Wow, it’s been six years since starting the Newsletter and blog! The website now has 81 articles on over 20 different Pilates, Yamuna and health and wellness categories. If there is something you want to look up, you have a free Pilates library at your fingertips 24/7!
You can find information on a variety of topics including…
Have even more exciting articles planned for you, but if there is a topic that has yet to be addressed or a burning questions you have, please let me know. Happy to cover it in a future issue. Just leave a comment below to share your ideas.
Just last month I shared the annual fitness trends. If you missed it, you can catch the article here.
It’s only February and already there are more amazing technological advancements to share.
You may have seen this in the news. Elon Musk’s Neuralink implanted it’s first brain chip into a human! This neural implant apparently decodes “movement intention”. If you would like to read more, here is an article from the BBC on the topic.
February is American Heart Month and it also happens to be the 100 year anniversary of the American Heart Association.
They are celebrating this year by renewing focus on CPR training and teaching as many people as possible this lifesaving skill. If you would like to learn CPR, here is a list of classes with the American Red Cross.
Also, World Encephalitis Day is happening this month. If you would like to get involved, you can learn more here. Or you can show your support in other ways, like wearing red on Thursday, February 22.
February is a busy month! In addition to Black History Month, Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, here are a few lesser known events that you may want to celebrate:
It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since starting the Newsletter and blog. The website now has nearly 60 articles on over 20 different Pilates and Yamuna related categories. If there is something you want to look up, you have a free Pilates library at your fingertips 24/7!
You can find information on a variety of topics including…
If you have a question about Anatomy, the blog has a number of articles on the topic. To get you started, you’ll find the articles Anatomy 101 and 201 below.
Hope you are staying cool and beating the Texas heat!
After the last Newsletter on the 5 Exercises You Need To Be Doing, I thought it would be helpful to build on that and address two of the most common concerns that come up – balance and Osteoporosis.
If you have questions on these topics, then be sure to check out the articles below. These posts might be review for some of you and a chance to catch up for others.
Also, coming up on July 29, it is the 6 year Anniversary since starting the business! Thank you for joining me on this adventure! I appreciate you taking care of yourself through a regular practice and in turn sharing your best self with those around you and making our community and the world a brighter place!
Wishing you and your loved ones continued excellent health, joy and peace!
Many Blessings to You & Yours,
Shannon
Core Connection for Better Balance
In addition to the Abdominals, what are the other core muscles that contribute to balance? Some of the answers may surprise you. Find out here.
Pilates for Strong Bones
To learn how to build strength down to the bone and even down to a cellular level, then check out this article.
The month of February was going to be dedicated to the Heart. As it came to my attention, that World Encephalitis Day is on February 22, it only seemed appropriate to devote this edition to the Head.
Encephalitis is brain inflammation. There are two kinds of encephalitis: infectious and autoimmune. Infectious encephalitis is caused usually by a virus that “invades” the brain. Autoimmune Encephalitis (AE) is when the immune system starts attacking the brain. Here to share her personal journey through AE former student is Lisa Lauter…
“I was diagnosed with LGI1 Autoimmune Encephalitis (AE) in February 2018. Encephalitis is a devastating brain disease that affects about 500,000 people worldwide. The type that I have is called LGI1 Autoimmune Encephalitis – it is extremely rare and known to affect about 0.83 people in a million. With Autoimmune Encephalitis the body starts to produce an antibody that attacks the brain. In my case, this led to seizures, problems with cognitive function such as short term memory loss and aphasia which makes it difficult for you to find the right word when speaking or trying to write something down. It also affected my mobility, and I was dependent on a walker for 3 months and then a cane for a further 3 months after that. Sometimes Autoimmune Encephalitis causes psychiatric symptoms too but I was fortunate to not experience those.
February 22 is World Encephalitis Day. Due to the rarity of this disease, it is important to tell my story as it often takes many months to reach an accurate diagnosis and begin treating this disease. The more people that know about this disease, both medical professionals and family members, the more likely we are to improve patient outcomes. Since I started telling my story in January, I have already met a Houston family whose daughter is being treated for presumptive AE, and I’ve been helping a friend in Singapore who is a school counsellor learn more about AE as one of her students has AE and is struggling.
Every patient is unique in their journey but there is often a common thread. Looking back, I know that my symptoms started in September 2016. I started experiencing numbness and tingling in my forehead that spread under my eyes, as if I was wearing a mask. In late May 2017, I also started having numbness and tingling down my left side, affecting my left arm and left leg. I would have moments where I would be walking or talking or eating and I had to pause to let a strange feeling kind of wash over me. As a family, we started calling these moments “episodes” and I would just pause what I was doing for a few seconds until it passed. I wouldn’t know until months later that these “episodes” were actually Partial Focal Seizures and I was having 40+ a day. I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, Epilepsy, shortly after I had a Grand Mal Seizure in July 2017.
I was put on several different seizure medications to try to control the seizures. The combination of seizure drugs eventually reduced my seizures to about 10 a day but I had increasing fatigue and was starting to show signs of short term memory loss, aphasia (where you can’t find the right word when speaking or writing), and problems with my walking – my left leg would limp and drag. An MRI showed possible Limbic Encephalitis so I was treated with IVIG infusions and this stopped me from having seizures on October 25, 2017.
Unfortunately I continued to decline and was admitted to Houston Methodist in December 2017 for five days of steroid infusions. My condition deteriorated so rapidly that I was now dependent on a walker to get around the room. I was very weak and we were very worried. I would spend the next 6 months attending five hours of therapy a week, gradually reducing to two hours a week by May 2018. It took a lot of work to graduate to using a cane 3 months later and then gradually giving up the cane too.
Lisa in walker race with her Father-in-law around the time she was diagnosed with LGI1 Autoimmune Encephalitis!
Everything we were learning about AE indicated that early and aggressive treatment led to the best outcomes. Were we doing enough only with the hours of therapies each week? We decided to seek a second opinion at Duke University Medical Center. After the results of another Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap), blood tests and another MRI, I was finally diagnosed with LGI1 Autoimmune Encephalitis. I now receive infusions of Rituximab every 6 months to teach my body to stop making these antibodies. Hopefully, one day I will no longer need these costly infusions but current research indicates that the relapse rate is high and we just don’t know how long I’ll need treatment.
It is now January 2019 and I am proud of the huge gains I have made over the last year. I no longer use a walker or a cane and recently started walking about 2 miles about 5 times a week. I continue to go to TIRR (Texas Institute of Rehabilitation and Research) for Physical Therapy twice a week to work on regaining the strength that I have lost. I started driving again last September, although I rely on my friends, children (now two of them drive) and my husband to do most of the driving. I am only comfortable driving in a bubble between my home, Wholefoods and my children’s school (about 7 miles end to end).
This stage continues to be challenging, but in different ways than 2018. Now my disease is largely invisible, except to my family and closest friends. I suffer from Brain Fatigue and have to be very careful to not over commit or over extend myself daily. I have become good about saying “that doesn’t work for me” when managing my commitments. I get headaches more frequently than I ever did and I still battle fatigue. When I am physically tired, Brain Fatigue affects me by causing aphasia and short term memory issues as well as gait changes where I begin to limp and drag my left leg again. I tire very easily driving and even being a passenger in a car can be exhausting for my brain. Being in a room where multiple conversations are occurring is very challenging for me as it is difficult to filter out the extraneous noise and focus my attention. But most of these effects aren’t outwardly visible and that is what makes it challenging.
I will be forever grateful for my ultimate diagnosis and recovery to date. I will be forever grateful that my children called 911 and my husband and family never gave up hope and advocated tirelessly on my behalf for diagnosis, treatment and aggressive rehabilitation. And lastly, I will be eternally grateful that I never, even in my darkest days, gave up hope for recovery. I somehow always believed that this wasn’t going to be the end of my story.
It is important for me to tell my story. World Encephalitis Day is February 22 and the more people that know about this disease, the greater the likelihood of faster diagnosis and treatment. Thanks for sharing my journey.”
When it comes to Pilates, people often think of building muscles rather than bones. As a number of women and men over the age of 50 are impacted by osteoporosis, we are going to learn more about this disease and the scientific process that occurs in the bones. This will set the foundation for a better understanding of the value of weight bearing exercises and how Pilates offers several advantages in building stronger bones.
Considered the silent disease because it can sneak up without any symptoms until something is broken, osteoporosis is a bone condition that effects anatomically at the deepest layer.
From a cellular level, there are bone building cells called osteoblasts and bone eating cells called osteoclasts. It’s normal to have both kinds of cells. Even the bone-absorbing osteoclasts serve a purpose in repair and regeneration. It’s when the osteoclasts out pace the osteoblasts that the bones can become porous leading to osteopenia and osteoporosis. There are also osteocyte cells that are thought to regulate whether the bone builders or eaters are activated.
When a load is placed on the body, it calls the osteoblasts into action. This is why weight bearing exercises are so important. It stimulates the bone building cells.
Even something as simple as standing is considered “weight bearing”. Interestingly, when astronauts spend time in space, they lose bone density. Gravity helps in bone building as it exerts a pull or load on the body activating the osteoblasts.
A few things to keep in mind about strengthening the bones. One is that building muscle also builds bone. Second, this strengthening is specific, so if you lift arm weights that will build the arm muscles and bones. However, if someone has osteoporosis, she should not lift objects more than 20lbs (and perhaps even 10lbs depending on fragility). Also, good technique is important whenever lifting, whether gym weights or grocery bags.
A strength training regimine is not only recommended to combat osteoporosis but also a walking, balance and spinal extensor program. As posture is often a concern with age, a spinal extension program can have a double benefit of improving posture and building the back bones.
It is important to note that without proper guidance Pilates could be harmful! The classical Pilates matwork consists predominately of spinal flexion exercises which should be avoided by those with osteoporosis. With the right instruction, a Pilates program can safely improve posture, balance, muscle and bone strength.
Pilates has a number of benefits when it comes to bone health. Obviously, the Pilates equipment offers unique resistance, whether small props like the magic circle or large pieces such as the reformer and the cadillac/trapeze table. The spring loaded machines give progressive resistance which means the weight increases the further into the movement. Since Pilates develops the whole body, this strengthens multiple muscle groups and bones.
The standing exercises offer additional weight bearing, not to mention balance opportunities. A focus on good posture and proper form during movement is valuable so the bones are strengthened in good alignment. While spinal flexion should be avoided, Pilates has plenty of beneficial spinal extensor exercises. In the fight against the silent disease of osteoporosis, Pilates builds not only muscle but can also build strength down to the bone.
