashes of color as much as possible. On Friday, I wore a cheerful yellow cropped sweater, and I honestly felt happier, and everywhere I went people said, “Oh, great sweater,” but I think what they really meant was, “Oh, it’s so nice to see a...

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Ellen Barrett

Empowerment Is Inevitable

January 10, 2024 ellen
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Empowerment Is InevitableBecause it is so easy to feel disempowered today, I am obsessed with helping you stay empowered. I actually obsess over it! I’ve complied the five big ways we can use exercise to boost our sense of empowerment. These five things help us look, feel and function great, and the best part? We’re in charge. Yes, you and I can work on them ourselves, nothing standing in our way. Here they are: Almost all kinds...

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It’d be in your best interest to have this mindset

January 4, 2024 ellen
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There is an empowered wellness mindset, and it is as important as the movement portion of wellness (or maybe more so) because, to paraphrase Joseph Pilate, “The mind is the master behind the movement.”  There are three big overarching pillars to the empowered wellness mindset – three things, that when I see them in other people, I just know they’ll achieve their goals and shine brightly. Here they are, accompanied by a simple self-talk affirmation:  A “can-do” attitudeI can do it.Many people, especially those...

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Zoom Out

January 1, 2024 ellen
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Way back in 2000, I was living in Los Angeles and driving all over the city for work. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in my car. My car was littered with coffee cups, takeout containers and granola bar wrappers. I think I consumed 80percent of my meals in that Jeep Cherokee! For my resolution that year, I averred: I’m not going to eat in the car. I was disgusted with myself and I thought this...

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Do the Work or Step into the flow?

December 28, 2023 ellen
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, do the work is fine to say, but I prefer step into the flow. There are no shortcuts to empowered wellness, so by all means, do the work, but when you re-frame all the necessary effort as alignment, there’s an ease and a grace underlying our action steps. Wellness becomes more easily sustainable and less dogmatic. We really should all be asking ourselves, “How do I step into the flow?” Tune in  ✔️Set “the” goal (feeling good) ✔️Take charge ✔️123….that’s...

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FengShui For Your Force Field

December 23, 2023 ellen
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Energy Reset is 15minutes of breath and flow that induces a sort of reiki effect, or like Feng Shui for your force field. Creating it and releasing in on December 21st was completely intentional. (Solstice Blessing to one and all, BTW.) For the longest time, I’ve wanted to create something like this, something that’s simple and is all about vibe –Energy Reset is it. This teeny workout is all standing, completely low-impact, moderately paced and is not about...

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