Mind Body Connection In Body Maintainance: Why Most Men Don't Have It

On my way out the door from work a male student of mine stopped me: I had taught 3 Pilates classes, and ask if I would teach my privately.

In those 3 classes that day I had 2 men in class. Men, generally only take Pilates for two reasons. Someone told them to,(doctor or physical therapist) or someone wants them to, ( wife or lover).

Pilates is subtle and that is were men get lost and that is why this student was asking for extra help. He first started taking for both of the aforementioned reasons ,a back injury and his wife who takes with him.

I came home that day to find this in my mail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM

Roughly, about the different ways men and women process information because of the differences of our brains. I know many of us already know about this as I did. But it is still just mind blowing for a lack of a better metaphor.

Back to the mind body connection needed to do things like Yoga and Pilates for men. I love having them in my classes because I have to work hard at providing an awareness for them nature didn't provide. Note: there are plenty of women that don't have a clue either of HOW TO HAVE A THINKING BODY!.

We are all pretty much hip to the notion that how we think gets translated into our bodies and can cause illness. I am talking about how we think about doing or being in our bodies because I know this also effects our health and dare I say mental health too.

This an example of the disconnect some men have in what there bodies are doing in space. This is just a verbal clue to set up a bicep exercise.

Seated with legs extended. Feel your seat bones, draw them together while also dropping the tale bone down. Raise and extend your arms in front of you,
shoulder height and bend at the elbow palms facing you, being careful to kept your elbows shoulder height. Turn off you pecs, no tightness of the muscles below collar bone which is wide.

I bet the women reading this have been trying to do this,

most men are saying

"Huh, what is she talking about and why would it mater what my ass is doing if I am working my arms?"

it goes back to the boxes of men's brains that in the video clip.

I see it everyday i am in the club as i walk by the guys lifting weights, there focus goes right to the muscle they are trying to strengthen and all others be damned. As they lift the weight for a bicep curl they release their abdomens; that they were just working on a moment ago, arch their backs puff out their chest and then think that they are really working their Biceps. Not!!!

On top of this it is hard to tell men that they don't know how to use their bodies. Women will say, "Yeah I know!",

Men don't admire other men that have to learn to use their bodies in the ways I am talking about. Dancers or Acrobats. I know a lot of it has to do with the thights!!!

They do admire, muscle and force and will. These are all groovy if you are 20, but when you are our age it will cause more harm then benefits.

Can you relate or am I speaking Greek?

How can you learn to use you body more effectively? Get more in your head and less in trying to break a sweat for now. Take that yoga or Mat pilates class and learn how to move from the inside out.

Look at the body that is teaching you and decide if you truly like it. When it is just standing where, walking doing normal stuff.