A quiet Superpower

An often overlooked key to health and happiness is knowing yourself. When you know your likes and dislikes, your tendencies,  and your weaknesses and strengths, you can stay on an empowered wellness path with ease. When it comes to your workout, here are three big questions you’ll want to answer ASAP, so you can get crystal clear on what your ideal workout looks like: Question #1: what’s the best time of day for me to workout?Forcing...

Ellen Barrett Calm Cardio

Calm Action

The British government, during World War II, created a poster that read KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It was intended to boost the morale of the British citizens and was widely distributed via newspapers back in the day. We still come across this saying today on throw pillows and memes, and often times, the traditional saying is altered a tad to things like, “Keep Calm and Buy the Bag” or “Keep Calm and Call Your Mother.”  It’s fun...

One-Trick Pony

A favorite word of mine, one that I’ve been taking a liberty with and applying to movement, is adaptogenic. It’s a word often associated with herbal medicine, specifically when an herb does whatever is need in order to create harmony in the body. Licorice root for example, can either increase energy levels in the body, providing a bit of pep, or it can lower cortisol levels, helping it calm down. To me, “adaptogenic” means do what’s needed in order to maintain a feel good state....

When You’re Achy

Some days are harder than others to get moving in the morning as there are a myriad of variables when it comes to the state of our bodies. Amount of sleep, state of hydration, levels of stress, what we did yesterday, what we didn’t do yesterday…they all factor in. I find the seasons, the weather, even my location on the planet affects how my body feels and functions. Here’s my three-part protocol for when I’m feeling...

The Fifth Element

You may or may not recall a movie, from the nineties, called The Fifth Element. It starred Milla Jovovich, and it held the premise that there are the usual four elements – fire, water, earth, and air – along with an additional element, the ultimate one. The four elements are the “brick and mortar” of life, but the fifth element powers it. So what actually is the fifth element?  Well, in the futuristic movie, it was “Aether, a pure substance that permeated...

Turning Up the Hustle

Seasons change and schedules change. There are very obvious things happening like a later/earlier sunrise, a change in weather or perhaps an increase/decrease in work demands, but there are subtler, more individual, shifts too. Some of us feel an end of summer sadness (oh, it’s over so quickly!). Some of us feel freer with kids heading back to school. Some of us feel dread with seemingly so much to do suddenly. For me, when September hits, it feels like the final leg of...

Ellen Barrett Let's Move!

A Great Time for a Coup

In the US, Labor Day weekend is upon us. Monday (Labor Day) is commonly a day off, and it’s known as the summer’s send off, where people barbecue, lounge by the pool or kick back at the beach. Ironically, it’s about not laboring.  It has occurred to me that I’ve never ever had an un-laborous Labor Day weekend. It has always felt unsettled as it is a major cusp, where some things are leaving and new things are coming. There’s a subtle panic of,...

There Will Be Blood

Interestingly, if you dissect the latin word for blood, which is sanguis, you get san meaning health and guis meaning to soar, so I think it’s a sign – your blood is meant for high flying health! My first acupuncture appointment was at age 30. I went to a walk-in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinic that was for doctors-in-training. It was only $25, and I scraped together the funds to go. I had debilitating menstrual cramps at the time and a friend said acupuncture would “fix...

A New 45Minute Workout

Pilates Fusion has arrived, and it’s the type of workout I teach regularly. It’s effective, it feels good, and it works for just about every body. The Pilates Method is a series or exercises, but it is also a way of looking at the physical body in both a zoomed out/big picture way, and in a zoomed in/micro-focused way. The goal of Pilates is better-ing the body. That includes better body awareness, better movement control, better balance and...

Ellen Barrett 2024

Make It Make Sense

When I was a kid, whenever I stayed over at my grandma’s house in Rockville Centre New York, she’s wake up and walk to her neighborhood church, every single morning without fail. I’d scratch my head about it, because six days out of the week, there was no mass or service. She’d go regardless, service or not, and simply sit in a pew all by herself, holding her rosary beads. Church was a non-negotiable for...