The one facet of our lives in which we look to achieve success in is of course...balance. We all look to have a balance of fun time and work time. A balanced, healthy diet to maintain a balanced body. We balance our checkbooks and bank accounts. We work off of a balanced budget. And we silently drift between the Yin and the Yang in our lives in order to maintain a homeostasis congruent to a life worth living in peace. Balance is everywhere. And it should be, because it is important. Without it, we tend to feel misplaced, misguided, and often times searching for answers outside of ourselves. Balance, one might argue, is the key to life.
But how do we attain it?
The simple answer is...awareness. By raising our awareness of our choices and what causes us to feel imbalanced, we can then adequately look to change what has thrown us off-kilter. And this elevated awareness can be brought to every facet of our lives in order to improve them.
For you may have noticed even in the simplest tasks, such as working out, that maybe you're not getting the results in which you have been looking for. And that's ok!! The important part is that you have become aware. Now you are ready for a change. Now you are ready to introduce more balance into your routine.
And that is where Flow Motion comes in. We have talked before about how our workouts introduce balance into your fitness. But we have not discussed why this is so important.
The most obvious being- it strengthens the core. Balance exercises, such as being on a Flow Motion mat in the water, fires your core muscles (transverse abdominals, multifidus, diaphragm, pelvic floor, and many other deeper muscles) and strengthens them with less time and effort. This is possible because your core acts more as a stabilizer and force transfer center rather than a prime mover. By introducing balance training you are automatically implementing core strength into your workout regimen as it is constantly used in every movement on the mat's surface. Imagine that- even if you did nothing on a Flow Motion mat except balance exercises, you would still be strengthening your entire core!
And by working your entire core, you are automatically improving any overcompensation issues you may have as well. Exercising on land, while great, tends to allow for participants to rely heavily on their favored sides. Especially if they have had a prior injury which has led to atrophy in a particular muscle. When doing exercises on land, it is easy to ''cheat'' per say, and rely on your stronger side to compensate for your weaker one. Doing this long term often leads to further injury, pain and distress because it puts too much of a burden on one particular muscle group or even bone. Often times, after overuse, symptoms such as arthritis and other problems involving tissues- the most popular being meniscus tears- become more prevalent. This is immediately taken out by Flow Motion. You cannot cheat, compensate, or get away with anything when you are constantly balancing! Which in turn gives participants an awareness of any overcompensation issues they may have overlooked, and the opportunity to correct them. It's simple- balance exercises create a more balanced body.
And along with a more balanced body comes a more balanced brain. The exercises performed on a Flow Motion mat also forces your brain to fire neurons which may have laid dormant for extended periods of time as new muscles are being used and strengthened. It is fairly easy to get into a pattern which repeats throughout our days- inlcuding our exercise routines. After a while your brain becomes used to working in a familiar way causing it to only use certain neurological passageways when conducting movements. This is the brilliant efficiancy of the body in action. However, if we surprise the brain and create an exercise atmosphere unfamiliar to its past records, the brain is made to work in a completetly different way. This makes your movements more refined, your body is able to adapt quicker to unfamiliar situations, and it keeps your brain young by increasing it's neuro-passageways and allowing such phenomenon as increased memory and higher levels of dopamine (the anti-anxiety/happy hormone) to flow.
We have experienced this with our classes. After completing a bootcamp workout, most participants have a feeling of elevated awareness, cognitive function, and an increased feeling overall wellbeing. This is because their brains have traveresed unfamiliar territory, survived, and even thrived- creating a stronger sense of confidence in the individual. It seems Flow Motion is not only great for your fitness, but for your overall feeling of well-being as well!!
And once you put balance exercises into your daily routine- what do you think will happen? Balance will begin to seep into every aspect of your life. Because once you have changed one thing, it is only natural that everything else in your life will change as well. Like pins in a bowling alley- knock the first few over and the rest will eventually follow. Its quite simple really- yet undeniably amazing. Let Flow Motion guide you into a more balance-centered exercise routine and see the results for yourself. Experience balance on the mat- and then bring it to the rest of your life.
