August News (2011)

By Patrick Przyborowski

Dear Practice Friends,

We’ve had a busy month here, in spite of vacations from many of our regular clients. While on my own vacation with my partner Deb, I finally got to take my first Pilates session at the STOTT Pilates main studio in Toronto, Canada. It was great! Thank you to my instructors for doing such a great job in my absence and thank you for being willing to share your class time to accommodate everyone.

We do have some class changes this month so please see below. As always, you can print off the August calendar for all of our class offerings for August by clicking on the link in the column to the right.

We had a wonderful crop of new clients show up on the scene last month, owing partly to our Living Social promotion for new clients, as well as from referrals from our veteran practitioners. Welcome Stacy Besecker, Matt Carpenter, Anna Clarke, Joyce Cludy, Gloria Goldman, Heather Wagner, Sharon Kaper, Annie Miller, Molly Shanks, Dona Niswonger, Jean Peterson, Ione Potter, Jacob Richter, Nicole Richter, Janet Shanks, Sarah Shanks, Susan Smallwood, Denise Staebler, Mercedes Steiger, Kerry Ulery, and Annette White!

Best wishes,

Patrick Przyborowski

Class Changes

• No Yoga-Pilates Fusion on Thursday, Aug. 4th
• Hatha Yoga on Tues., August 2nd at 7p, and Thursday, August 4th, at 9a will be taught by Cindy Mills.

We’re thrilled to have Cindy teaching Joy’s Hatha Yoga classes while she in on vacation the first week of August.

Cindy is a native of Ohio and founder of Harmony House Yoga and Wellness Center in Powell, OH.  More recently, Cindy is living and practicing in Dayton. She is certified in Hatha yoga as well as Senior and Laughter yoga, Yoga for Golfers, and Pilates Matwork. She is a member of Yoga Therapy Association and Yoga Alliance. Cindy is also a certified Wellness Coach and Hypnotherapist. Check out her coaching website:

Well Health for Life

Instructors Attend Advanced Training

Kitty Snow and Joy Karl recently attended advanced coursework for the Cadillac, Stability Chair, Ladder Barrel, Spine Corrector and Arc Barrel. They said their training was excellent. Some of you have already received the benefit of their training: Good stuff!

Research: How Exercise Can keep the Brain Fit

From the NY Times Well column, this article details recent findings on the effects of even moderate levels of activity and its effect on cognitive decline. Keep moving!

How Exercise Can Keep the Brain Fit

Ella Bella Cookies

When Mandy Groszko’s daughter Ella was found to have a gluten intolerance, she set out to find products that were both gluten free and good tasting. Says Mandy:

“I wanted to make sure she enjoyed all the food her big sister did. I was very disappointed in the chocolate chip cookies available. So I started making my own. Now I want to share my yummy cookies with you. Enjoy the best cookies around, which just happen to be gluten free!”

They’ve passed Patrick’s taste test (2 times) with flying colors. Please contact Mandy at ellabellacookies@gmail.com. Also:

Ella Bella Cookies

Monthly Class Calendar

Practice Calendar for August 2011

January News (2011)

By Patrick Przyborowski

Dear Practice Friends,

Happy New Year (coming up shortly)! For many, the days leading up to January 1^st present opportunities to think about what has been accomplished over the course of the current year and consider what is possible for the next year. I’m a fan of fresh starts. They can happen on any day of the year, at any moment of any day, though I acknowledge that there is a strong appeal in charting your commitments in a brand new calendar.

New Year resolutions can be a hit or miss event, depending on a number of variables, one of the most prominent being that people often set goals that are unrealistic, or they fail to break an audacious goal into smaller, bite-sized action-steps.

There’s also another variable that often goes unnoticed and it has a direct bearing on your ability to make positive change that is both achievable and sustainable. Click on this link for the full text.

When we look forward in time, envisioning ourselves new and improved, we tend to create a static image, a picture of a better self, to which we grant a sense of permanence. We set our goals to achieve peak fitness with the assumption that, having reached our goals, we will stay like that forever, or at least for the rest of the year. But in the same breath you and I both know that progress in action is messy. So we have competing claims:

Progress envisioned = “To infinity and beyond! Right now!”

Progress applied = “Two steps forward, one step back”

By being aware of this dynamic, we can generate complementary claims instead through a few simple shifts:

1. Break the year into three phases: pre-peak, peak, and post-peak.
2. In plotting out your timeline on the calendar, allow enough time – around 4 months – to reach your peak. This pre-peak phase is enjoyable when you start to see both the steps forward and the steps back as a natural part of the growth cycle.
3. Plan for both “transformation training” and “maintenance training”: The training you do to reach your peak should be designed to generate the changes you wish to achieve. Upon reaching your peak, switch to a maintenance program for the remainder of the year. Seriously, your muscles and joints will thank you.
4. Plan for, and enjoy, your post-peak phase. The key here is to allow for those life events – holiday meals, vacations on a beach – that will inevitably impact your body and your mindset. If your goal is to reduce your waistline by 3 inches during your peak phase, plan for a 1-inch gain from September through December. It’s most likely going to happen. If you know this, and you agree from the outset that a net loss of 2 inches on your waist over the course of the year is a win for you, then you can experience Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas or Hanukkah with a sense of victory rather than being miserable with guilt.

The point of a New Year’s resolution is to do something positive for ourselves, so that at the end of the day we are happier than we were before. Some folks are happier by choosing not to make any resolutions at all, which is fine. Regardless of whether you approach the New Year strategically or spontaneously, I hope you’ll make Practice an integral part of your vision for a healthy body and mind in 2011.

Best wishes,

Patrick Przyborowski

Practice

Free New Year’s Matwork Class!

Get the New Year started right (or work off the grogginess from New Year’s Eve) with a free matwork class, Saturday, 1.1.11, at 10a with Patrick.

Class change

Our Thursday 7p yoga class has moved to Tuesday, starting Jan 11, at 7p. The Thurs. 6p class is cancelled for the winter.

Practice Strength 2011

For the New Year, I’m crafting the Practice Strength program as a 14 week Intensive for new and existing clients who want to train for peak fitness this winter. I will work with clients on a weekly basis in private or duet sessions, offering guidance and support to help you establish an inspiring vision, set effective goals, learn to practice eating well, and train your body for optimal fitness.

Please email Patrick at pprzyborowski@gmail.com if you are interested in making 2011 your strongest year yet!

I’m happy to announce that rates for both standing appointments (Privates, Duets, etc.) and group classes (Matwork, Yoga, Group Reformer, TRX) will remain at 2010 price levels for 2011. Good News!

Social Opportunities

Are you kidding me? You’ve been partying since Halloween! It’s time to dig in and focus on your training. Besides, it’s cold out there!

10 Great Reasons for Practicing Yoga in 2011

In the spirit of David Letterman’s daily top 10 lists, our resident instructor, Joy Karl, has given us 10 excellent reasons for including yoga as part of our fitness regimen for 2011.

10 Reasons to do Yoga at Practice

Research: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

Check out this article from the New York Times that relates a recent experiment in exercising before breakfast.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast/

Note: If you are experimenting with this yourself, make sure you do your exercise early and then eat breakfast (within 30-45 minutes) after your workout. Delaying your first meal in the day can actually slow your metabolism!

Practice Class Calendar for January, 2011

Practice Calendar 1-2011 portrait

Practice Strength Guidelines

By Patrick Przyborowski

The program guidelines for Practice Strength 2010 are now available, by clicking on the following link:

PS2010Guidelines

If you are interested in participating, here’s a couple of things to do to help you prepare:

1. Buy and read Strength for Life by Shawn Phillips

2. Attend the informational session on Sunday, January 10th at 10a here at the studio

We have had an amazing year in 2009 with our inaugural group and we are looking forward to continuing the tradition forward with our new practitioners!

January News (2010)

By Patrick Przyborowski

Dear Practice Friends,

Let me take a moment to highlight some changes and new items for January:

• Mark your calendars: Practice Strength starts with an informational meeting Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 10a. Registration and session 1 are on Sunday January 17th at 9a. Contact Patrick at 937-609-4170 w/questions.

• A reminder: Reformer related packages will increase by $1/session starting January 1.

• Joy’s Hatha Yoga class on Tuesdays at 7p is now Yoga on the Ball. Joy says: This class combines yoga poses with a stability ball to help you improve balance, strength, and flexibility. The ball provides support for poses that might otherwise be too difficult, yet can also add a wonderful challenge to you balance for poses that you might see “easy.” Yoga on the ball pairs breathing and asana to create a flow of energy that will leave you feeling calm, strong, and centered. The class is open to students of all levels.

• Yoga Level 1 on Thursdays is discontinued. Please consider Yoga on the Ball on Tuesdays at 7p or Hatha Yoga on Fridays at 9a, and stay tuned for more offerings in the spring!

• Our referral program is under way! For every new client referred by you who purchases a New Journey package for only $99, we’ll add a complimentary class to any one of your current packages. Note: you must have an active package at the studio to take part in the program.

On behalf of the Practice Staff, Happy New Year! As you lay out your New Years resolutions, please consider making time for Practice in 2010.

Best wishes,

Patrick

December News (2009)

By Patrick Przyborowski

The fairly warm November weather has faded, and with the colder weather can come the desire for heartier fare and evenings in front of the fire with a nice glass of cabernet. Here at Practice, we’re prescribing moderation during the onset of winter, and a game plan for your New Year’s resolutions. Here’s a brief look at our Practice Strength program and what’s new at the studio in December:

• For many, the new year is an opportunity for goal setting and making a fresh start, and the Practice^TM Strength program is designed to help you not only establish a vision for your best self, but to follow through on your goals by establishing life practices of strength building, cardiovascular health, flexibility and a healthy diet. Following the program established by Shawn Phillips in his book, Strength for Life, Practice instructors and mentors guide participants as they create personal vision statements, goals, meal plans and workout regimens. The support group meets weekly for 14 weeks then monthly throughout the remainder of the year to deepen team encouragement, cooperation, and accountability. We begin with an informational meeting on Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 9a, and the program starts in earnest January 17^th. If you are interested in making positive change for yourself, or know someone who is, please consider the Practice^TM Strength program. We will be mailing a postcard to you in the next week, and will have posters available as well. Please feel free to forward them to anyone you think might be interested.

• For the holiday season, please also consider a Practice gift certificate for a friend or family member. If they are a new client, then the New Journey package for $99 is a great way to start the new year: it includes three private or semi-private sessions and one Pilates matwork or Yoga class.

• We also will have some wonderful Practice^TM shirts, pants and jackets for sale starting the middle of next week. Each is embroidered with our logo, and will pair very nicely with a gift certificate!

• Join Patrick for a special New Years Day TRX/Reformer class designed to help you sweat out the New Year’s Eve toxins and get 2010 off to a fabulous start. Class starts at 11a, which will give you plenty of time in the morning to rest and and hydrate!

• On a more sobering note, I want to let you know we will experience a minimal price increase in 2010 to offset rising costs. Privates, duets and group reformer packages will increase by $1/session starting January 1. Pricing for Matwork, Yoga and TRX/Matwork Combo classes will remain the same. All packages purchased prior to January 1 will be honored at 2009 rate.

Lastly, I want to wish everyone a very happy holiday, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza. Thank you in advance for all your continued support as we move with Strength toward opportunities in the new year.

Best wishes,

Patrick