Essentrics® 102: Hidden Benefits
While living in Vancouver, what seems like ages ago, I attended a 2-day Essentrics teacher training workshop and as always, it was very enlightening. But more than that, it was super duper inspiring and reinforced why I love this workout SO much, and why it's quickly becoming more popular throughout the country.
I remember listening to a lot of personal stories from the 20+ attendees - how they found Essentrics, how it changed their lives, and why they share it with others - and immediately felt empowered. It's not only the practice, but the growing community within that drives me to teach this program. The women and men who teach and take classes all have a story and all are uplifting.
Of course I learned, too. The workshop reinforced what I knew, built upon the tools I already had, and corrected some errors I was making that have improved my practice and my ability as a teacher. It also humbled me by blowing my mind yet again by building upon what I already knew with new information and teaching techniques I use and pass on to you.
When I initially typed out the notes I took during the workshop, I was further inspired to share more about how Essentrics helps relieve pain and changes your body in ways you never thought possible. That's what this blog is all about, because, I once thought I had all the answers behind the Essentrics technique, but if I can be blown away by how much more awesomeness there is to learn about this workout, then it's worth sharing.
Read on to explore some of the not to so obvious ways Essentrics can benefit your body.
It's a Gentle Practice that Refines the Way You Move
No joke. Essentrics will change everything from your posture to the way you walk and everything in between, including how you reach for items on a shelf, pick up boxes (or babies) off the floor, carry heavy things (like children, strollers, and diaper bags), and get in and out of the car.
Essentrics routines range from slow and simple, to quick and advanced, but all are gentle. As you get used to the smooth, methodical movements led in class, you slowly become more gentle in your daily movements, as well. Quelle surprise! You'll step lighter, walk stronger & taller, and, maybe most importantly, protect your body through more drastic movements.
It demonstrates Precision in movement that protects your body
Alignment is the first focus of Essentrics. Proper alignment of your feet, knees, hips, shoulders and head allow for you to move through exercises with ease and work through your full muscle chains while being structurally supported. This strengthens your bones and joints, and, most essentially, rebalances your body, making way for pain relief.
Beyond proper alignment, precision is also practiced by engaging the abdominal muscles correctly, moving multi-directionally, and finding a stretch by working through muscle chains and completing your movements. Each exercise, transition, and stretch has an objective as they work through your entire body. They're specific and purposeful, loosening stuck tissues (fascia and other connective tissues) to properly stretch and strengthen full-body muscle chains, again, rebalancing your body to give you a heightened level of body awareness and protecting you when you have to move suddenly and unexpectedly.
it's a therapeutic practice
Essentrics is a functional, real-life, relatable practice. Even more than that, it has many beneficial side effects. Most notably, it's age-reversing, heart protective, and therapeutic for the body. It works on the body as a whole instead of individual parts, allowing for your entire body to benefit as a unit, because it needs to.
Think about it: Our circulatory system benefits from the blood-pumping and arterial wall strengthening movements of Essentrics. Where do you find your circulatory system? Only throughout the entire body!
It's therapeutic effect not only supports your physical body, but it helps flush out your brain from stagnancy. You can't exactly stretch the brain by moving it. It needs the rest of the body to help out. Essentrics, though a naturally flowing workout, comes with a lot of cueing that your brain needs to pay attention to. The cueing stretches your brain and the full-body movements brings essential nourishment your brain to keep its juices literally flowing.
When trying it for the first time, you may find the learning curve a bit wonky. And when you finish a workout, you’ll feel amazing because your entire being has been stretched and strengthened - body and mind. Without these added benefits you wouldn't see a refreshed, more agile body that literally reverses in age!
Essentrics is a whole body practice that provides whole body results and positive effects. It gives each corner of your muscular body a little massage, leaving you relaxed and energized at the same time. Now that's personalized therapy! Pretty cool, right?
These are just some of the benefits obtained by practicing Essentrics on a regular basis. You can read more about its therapeutic benefits and objectives, including those specific to mamas, on my About Essentrics® page.
If you're still curious about the practice, or have been doing the routines at home but would like more assistance or clarification, don't hesitate to reach out to me and we can dig in together. I'd love to help.
See you on your mat!
