Sit with your legs outside shoulder width with your arms lengthened out toward the sides. Make sure you keep the shoulders down. Lengthen up through the spine. Inhale to prepare. Exhale as you twist to the side and do two gentle stretches, bringing the arm to the opposite leg. Let your eyes follow the arm coming to the back. Inhale to return to the top. Repeat 8–10 times.

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Have you ever thought about – that you usually become what you think about? It becomes particularly strong as you attach a feeling and image to what you think about. Hmm…be careful what you think about – it may come true! It may not happen straight away but it usually come true with time. Have I got you thinking now?…

Some of us have probably heard about a technique that will assist us in “getting or becoming what we want”. I would call it visualization. This is really the secret to the becoming a “winner” or achieving what you want! Visualization has become a popular personal development tool over the past two or three decades but our ancestors also used the technique. Before setting out to hunt, native peoples often had gatherings and enacted the motions of hunting successfully. They then went and did it. We do the same.

We use our minds to visualize everything from the smallest item we desire to all the possible outcomes of our actions. It all starts with a thought and then we create a picture in our mind as well. Whenever we have an idea to do something we visualize it first and then ponder the possibilities. For instance, Competitors at the winter Olympics will have over and over time again gone through what they want to achieve in their minds before they go out and perform. They have in fact visualized the desired outcome over and over again. The winner’s would never have had a thought that they would fail.
So what exactly is visualization? Visualization can be defined as the use of the imagination through pictures or mental imagery to create visions of what we want in our lives and how to make them happen. Along with focus and emotion visualization becomes a powerful, creative tool that helps us achieve what we want in life. Used correctly it can bring about a great deal of self-improvement, which includes maintaining good health

Using visualization as a tool invariably results in a much better performance and outcome. This is due to the fact that the mind does not distinguish whether something is happening to us or if we are imagining it. Therefore when we visualize, the mind is practicing the outcome just as if it were happening. Visualization works because when you imagine yourself performing perfectly and doing exactly what you want, you physiologically create neural patterns in your brain, just as if you had physically performed the action. The thought can stimulate the nervous system in the same way as the actual event does. This also holds true in business or in other areas of life such as in delivering a speech, performing in your sport, or any other situation that requires preparedness and forethought.

So how could YOU use visualization? Just think about what you would like to achieve or do or become. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to run a 5km race? Do you want to lower your blood pressure? No matter what goals you may have, it is important to figure out what they are and be very specific in order to visualize them. To be effective, like any skill, visualization needs to be practiced regularly.

Following are a few steps you can use to engage in effective visualization:
1. Go somewhere quiet and private where you won’t be disturbed.
2. Close your eyes and think of the goal, new behavior, habit, or skill you want to acquire.
3. Take several deep breaths and relax.
4. Visualize the object or situation you desire in your mind as clearly and with as much detail as you can
5. Add emotion, feeling, and your senses to your vision.
6. Practice it at least twice a day for about 10 minutes each time.
7. Persevere until you succeed.
8. Maintain positive thoughts and a good attitude throughout.

“Whatever it is you are feeling is a perfect reflection of what you are in the process of becoming”
- Esther Hicks – Abraham

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In Pilates-based exercises your centre is your “powerhouse.” Your powerhouse consists of the neck, shoulder blades, trunk, and pelvis. Coordination between these core areas enables us to establish good and safe movement patterns. Pilates has often been described as “movement flowing out from a strong centre.” The centre should be the foundation of all movements. In Pilates we refer to the abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks as our centre or “girdle of strength.” It is important to engage our deep postural muscles such as the pelvic floor and transverse abdominis when exercising. This helps protect the spine.

One of the most important centring muscles is the pelvic floor, which is the muscle that holds the internal organs within the pelvis, running from the pubic bone to the base of the spine. It is important for both men and women to be aware of this muscle and how to exercise it. The pelvic floor acts like a hammock supporting the internal organs; it surrounds and controls the neck of the bladder and the urethra (outlet from the bladder), the anus, and in women, the vagina. It provides a strong support for the pelvic organs during activity and also helps control your urination and defecation.
All your centring muscles will need to be developed to the same degree to achieve harmonious results. It is important to understand how to engage the deep postural muscles to protect the spine as you exercise.

Here is one way of finding these deep, centring muscles:
- Come onto all fours, with your hands beneath your shoulders and knees beneath your hips. Look straight down at the floor. The back of the neck stays long; the spine maintains its natural neutral curve.
- Breathe in to prepare and lengthen through the spine. Then breathe out and engage the muscles of your pelvic floor and hollow your
lower abdominals back to your spine
– to activate your transverse abdominis. Do not move the pelvis or spine at all. Breathe in and release. Repeat this a few times until you become comfortable
doing this and eventually can keep your pelvic floor and transverse abdominis slightly engaged as you breathe in.

This is an easy position to help you to find these muscles. When you have found these muscles, you can then engage them in any position
(standing, lying or kneeling).

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Did you know that we spend about one third of our lives asleep – or at least some of us…others do not see the importance of sleep and I would therefore like to talk about this essential activity.
Sleep is actually a required activity. I am sure you all recognize and feel the importance of sleep. We need to sleep. It is important for normal motor and cognitive function. Sleep is required for survival.
I am sure most of you feel the changes after a good sleep. We feel rested and more alert. Lack of sleep can cause serious problems such as difficulty concentrating, loss of energy, fatigue and emotional instability.
Some people who suffer sleep disorders are unaware of it and have not been diagnosed or treated for their disorder. Lifestyle factors and undiagnosed or untreated sleep disorders can cause problem sleepiness. Problem sleepiness can be deadly. Each year many accidents occur due to drivers who were “asleep at the wheel” and it can also cause work accidents. It can also affect our learning abilities and how we think.
So, it is very important for us all to get enough sleep.

Here are some interesting facts that I found when I was reading about sleep:
• The average human will spend 1/3 or their life sleeping, which equates to about 20 – 25 years over 75 Year life span.
• It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.
• Dreams may not serve any purpose at all but be merely a meaningless byproduct of two evolutionary adaptations – sleep and consciousness.
• Sleep strengthens memory and extracts information from within the day, sleep actually “extracts the meaning of your day”.
• Sleep walking & sleep talking are more common in children than adults. Children generally have no memory of such events, usually do not require treatment, and usually outgrow the disorder.
• Sleep loss affects personal safety on the road.
• The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.
• Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It’s possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless
• Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.
• Sleeping over nine hours per night (for an adult) is just as bad as sleeping 6 or less.
• Daytime naps improve memory! It also helps you remember important facts.
• It seems that the body processes sugar while in deep sleep, if you don’t sleep well sugar levels in your body will rise dramatically.
• Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal
• Being awake for 17 hours straight is the equivalent of performing at a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

Look after your sleep – it is important for your health & wellbeing.

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We are so fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, with access to the beauty of nature all around us. So, do you get out there enjoying it? The benefits of walking are so many from; increased fitness, strengthened heart, better bone health, improved physical function, alleviated symptoms of depression and so much more.
Walking is pretty easy. Take one step in front of another! You’ve been doing it your entire life, and whether it’s for exercise, a stroll, or walking the dog, there are lots of benefits to be gained from it. I encourage you to continue if that’s what you do for exercise, but if you want to up the intensity and start walking faster, then attention to your technique might be just the ticket.
Here are some basic walking technique tips:
• Be careful so that you don’t overstride. Try to walk faster instead, concentrate on a powerful push off while the front foot lands closer to the body.
• Walk heel to toe and not flatfooted. Contact the ground with the heel, Roll the foot over the centre of your foot & push off with your toes.
• Rotate your hips forward and backward as you walk. Your waist should twist.
• Keep your torso upright. Leaning forward or back will slow you down.
• Keep your elbows at 90 degrees. Keep your hands relaxed. Swing your arms forward and back and keep them close to your body. Your hands should not cross the midline of your body to maintain efficiency. Speed up your arm swing to increase your speed and your legs will follow!
• Keep your shoulders and neck relaxed. Head should be upright, eyes looking forward.
One of my favourites walk around here is the Ironbark basin walk and the walking track from Pt Addiss towards Anglesea. There are so many places to walk, bush or beach. Just get out there. It will be as good for your heart as for your soul!

Karin Hagberg, Torquay, Victoria, Australia

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