Here are some amazing healthy recipes she recommends from Nutrition Action!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentils

Total time: 30 minutes.

Great warm or cold. To keep the flavor intense, don’t add the dressing until you’re ready to serve the dish.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large pot, bring the lentils and enough water to cover by 2″ to a boil. Simmer until just tender, 18-20 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, toss the butternut squash in 1 Tbs. of the oil. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, about 15 minutes. Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, onion, honey, and remaining 3 Tbs. of oil.

Gently toss with the lentils and squash. Season with up to ½ tsp. of salt and plenty of pepper. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

Serves 4.

 Synergy Studio is offering an AMAZING deal on LivingSocial!

Synergy Studio will be featured in LivingSocial Monday, 23 January through Wednesday, 25 January. The promotion will run for 72 hours (3 days) beginning at 5 am. The deal will be priced at $20.00.

Description:

We believe you when you say you really would be exercising if it weren’t for your jam-packed agenda that leaves little time for fitness. Ditch the idea of lengthy gym sessions with today’s deal from Synergy Studio: Pay $20 for 20 Pilates mat classes (a $200 value). Join up to 20 other flexible friends in these 30-minute classes as you stretch and bend your way toward reaping benefits like increased core stability, improved posture, enhanced body awareness, and more. With at least three class times offered daily, this St. John’s Avenue fitness studio provides a schedule any client can pencil into their busy day — and with such short sessions, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a valid excuse not to come break a sweat.

Want more? Check out Synergy Studio on Facebook.

What is LivingSocial?

Living without gluten

At the grocery store you can now buy beer, cookies, pasta, and even dog food that claim to contain no gluten, a protein found in wheat and some other grains. But is it really necessary to avoid the stuff?

Yes, if you have celiac disease, as an estimated 1 in 130 people do. That inherited condition causes the body to react to gluten as if it were a toxin, triggering an immune-system reaction that attacks several parts of the body, primarily the small intestine.

But knowing whether you have celiac disease isn’t easy because the symptoms can be vague or varied. As a result, many people who have the condition go undiagnosed, and many of those who avoid gluten don’t need to.

For the entire article click on this link

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/healthy-living/diet-nutrition/diets-dieting/gluten-free-foods/overview/gluten-free-foods-ov.htm

Tuesdays and Thursdays 6pm-7pm

Taught by Lauren Jasinski, PT

• Open to the public
• Spaces are limited
• Classes begin to today 1/12/12

Sign up today by calling 904-387-9355 or email synergystudio@bellsouth.net

20% OFF of: an unlimited monthly class and your choice of one private or massage

Keep your workout going over the holidays when its the hardest and most important.

We Love all of you so much! Happy holidays and Happy New year!

Polstar explains what the comprehensive course is:

The comprehensive series consists of 6 two-day (16 hours) course modules and teaches the practical skills needed to become proficient with Pilates exercises, assessment techniques, movement sequences, and the application of the Polestar Principles (the Polestar Principles course must be completed first). Case studies will be reviewed and you will design an exercise or treatment plan based on the information in the case study. You will learn over 90 exercises and their variations for Pilates equipment. The Pilates Studio and Pilates for Rehabilitation series are taught together, and include breakout sessions for rehabilitation professionals during each module. The final module is often taught separately.

Upon completion, you will be able to:

If you are interested in information to become a certified pilates practitioner. Please email synergypilatesedu@bellsouth.net or call 904-387-9355.

Special thanks to our amazing instructors Lynn Peterson and assistant Ilene Chazan! Your time and knowledge was greatly appreciated!

Experiencing movement in this way has marked effects on circulation and breathing, affecting both the nervous and endocrine systems. Since you cannot affect one part of the body without affecting the whole, Pilates can also enhance your mental and emotional well-being. If you truly commit to this incredible method, you’ll notice that it will affect everything you do in your life. Your new awareness will transfer into the way you walk, sit, move, speak, think, react, respond, relate and recover. When this happens, you will truly know what it means to embody Pilates!

In his book, “Return to Life,” Joseph Pilates wrote about how the process of taking control of one’s body and health also revitalizes the mind and spirit. By becoming more aware of your bodily sensations, you develop a heightened awareness of yourself. This can unlock the wisdom you need to realize your full potential. Whether you want to acquire a skill for movement, overcome mental and emotional fears surrounding past pain or injury, or just feel so fantastic in your own skin that you truly believe you can accomplish anything, the Pilates Method can help you accomplish this!

History Of Pilates

Joseph H. Pilates
(1880 – 1967)

Mary Pilates LeRiche qualifies as an expert and probably was Joseph’s earliest disciple as she had worked in her Uncle Joe’s exercise studio as a young woman in her 20’s. A now famous photograph of Pilates’ exercise studio at 939 Eighth Ave., NY, NY displays a long rectangular room with at least four Reformers (the original group sessions?) in a line. Joseph stands between two, his wife, Clara, in her nurse’s uniform, by another, and his niece Mary at yet another Reformer. Mary relocated to South Florida in the 1960’s and continued teaching fitness as her uncle had taught her. Even today, at 81 years young, she will demonstrate the “only way” the exercises should ever be done. That would be just the same way it was done in the 1940’s.

“People won’t understand the brilliance of my work for 50 years.” That is a quote from Joseph, himself, about 50 years ago. Mary LeRiche says that her uncle would be quite happy and surprised at just how much impact his work is having on the world. Today, healthcare professionals are studying and implementing his work into their healing therapies. Medical doctors are writing prescriptions for their patients: Pilates. His clever exercise apparatus designs are virtually the exact designs used by today’s equipment manufacturers. How many of the exercise machines found in today’s traditional gym setting can accommodate hundreds of exercises on one single piece the size of a twin bed? The Wunda Chair doubled as a small living room side chair that when flipped upon its back becomes a gymnasium with two bedsprings. Pilates felt that every home should have one.

As a child he had suffered with asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. Even as a young adolescent he made a life-altering decision that he would restore his own health. He studied the Eastern disciplines of yoga and martial arts and blended them with Western forms of physical activities such as bodybuilding, gymnastics, boxing, and recreational sports. At the young age of just fourteen years he had sculpted his physique so well that he was posing for anatomical charts.

As a young man he moved from Germany to England where he became a boxer, circus performer, and self-defense instructor. When World War One erupted he, and other German nationals, were incarcerated in Lancaster as “enemy aliens.” Pilates influenced the other detainees to follow his exercise regime which he called, “Contrology.” His fitness program was so beneficial that he and his fellow compatriots survived the 1918 influenza epidemic that took the lives of thousands of people. He attributed their survival to their physically fit lungs! Hence, the Pilates Principle of Diaphragmatic Breathing!

Pilates was later sent to the Isle of Man to work as a nurse orderly caring for the war wounded. One can imagine the condition of many of these soldiers; some had probably grown weak from lingering in hospital beds for months, their muscles atrophied, further inhibiting their potential for recovery. Unable to participate in Pilates’ floor exercises, these men benefited by Joseph’s cleverly designed apparatus to rehabilitate them right from their hospital beds and wheelchairs. Looking at the Cadillac one can see the table as the hospital bed; plumbing pipes create the canopy and borrowed bedsprings become first assistive and then resistive exercise tools. Despite whatever injuries the wounded may have had, Pilates was able to strengthen their muscles and restore them to their potential good health.

After the war Joseph returned to Germany but became disenfranchised with the political direction his country was taking. He decided to immigrate to the United States of America. He met his future wife, Clara, on the ship. Clara was a nurse and they realized that they shared the same interest of wanting to restore the good health of others. When they arrived in New York they decided to open up a physical fitness studio.

Joseph Pilates’ method of physical and mental wellness has been a best-kept secret of the dance and entertainment world since the 1920’s when his studio was discovered by Martha Graham, the mother of modern dance, George Balanchine, the artistic director for the New York City Ballet, and Rudolf von Laban, founder of Labanotation. Dancers such as Hanya Holm and Romana Kryzanowska, along with prizefighters, actors, actresses, and traveling circus performers embraced his methods both for the total body conditioning needed for the rigors of their work and also for rehabilitating the injuries that often plague dancers, performers, and athletes.

Dance companies all over the world use Pilates’ exercises to keep their dancers in top form. Many dancers go on to become Hollywood celebrities; Patrick Swayze and Madonna to name only two. Due to the attention the mainstream public gives to Hollywood celebrities the name Pilates is now a household word. If Madonna does it, it must work.

Romana Kryzanowska entered Pilates’ world as a young dancer in New York. Pilates regarded her as his disciple; she had absorbed and could express the essence of his work as if it were coming from him. She continues his legacy today in New York and has generously shared her knowledge with the world through her students, books, videos, and lectures.

Joseph’s obituary, appearing in the New York Times in 1967, reads like an advertisement for his methods. He is described as a white-maned lion with steel blue eyes (one was glass from a boxing mishap), and mahagony skin, and as limber in his 80’s as a teenager.

Joseph and Clara operated their exercise studio for over 40 years. He had dedicated his life’s work to restoring the health and vitality of others. Gone now for thirty-five years, the essence of his work continues on into the 21st century.

The most effective Pilates clothing is generally composed of the same three materials. It is a combination of cotton, nylon, and spandex. The cotton keeps the clothes comfortable for the movement your body will be doing.

The nylon and spandex are for flexibility and are essential in order to do the exercises. Without the stretch of these materials, you might as well be doing the stretches in the clothes you’re wearing right now! It would be very difficult and the clothes would not move with you, which is one of the most important aspects to remember when choosing your Pilates clothing.

If you are not comfortable while doing the exercises, you won’t want to continue them. Pilates is all about the physical and MENTAL parts of fitness. The exercise clothing needs to be breathable and have non-resistant.

Along with the stretch of the Pilates clothing, it is also very important that you do not buy clothes that are very loose-fitting. Of course, you don’t want them to be too tight, but in the same breath, it is important that they are close-fitting.

Why is this so important?

The foundation of Pilates has a lot to do with proper alignment. Snug fitting clothes gives you Pilates Professional the ability to clearly see your alignment while you are executing each exercise. A little bit out of alignment makes a big difference on the effectiveness of each exercise.

Also lot of the exercises are done on your back with your legs up in the air and your Pilates professional standing over you looking down. They are not interested in looking at you under garments. Men should ware bicycle shorts. You need something that won’t get in your way but also something that allows you to move.

Remove all fancy buttons, pins. belts and jewelry as they could become extremely inconvenient while bending, stretching and so on.

As in all other types of body and mind exercise regimes, it is important that you are comfortable with what you wear, while at the same time the clothing should permit stretching and bending without creating any type of inconvenience to yourself or to others. We have provided links to everything you will need at our online Pilates Boutique store powered by the worlds most respected online retailer Amazon and Gaiam…….Enjoy