Studio Fitness Victoria

Why not just listen to Cecilia describe why the sensory input the teeth give to the brain stimulates the nervous system....and my experience of sensing innate, natural, effortless strength and stretching.

It can be a lot for people to actually experience ease of posture and movement. There is too much effort put into holding oneself up or 'posturing' which requires excess mental effort as well. "If you have to think about posture or breathing - it means you are not good at it".

I am hosting a workshop this Friday afternoon that looks at how your teeth and jaw can actually affect your posture and how your brain naturally activates strength. It’s fascinating how much tension and alignment in the mouth can influence the rest of the body - or even make you feel 'lost'.

In one video, I have a specifically fitted device between my teeth. This disrupts my brain's pattern of how it uses the sense from what the teeth and jaw give to the nervous system. It therefor resets. Then I can SENSE the floor, effortless shifting through the whole body during walking, ease of balance on one leg, and the excitement to experiment with movement. This is supposed to happen to us naturally!!

I have started to wear a smaller clear version of the dental device as I walk to work or participate in my strength training. It feels amazing! My spine and hips and neck all feel so free without trying.

Cecilia Ng is an airway orthodontist from Vancouver who specializes in dental devices for people who can not wear a sleep apnea device. She understands why and how people are subconsciously changing their posture to pull more air into their bodies at night...and I can teach you how you are doing it in standing positions during the daytime.

https://momence.com/l/5ehyBbAX

I like this time of shift. I even like putting on a lighter jacket only to be surprised by a cooler day no one expected! It reminds me to adapt ... not try to control the environment but instead just flow with it.

Spring is a natural time of transition so I have decided to do an Ayuvedic Kitchari Cleanse as a way to reset my patterns. This typically means eating an easy-to-digest meal for several days. You’re still eating regularly to nourishish your body, but you remove the digestive load.

In addition to the space created by eliminating decision-making you start to notice patterns, cravings, emotions, discomfort, resistance, story-telling, and habits.

The first time I tried this, I fought it so damn hard with the concept - and myself. My mind was resistant but my health was poor so it was the only thing I had left to try. My practitioner suggested to commit to only 3 days but to consider continuing for the full 5 days. I felt so amazing after 3 days that I decided to continue for the full time and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

Every cell in your body wants to thrive and you will witness this amazing process as the inflammation melts off the body.

There are 2 reasons for me to write this today. (1) I see how easily people become fixed in patterns – whether in movement or in behavior – and how those patterns can limit the change they say they want. (2) The gym industry now has formulated new protocols due to the influx of weight-loss drugs and the way it causes so many issues including muscle loss.

I invite you to witness that your mind and body DO NOT crave the same things. To be clear, I’m not a nutritionist or dietician, and I don’t intend to be. My work is in helping people develop better movement and a stronger relationship with their bodies – the beautiful organism that the mind lives inside. It is not a machine. You need to take care of the body so that the mind can fulfill its duties.

If this time of year is already asking you to shift, yo might consider choosing this one area and seeing what happens when you interrupt patterns that may not be working for you anymore. Not perfectly, not permanently. Just deliberately, and long enough to see what changes.

Hi Justina:

I just had to tell you that I had two "got it" moments in today's class.

1. I have been really struggling to figure out how to lift a foot off the ground when we are down on the floor doing a bridge. Today when you were describing in different ways how to transfer the weight around, I suddenly got it and it became both possible, and then relatively straightforward! I hope I can capture that again. One thing that really helped was talking about the weight of the opposite lung to help balance the four limbs while one lifted.

2. When we were doing crunches at the end of class, and reaching one elbow towards the knee, something you taught today was a game changer for me. When you said that in order to move one elbow forward, we need to let the other shoulder go back, so the rotation came from our ribs instead of our necks/ heads, I suddenly felt it totally differently. I stopped feeling like I had to battle my urge to pull on my neck - once I thought about moving one shoulder back as the other went forward, my neck stopped getting into the mix and my core did the "heavy lifting". Since my core is much stronger than my neck, the whole thing worked way better.

Thanks!

I am realizing that I need to stay aware of what the opposite side of my body is doing when moving the part you ask us to move. I think the same thing was at play at the very end when you helped me move the right hip forward, fill my left lung, and re-center my head. Aha - I get it!

Yesterday's practice focus was PELVIC FLOOR and it was such a pleasure to work with the people who showed up.

Today we will work on real DIAPHRAGMATIC POWER and POSITION if you would like to join the practice session at Monterey 11:30am-12:30pm today in the Bamboo Room.

Bring your opinions!

I am looking for some honest volunteers to participate in a practice class Jan 24 from 10am-12 at Monterey Rec.

It is a practice session for a National Osteoporosis Campaign and I would like to hear what you believe about osteoporosis prevention and how you like the selected exercises.

It is a 3-part segment of Breathing Mechanics, Pelvic Floor Activation, and Footwork Mobilization. You can come whenever you like and leave when you need to - it's quite informal and casual.

Text or email me if you plan to come:
250-880-9909 or [email protected]

Come join me for Pilates at Muse this Saturday 27th. Let's find all the layers of muscle that have been hiding the past week!

https://musevictoria.ca/schedule/

https://cheknews.ca/victoria-fitness-instructor-helps-instill-love-of-movement-1286984/

Victoria fitness instructor helps instill love of movement A fitness instructor in Victoria says she has made it her mission to destroy myths about what fitness and aging means.

I was recently invited to be part of a TV news segment about movement, health, and what it means to feel strong in our own bodies. It’s a little surreal to see my work featured this way, but I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I love doing every day — helping people move with more awareness, confidence, and ease.

As a side note, this was the first time I’ve ever shared photos from a period when I was struggling with my weight. I’m grateful the story didn’t make that the focus, though it’s something people often ask me about. Fitness, to me, has never been about weight loss — it’s about improving your quality of life, cultivating resilience, and finding a kinder relationship with yourself. The changes came when I began to experience more grace toward myself.

And that brings me to a heartfelt thank you — to all of you who show up in class, support each other, and remind me to keep finding space and grace for my own health too. Boy, we sure do make a good team!

Victoria fitness instructor helps instill love of movement A fitness instructor in Victoria says she has made it her mission to destroy myths about what fitness and aging means.