YOUR HEARTS DESIRES

I have some exciting news Pilates is coming to The Hub. The Hub is not only a beautiful historic building at 673 Bourke St but a place where like minds meet to create positive change.

Now that’s what I’m all about baby! Positive and Change, we all know that change is inevitable and we can either wait for change to come to us or we can go out and cause it. The latter being a much more empowering choice. Why do we take so long to realise this is a choice, because we were not taught in school how to create positive change in ourselves so how can we create it in the world around us. We were taught to fit in and we where surrounded by people who wanted to just fit in and just fitting in or putting up with an outmoded society or body and mind for that matter is not something I was ever able to do.

Let’s just think about that for a moment, didn’t you dream when you where young of changing the world. We kinda gave up didn’t we when we realised that people wouldn’t do what we wanted to help change it. We realised that everybody else just wanted to live a quiet life. We didn’t realise that we were being taught by people that had given up on their dreams. We didn’t realise that it wasn’t about people it was about us! We needed to change; we needed to be the positive change we wanted to see. Why doesn’t that occur to us, why are we always trying to fix somebody else or something else? What did we learn in school? To do what somebody else told us to do, to follow a set of guide lines to follow everybody else, if we proved that we could follow a set of guide lines then we would get an A and everyone would validate us. We were very rarely taught to make up our own guide lines to validate ourselves.

How do we know if they are the right guide lines, how do we know how to create the right positive change? Well it’s all about you, do what’s right for you, and I mean learn what s right for you in the long run not what’s right now and you will be the change you want to see. How do we learn what’s really right for us, we learn to listen to what the body and mind needs. We surround ourselves with people that listen to their own body and mind and we learn from them, from books and from the people that have gone before us. We don’t mimic these people and books like we were taught in school, we use them as inspiration to finding our own way. Once we know what we need then we will know how to give the whole world and the people in it what it needs.

It is really simple, but as my Art teacher said to me and she got from Leonardo da Vinci and I’m sure he heard from someone else” Simplicity is often the hardest thing to master.” I realised that life is a hall of mirrors what we see out there is what we see in here (in our minds). If we learn to cultivate and see the best version of ourselves then we will learn to cultivate and see the best version of everyone else.

“When we BE the change we want to see, we see the change we want to BE”

COME AND JOIN ME FOR PILATES MONDAY NIGHTS 6pm -6:45PM TO CREATE SOME POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE. Beginners, old pro’s all welcome and will be challenged.
Call Heidi-Ann on 0487319610 for more info or just rock up.

STARTS: Monday 23rd May ongoing/WHERE: Hub Melbourne, Level 3, 673 Bourke St, Melbourne./PRICE: 17.50 per session 10 pack. for hub members, (casual prices also)

Hub memberships start at $22 per month and I strongly encourage you to belong to this new and emerging community. A place where minds meet, resources and expertise are shared, and real and lasting change occurs.
Whatever your background is in work and in play surround yourself with inspirational people and you will be inspiring.

Pilates Sustains YOU

Every Monday at 6pm Heidi-Ann from Pilates And The City brings a new found depth to the art of practicing Pilates. Understand your core believes are about your body and mind and you have the power to move through any limitation.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRING PILATES TO THE WORLD

Tell your story in my next blog about your part in the Pilates Revolution


This blog is a call to arms to all you sedentary workers. I am using this blog for my own selfish promotional purposes (shock horror). I am going to be candid and say this is purely to convince you to get Desk Pilates into your workplace and why shouldn’t you experience the amazing program at the cost to your company if you’re not already that is. They can afford it and it is proven that companies that invest in employees wellbeing are more profitable. I’m not going to sweet talk or skate around the subject. This morning I had an epiphany, I am so passionate about this subject so why shouldn’t I tell you all of the depths of my passion and ask you all in your own small way to help me on my quest. Ok so I said selfish well, really it is for the greater good of mankind and what a better way to start the year than to do your part for man/woman kind. You see, if you help yourself you help others, if you help others, you help yourself, it goes both ways.

So what am I talking about in this crazy rant, well, it is the desperate need for us to change the situation that we find ourselves in, day after day. Chained to desks disconnected from our bodies and minds working like machines. We are not machines; we are people, subtle beautiful people who have a right to move. I want to free you from your chains and I want you to help me help others free themselves. I want to change the culture of the office forever is that too much to ask?

I want you to help me on this quest of change. People always say when it comes to getting corporate jobs, it’s who you know and you know their right. Every job has been through an amazing person who shares my passion for changing wellbeing. Have you wondered why this is, take a look out your window what do you see? Lots of big signs and big buildings with lights and lots acronyms and who is at the head of these places, who says yes! Well that is a very good question, what are these large buildings with their fancy acronyms made up of but people, wonderful people like you, day in day out working for the good of that acronym achieving amazing feats and many of them going unnoticed. So what am I getting at, you deserve a break, you deserve to know how to sit in chair without crippling back and neck pain. You deserve to stretch, relax and have quite moments of meditation everyday where you can refocus your mind regained your sanity. You deserve to have these moments often and every hour and you don’t need to be a smoker to get these. Let s not even say you deserve it, come on it is a basic human right and some of you guys are working so hard you don’t even take a lunch break What for!!!!! You are living your life right now not in 10 years time you gotta enjoy it. Maybe it’s the full moon talking but I am so jazzed about this right now that I am thumping the words out into my computer on the train like a mad woman.

Maybe I’m an idealist but don’t forget people, I did my hard time too; I worked at many desks in many offices in my acting days I get your pain. I just finished reading The Alchemist, I know, where have I been? Don’t worry I read my fare share of these books and I believe these books come to you at the time when you need them. I am passionate about making a difference globally and if anyone has read this book they will know that you must find your Own Personal Legend and this is mine. I am not going to pretend any longer that I don’t care with all my heart about people’s wellbeing. If you haven’t read this book do it now!!!!

So please if you have a work place GETS me in there to speak to the right people and if you don’t and you care about someone else who slaves over their desk everyday get me in theirs. I want to revolutionise the way we use our bodies and already there are many workplaces who are joining me in this quest but I am greedy and I want more, I want to make every second of my time on this earth count and I want you to do the same. If you are moved by the above rant then please take action, In my next blog I am going to do story’s on all the people who want to change office culture and so if you would like to feature in this blog take any of the below actions and send me an email or call me to tell me (Remember Attraction has the work action in it). Actions are;

1. Send the person who says yes to your wellbeing or the person you would like to help who works for a company a quick email NOW, say you’d like to set up a time for me to see them no obligations it’s that easy, your part done. If you have ever done any of my classes and liked them, you (yes you who is reading this) are the best person to set this up remember nothing ventured and nothing gained.

2. If you are as passionate as me and take any of the actions above I would love to hear about it even if you think you are unsuccessful just tell me you care by contacting me by phone 0487319610 or email heidiannfrick@yahoo.com with the details of your plight. (or even face book me and if you’re not on my face book please join me)

All results are valid and will feature in my next blog because any action taken will bring me a step closer to my dream of changing as many lives as possible with Pilates. Remember big business is a chameleon (always a lizard) and a “No” now could change to “Yes” later at the right time and with the right person. This call to arms includes my interstate and global fans and friends, will travel have no kids (Pilates is my baby).

Let’s face it; it’s really you, who is in charge of your wellbeing (not the faceless acronym) that’s why I am appealing to you.

It takes one to start a Revolution, it takes many to finish it!!!!

This is Heidi-Ann Signing out 
PS. Can’t wait to hear from you!

YOU GOTTA ASK YOURSELF..................

How aware am I? What thoughts are running through my head? How are these thoughts impacting my body?

As a Pilates teacher I train myself and others to connect their mind and body every day. It never ceases to amaze me how many and varied experiences are from day to day and from individual to individual. Every individual is different and every day brings with it new and exciting challenges to the individual and so because of this there is a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the mind and body just waiting to be tapped into. Circumstance, upbringing, society, culture and environment are all variables in this understanding and more and more I am discovering that the only constant is the Pilates Principles themselves.

The Genius of these principles lies in the learning, applying and experience of them. These simple experiences lead to discoveries about the mind and body that hold untold power to change wellness and quality of life. My aim is to provide the environment for these experiences to occur and to educate why these changes are important. I have found that the experience itself and the power to articulate this experience are both needed especially when dealing with muscles in the body and thoughts. Both the thoughts and the inner workings of the muscles from the outside are quite intangible and it is both in the feeling and the understanding that the answers lie.

You may have heard that you can know something but only when you experience it can it have the power to change you. This is true but you also need to know what you are experiencing so this change can occur.

Joseph Pilates quite cleverly invented 8 principles that can be applied both physically and mentally hence the nick name for Pilates being the intelligent exercise. Yogi’s and martial artists have been applying philosophies both physically and mentally for centuries but Western Society needed a discipline that spoke its language and I believe that is why Pilates is so popular today.
Awareness is the first Pilates Principle and seems like an obvious ability we should all have but it is a skill and like any skill it must be honed. We all exist with different levels of awareness, we are aware of different things and many factors influence this. It is the awareness of self that we lack in our society due to the daily bombardment T.M.I. (TOO MUCH INFORMATION) Our brains are only able to process a small amount of information, when all the information is being fed from outside of us it is any wonder we find it hard to be aware of what going on inside our minds and our bodies.

With all this in mind (the why) I would now like you to fully experience the first Pilates principle Awareness (the how) both mentally and physically. These questions you can practice asking yourself every day and by doing this you will start to see your mental and physical awareness change and grow. How aware am I? What thoughts are running through my head? How are these thoughts impacting my body?

Do these questions mean more? You are different now to when you first began reading this article. Imagine how different you are from one moment to the next and from day to day. It is simply that we need to ask ourselves these questions more, genius lies in simplicity.
By Heidi-Ann

Email heidiannfrick@pilatesandthecity.com.au or phone 04333 76657 for a copy of Voice Pilates

Heidi-Ann invokes "A moment of realisation" at Portarlington Primary school where teachers experience first hand new Body and Mind Awareness.


What is Voice Pilates?

Voice Pilates is an Audio Pilates Manual that trains in the Pilates Principles and Technique. It comes in CD format and can be downloaded to the laptop or PC or even listened to on the CD player in your car, it can be used anytime and anyplace to reconnect the mind to the body through simple listening. Ideal for sedentary desk jobs!

What will it do?
· Voice Pilates provides the tools for people through simple listening to understand and use their bodies in a more economical way.
· It is designed to release stress and tension in the muscles and mind through simple reconnection exercises that can be done at the desk.
· It also trains people to use their deep abdominals whilst sitting to take the pressure off the lower back.
· Voice Pilates invokes a relaxed state designed to clear the cluttered mind and refocus the individual.
.
I have designed Desk and Voice Pilates to teach all people (no matter what their fitness level) to apply Pilates to every aspect of life and all exercise routines. Desk and Voice Pilates is designed to give the power back to the individual so that they are able to train themselves to become master of their own body and mind and to use both mind and body to achieve their FULL POTENTIAL........
Heidi-Ann
Email heidiannfrick@pilatesandthecity.com.au or phone 04333 76657 for a copy of Voice Pilates or to get Desk Pilates Seminar to come to you

DESK PILATES SEMINAR AND VOICE PILATES

“Ergonomics for the Mind and Body”

Learn how to apply the Pilates Technique and the 8 Pilates principles your day to truly change habits that impede well being. PILATES DESIGNED TO BE DONE Any where anytime is the answer to you and your daily comfort. This answer lies within the body and not a foot stall or pillow.
The Desk Pilates Seminar and VOICE PILATES by Heidi-Ann from “Pilates And The City” will teach you that you can switch on your core muscles while you sit breathe more deeply, change postural habits that impede performance and learn to truly relax. The Seminar is 30-45 minutes in length and is an introduction to Desk Pilates Live and Audio Program.

During the Seminar you will learn to apply “The 8 Pilates Principles”
Awareness/ Centring/ Balance/ Concentration/Breathing/ Relaxation/Fluidity of Movement/Quality of Movement
Education in these principles enhances Mind and Body effectiveness and encourages staffs realization of their full potential, physically and mentally.

Email heidiannfrick@pilatesandthecity.com.au or Phone 0487319610 for a copy of Voice Pilates or to get Desk Pilates Seminar to come to you.

Leaving Your Soul At The Door

I asked you in the last article to ask yourself the question of intent when you exercise and answer like nobody was watching. With that same abandon and honesty I want you to ask yourself that same question of intent when it comes to going to work every day or before you start what ever it is you do everyday. What are the thoughts that go through your head when your feet first hit the floor or when you sit at your desk first thing in the morning?
In my early acting days in London I spent many hours in varying corporate roles. I look back now and realise all these jobs gave me the experience and knowledge for running my own company but at the time I believed I was just filling a gap in money and time between theatre jobs.
I didn’t realise until much later on that if I had only been totally present more of the time, how much more value I would have received out of these seemingly mundane jobs. The question is how do we be totally present and more importantly what are the thoughts that lead to this state of being. Actually the answer to that question is not deliberate thought at all. Think about when you have been on holiday, the sun seems brighter and the sky bluer, inspiration seems to ooze out of you and you come back with changed outlook intent on changing your life. What happens? This flow of inspirational thoughts stop as soon as Monday morning comes around and you seem again to be stuck in the thought pattern of "I must do this" and "I haven’t got enough time" and "Everybody wants a piece of me". Why do you think Richard Branson office is a hammock on his Island, so inspiration can flow freely though his billionaire mind and body. However we must remember that he was not born on that Island and I am sure there where many mundane jobs he had to inspire himself through with what I call the “Tropical Island Mentality.”
Many of us leave our souls at the door when we enter the work place, we feel that if it’s outside it will be protected and we won’t lose it in the seemingly cold corporate world. However our soul/spirit (if you believe) or true self is integral to the full experience of life and being present. So how can we bring our true self back into the work place without it being subject to abuse? Simple, we spend a little time sitting with our true self’s for a few moments each day; we do this by simply stopping, acknowledging where we are and taking the moment in. This simple acknowledgment puts unlimited value on your true self and validates your life in an instant. We can also ask ourselves everyday who are we really dealing with, not a cold corporate machine but lots of people just like us. If we stop take a moment to really give our attention to every person who we come into contact with everyday we really start to see them and ourselves more clearly. We realise that in every moment in every person there is something wonderful to discover about ourselves and our world.
This is the “Holiday” or “Tropical Island Mentality”, this is how we bring our whole selves body and soul to the game every day. This is true fulfilment and contentment whoever, where ever we are in our life. By Heidi-Ann

WHAT IS CORPORATE DESK PILATES? To combat high turnover from staff dissatisfaction and huge losses in revenue due to absenteeism “Pilates And The City” is implementing an exciting new Pilates Program designed to be done at the employee’s desk. This program consists of a combination and audio and live sessions that are designed to revolutionise back health and transform the symptoms of sedentary syndrome forever. Live sessions engage and inspire staff to a greater level of mind and body awareness and the Voice Pilates audio download provides the tools to maintain this transformation.

TO INSPIRE YOUR WORK FORCE TO BRING THEIR SOULS TO WORK EVERYDAY OR YOURSELF FOR THAT MATTER, LEARN MORE ABOUT DESK AND VOICE PILATES and become my friend of face book.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Heidi-Ann-Frick/1732037603
EMAIL: heidiannfrick@pilatesandthecity.com.au to order your copy of Voice Pilates or book in your DESK PILATES Session.

PILATES AND THE CITY ALL NEW DESK PILATES CORPORATE PROGRAM
Sedentary Syndrome (sitting at desks for long periods of time) is one of the leading causes in staff absenteeism and dissatisfaction. Human beings are not meant to be stationary for long periods of time, we know that. Also chairs were not designed with the back in mind as they disable the core muscles and put pressure on the smaller muscle groups. These facts are no secret and until now there hasn’t been a solid solution for this problem.
Enter Desk and Voice Pilates an easy fun interactive and educational program on reactivating the core at the core, so to speak of the problem. A Pilates Program designed to be done at Employees desks. How? Postural, Visualisation and Relaxation techniques designed by Body Awareness expert Heidi-Ann Frick.This program goes where other work place Yoga and Pilates sessions have never gone before into the office at the desk and into the minds of the corporate professional. The desk is where the problems occur and only at the desk can these be resolved not on a vacant meeting room floor.

WHAT IS CORPORATE DESK AND VOICE PILATES?

• Voice Pilates is provides the tools for people through simple listening to understand and use their bodies in a more economical way.
• It is designed to release stress and tension in the muscles and mind through simple reconnection exercises that can be done at the desk.
• It also trains people to use their deep abdominals whilst sitting to take the pressure off the lower back.
• Voice Pilates also includes a relaxation download designed to clear the cluttered mind and refocus the individual.

Voice Pilates Ultimate Package features 8 live sessions for all your staff. They are 20-40 minutes in length and can be booked at your company’s convenience.
The Live Sessions are taken by Heidi-Ann and are truly transformational in their content. The live sessions are designed specifically to open the mind of the employer to give them the power to transform their performance in work and life.

TO INSPIRE YOUR WORK FORCE OR YOURSELF , LEARN MORE ABOUT DESK AND VOICE PILATES, BECOME MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Heidi-Ann-Frick/1732037603
EMAIL: heidiannfrick@pilatesandthecity.com.au to order your copy of Voice Pilates or book in your DESK PILATES Session

Why Do We Exercise?

Why do you exercise? Now I want you to answer that question as if nobody’s watching. My answer to that question has been different at different times of my life but my enjoyment of it has always been directly related to my answer to this question. I exercise now to teach and earn a living but I also enjoy it. Why do I enjoy it, well, there is a story behind that, a story that directly relates my relationship with exercise and myself. I wasn’t always fit, Shock horror! A Pilates teacher wasn’t always fit, good heavens I imagined her performing a Jete’as she came out of her mother and dropping to the floor in first position. For those of you who didn’t beg their mum for ballet lessons when they where a wee lass or boy, those are terms used to describe a graceful type of jump and a way of holding your feet.
At the tender age of three I said “Mummy I want to do ballet” and she made it so, a year later I was over it and said ‘Mummy I don’t want to do ballet anymore” and she made it so. Well I thought I gave it a good try and it wasn’t for me, 12 months is a life time to a three year old. Ten years later I would still be asked if I was a dancer (secretly loving it ) as I would subconsciously hold my feet in first position as I waited for the school bus.
Early experiences have a huge affect on us especially when it comes to exercise and the way that we use our body. It took me 5 years of Pilates to turn my feet back the right way and loose the dancer walk also known as the daffy duck walk.
It also took me that long to realise that experiences even that far back still affected the way in which I used my body. You see the body is an expression of the mind. No thought goes unnoticed by the body. Which is why I ask the question why do you exercise? The answer to this question may reveal something to you about your present relationship with yourself. I decided I wanted to do ballet, the experience of it was far different to how I thought it would be and so I stopped. At three years old I can’t remember what I was thinking, probably, knowing myself now I just wanted to be on stage and jump about the place and feel beautiful, I didn’t realise their where rules involved. These rules put me off the exercise entirely (sound familiar). Being made to do something or use the body in a way in which mentally doesn’t make sense to you immediately sends the brain into rebellion mode.
Dancing began as a form of human expression to celebrate life, at the end of the day people would gather round the fire and tell stories of their adventures with their bodies. Performing and rules didn’t come into it and if there were certain ways of dancing this was because dancing was a type of language and certain moves would be used as ways of describing events so other tribes members would understand. At the tender age of three I understood this as I had no experience of the world’s expectations of me and so in tune with my instincts. I am not saying that Ballet itself is wrong; it too was developed to tell stories. The great actor and coach Stanislavski said
“Love art in yourself and not yourself in art." In other words, don’t do anything just to show off! Do it to enjoy and understand you. Relating to the subject of exercise know what your intentions are. Your intentions are your experience and if they do not come from a place of excitement and happiness, the true result will not be realized. What is the result we want from doing anything? To be happier and if the intention for exercise does not come from a happy place, if we exercise because we have to, we have lost the battle before we have even begun. So "thank you mum", for letting me be a quitter because without the option to quite we would never try anything. So my point here is to try everything until you find something you like, something which expresses the art/soul/true person whatever you want to call it, in you.
Exercise to celebrate and honour the body and never to condemn or punish it!
It just makes sense.

By Heidi-Ann