Pilates Strong With Ellen Barrett

Not Just Strong, Pilates Strong

When you’re Pilates Strong, you’re not just strong – you’re integrated – and that’s a big deal. Strong is great, but integrated means:  1. You’ve got stellar mind/body connection. 2. Your muscular system is united. 3. You’ve got a heightened awareness of proper alignment. Movement at large, including traditional strength training, promotes integration, but (in my opinion) Pilates is the integration superstar. It fast-tracks us and it complements just about every other form of exercise.   All those professional athletes and dancers – especially the one’s with career...

Ellen Barrett "The Barrett Blog"

If Not Here, Where?

One of the biggest things I’m working on personally this year is not living with the feeling of “I’ve got to be somewhere else” or “I’ve got a million things to do.” Our society really celebrates busy-ness and rushing around, and women especially are expected to go-go-go with to-do lists galore. I bought into this for years, but now I see it for what it is: a lack of being present. You and I can accomplish just...

Ellen Barrett Mindful Movement

The Fitness Fix

Fitness is all the time.  It may, at first, seem like it’s just that hour or so you spend working out each day, but at closer examination, you’ll see that everything is part of your fitness routine. From the quality of your sleep to the hours you sit at your desk – even the people you surround yourself with – it’s all part of your fitness routine.  I have a client that flies all over the...

Ellen Barrett Four Elements Flow

What Is Four Elements Flow?

What the heck is Four Elements Flow? That’s what my husband asked when he read the name of the newest video workout on ellenbarrett.com. It’s a good question…allow me to explain.  Four Elements Flow is a 45minute fusion low-impact cardio workout where instead of focusing on cardio, strength and stretch, it brings awareness to air, water, fire and earth. The workout fuses yoga, barre and Pilates in a seamless, all standing, flow.   Why divert attention from the usual...

“I Surrender.”

We had a fierce, non-stop downpour on Friday afternoon into the evening, and it stunned me. All I could do was wait it out. I woke up this morning still thinking about the intensity and drama of it all. Mother Nature really is awe-some. It got me thinking….there are things out of our control – we can’t control the weather, stop time, or force others to think in a certain way. Over the last few...

Ellen Barrett Moving Meditation

It’s Thrilling

Do you ever really pay attention to how you move? Do you notice how you shift your body weight into each step? How your body expands on an inhalation? How it settles down on an exhalation? We sure do glorify busy-ness in our type-A world, but that busy-ness sometimes needs to be left at the door, especially when it comes to movement.  Our latest video workout, Moving Meditation, intentionally focuses the mind and slows down the breath, so we can move...

Ellen Barrett How To Make Exercise a Habit

How To Make Exercise A Habit

You’ve probably seen those fitness fanatics at the gym. Self-proclaimed gym rats, they love working out. They smile as they sweat and are enthusiastic about all things fitness.  While I’m no gym rat, I do love working out, and I know many of you do too. We enjoy movement. We don’t view it as a chore. In fact, we miss it when we are pulled away from our regular workout routine. When we travel or go on vacation,...

Let’s Rock

For as long as I can remember, I’ve collected rocks. After time spent at the beach and elsewhere, I’d return home with my pockets filled with stones and pebbles. I was always very drawn to them. Then, my senior year in college, I took “Rocks For Jocks,” a geology class that focused on gemstones. We went out into the woods with little shovels as the professor pointed out the various rock formations and their mineral compositions. We found...

Ellen Barrett Blog

Grateful For Gratitude

In the darkness of last night’s new moon, my family and I  experienced a powerful storm. We heard the rain beating hard against our windows and felt the wind shake our house. It was exactly 5:55am when I stepped outside, the dawn light just barely peaking through the trees, and surveyed the scene. Grateful to report, nothing was damaged, things were just moved around. (I had to go looking for our patio furniture, and found...

Got Peace?

Are you someone who wakes up behind the eight ball, rushing around in the morning? Do you take your coffee or breakfast on the go and speed off to work feeling frazzled from the get-go? Even though I am an early bird, I used to be this “rushing around” person. But I’ve changed. A few years ago, I had a realization that rushing is rarely circumstance, it’s a mindset. It’s feeling like you are in a race against time. It’s...