Private sessions now available

Lee has a few openings in her schedule now reserved for private 1 and 1/2 hour sessions. Sessions are designed, based on client’s needs. Individual coaching sessions will always integrate, whatever the modality, the fundamental STL principles of deep TVA engagement and initiation with every activity; upper back alignment and stability; lateral breathing through exertion; and the enhancement of “lengthening” the body throughout every movement execution.

In addition to customized design, and thorough integration of STL principles, each individual session will end with deep stretching and relaxation. Light massage and verbal guidance is integrated throughout the relaxation period.

Exercise Coaching Sessions Can Include:
Classical Mat Pilates
Weight and Resistance Training and Conditioning (STL Style)
Plyometrics and anaerobic conditioning (STL Style)

We are proud to announce a partnership with Castle Hill Fitness for state of the art body composition and customized fitness analysis testing with a detailed summary. Those clients interested in designing a program that will really affect change for their bodies (minds and spirits) may consider this wonderful option. Please contact Lee for more information!!


Cost:
STL Clients
One Session: $45
Four Sessions: $160 (Must be redeemed within four weeks of purchase)
Eight Sessions: $304 (Must be redeemed within eight weeks of purchase)
BODPOD/FIT Test $75

Non-STL Clients
One Session: $60
Four Sessions: $208 (Must be redeemed within four weeks of purchase)
Eight Sessions: $384 (Must be redeemed within eight weeks of purchase)
BODPOD/FIT Test $85

Due to maintaining mindful scheduling for all (and my sanity), I must require that all sessions are redeemed within the timelines listed above.

Thank you all for your continued support and involvement in our growing, talented and wonderful community.

-Lee Vallely

Founder; Director

Corporate Wellness Solutions

Ph: 512.415.5078

Fax: 512.628.3036

lee@cwstex.com

www.cwstex.com

New STL Session 3!

2009 STL Session 3 starts Monday, February 16 through Thursday, March 19, 2009!

Session Focus: Introduction of blood pressure cuff
No, we’re not measuring blood pressure! We are starting the third session with simple tests to determine how much (or little) we are actually engaging our TVA (Transverse Abdominal muscle) while moving through our Fundamental exercise curriculum. Want an instant “data feed?" You’re gonna get it! So get excited, because you will soon have IMMEDIATE, REAL TIME awareness of where you are in relation to initiating all basic exercises when attempting to fire first, from the TVA. (Yes, it is exciting.)

Fundamental:
In addition to blood pressure cuff work, we will be digging into Roll Ups - perfecting our strength and release in this challenging exercise - as well and introducing Rolling Like a Ball, Spine Stretch with Arm Circles and continuing our practice of both Single Leg Stretch, and modifications on Double Leg Stretch. Pilates rings will be utilized as the session progresses.

Fundamental Intermediate:
In addition to integrating Roll ups and Rolling Like a Ball, FI clients will be focusing on Open Leg Rocker, full Single Straight Leg and Double Straight Leg Stretch (we’ve been modifying these two exercises), Spine Stretch Forward, the Tree and (modified) Shoulder-Bridge Leg extensions.

Intermediate:
All of the above will be covered in the Intermediate Thursday class, as well as Shoulder-Bridge leg extensions and the Saw.

Stretch Component All Levels:
More shoulder/chest opening, Spine twists, and inner thigh release

Relaxation:
Ever work with colors when relaxing? Working with color and breath enhances our ability to transport ourselves into deeper realms of relaxation. Our guided visualizations will include color and light.

FUN STUFF… WE CAN’T WAIT!!

First class is free, so tell your friends to come check it out!

Location and Time:
STL Fundamental: Monday 5:00 - 6:00 pm (HS)
Wednesday 5:00 - 6:00 pm (HS)

STL Fundamental Intermediate: Tuesday 4:00 - 5:00 pm (HS)

STL Intermediate: Thursday 5:30 - 6:45 pm (Mecca Studio, soon to move so stay tuned for updates!)

Click below for directions:
HS - Home Studio

* Make-up classes will be held on Saturdays at 2:00 p.m., by RSVP only. There is a six person maximum for make up classes, so make sure to make an appointment in advance. If current students would like to use this time and space for an extra drop in session, they are welcome to do so, if the class is not filled. Locations for make-up classes will vary.

To enroll in the session or schedule a make-up class, contact Lee Vallely at:

Ph: 512.415.5078

lee@cwstex.com

“Use it or lose it,” a lesson from the Gods of dance...

That old cliché “use it or lose it,” in the case of both physical and mental activity, continues to prove true. A recent study from Queensland Brain Institute illustrates that the deterioration of a person’s skills occurs from their disuse. On the flip-side, practicing those skills, even just a bit daily, can prevent much of the decline in strength and stamina that is usually attributed to aging.

Whether it is exercise, dance, foreign language or social skills, activities are carried out through a series of nerve cell interactions in the brain. When you engage in activities, the neurons grow microfilaments to connect to one another. This produces what is called an aborization, a treelike branching of nerve fibers. When you learn new skills, (such as deep TVA engagement, postural and alignment cues, or movement patterns), your neurons secrete growth hormones that cause the nerve fibers to arborize, or to branch freely and repeatedly, stimulating their growth and the growth of neighboring nerve processes as well. Just think of activity, mental and physical, as the needed water for your tree of knowledge. Without continued practice and maintenance, the branches and connections of that tree wither away.

So, feel empowered! We do have some control over the aging process after all – giving us all the more reason to continue to strengthen our muscles, develop our mind-body connection, and work to improve our balance, core stability and posture!

Lee mentioned a perfect example of this principle in motion during one of last week's STL class, Eartha Kitt, the famous American singer, actress and dancer who performed well into her 70s.

In her 2008 obituary, the New York Times reported:

“As Ms. Kitt began the sixth decade of her career, she was still active. In 2000 she received her second Tony nomination, for best featured actress in the musical “The Wild Party.” Branching out into children’s programming, she won two Daytime Emmy Awards, this year and in 2007, as outstanding performer in an animated program for her role as the scheming empress-wannabe Yzma in “The Emperor’s New School.”

All the while she remained a fixture on the cabaret circuit, having maintained her voice and shapely figure through a vigorous fitness regimen that included daily running and weight lifting. Even after discovering in 2006 that she had colon cancer, she triumphantly opened the newly renovated Café Carlyle in New York in September 2007. Stephen Holden, writing in The Times, said that Ms. Kitt’s voice was ‘in full growl.’”

The videos of Ms. Kitt's performances and interviews, show her continued vitality and strength, even in her final years. What an inspiration!

As another amazing woman who understood and exemplified this philosophy, the famous Goddess of modern dance, Martha Graham, once said, “We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.”

Session Focus: Deep Transverse Abdominus Engagement

(Image from Wikipedia)


Since the Session 2 focus is deep TVA work, let's take a deeper look at the abdominal muscle most neglected, yet perhaps most important, in strength and core training...

The transverse abdominus (TVA), named for the direction of its fibers, is the flat, innermost layer abdominal muscles, located beneath the internal obliques. It is a major muscle of the functional core of the human body and is responsible for the shape and definition of your stomach, your core stability, breathing, posture and organ support. Developing this muscle is key to maintaining proper posture and alignment (not only during exercise, but also in daily activities), to relieving/preventing lower back pain and injury, and to getting the desired results from your workouts!

To strengthen and improve your awareness of the TVA in between STL sessions, you can try these two activities at home or work. (Just make sure you have a quite space to focus on connecting with your breath and muscles, because deep TVA work requires concentration!)

The Vacuum: In a seated position, lengthen your spine and roll your shoulder blades back and down the back into proper alignment. Take a full, deep inhale. Then, exhale SLOWLY, pulling your belly button up and back towards your spine. The muscles around your lower abdominal region and pelvis will engage. Hold this engagement for three to five seconds. Pull deeper once more, exhaling fully. Inhale again and repeat. Perform three times.


Angry Cat Stretch (with TVA deep contraction): From an all-fours position, with neutral spinal alignment, inhale and allow the belly to relax. As you exhale, draw the belly button in, towards the spine, rounding deeply through the low back and allowing a gentle curving in the upper back. Let the head drop naturally and the pelvis tilt in towards the body. Hold for two to three seconds. As you inhale again, release the back to a neutral position. Repeat three times. Each time think about drawing you belly button up and back, as if trying to reach through to the spine. Focus on feeling the deep engagement of the TVA.

Welcome to the new Strength Through Length (STL) blog. Thanks to all of you for your interest in the program! We hope this new forum will help you to enhance your understanding of the STL principles, voice your questions about STL exercises and practices, and most importantly, to develop a community in which you all can share information, experiences and encouragement with one another.

So ... what is exactly is “Strength Through Length?”
STL is a series of group exercise classes, developed and produced by Corporate Wellness Solutions, which fuses essential principles and exercises from Pilates, Ashtanga or Power Yoga, classical ballet, and strength and fitness training. By incorporating the most fundamental and effective components of each of these practices, STL creates a unique synergy of muscle execution that results in a longer, leaner, stronger body.

All classes are very hands on, similar to working with a personal trainer, and in each session, detailed instructions are provided on the importance of correct exercise execution, breathing techniques, elegance of movement, and joint safety.

STL classes progress through four levels, from basic to enhanced. As clients evolve through these levels, resistance bands, lightweights, plyometric exercises and stability balls are incorporated to continually challenge the muscles and increase the body's tonicity, strength, stamina and alignment. Each class session ends with stretching exercises and a guided visualization to relax the body and integrate the work.

With continued participation and effort, students can master all levels of the program and see substantial improvements in posture, range of motion, poise, confidence, overall strength, and a much leaner physique.

For more information on the new class schedule or to learn how to set up your over-the-phone assessment, which is conducted on all new students prior to class enrollment, visit the CWS Web Site.


What is the STL blog all about?
Focus: Each week, a particular principle or exercise (such as lateral breathing, upper back stability or proper plank alignment) will be featured in this blog. Correspondingly, this item will be the focus of all STL classes that week. Hopefully, by learning about the significance of these various principles, studying provided alignment cues, and discussing your questions and comments with one another prior to your classes, you will be able to come to sessions with a deeper understanding of the work, a stronger focus on specific weekly goals, and new insights on how to best achieve those goals.

Knowledge: Links to interesting, credible articles on wellness and fitness will also be posted weekly to help you further your health knowledge without having to wade through the massive amounts of (often unreliable) information on the Web. Topics will range from noteworthy fitness and exercise blog posts to exceptional articles on women’s health, global health and mental wellness.

Community: This is a space for you to engage with each other, share advice, give new ideas and provide encouragement regarding the STL program, or health and wellness in general. We hope all of you will feel free to leave questions, comments or feedback (on both classes and blog posts) on the discussion board. We will do our best to respond to your questions in a timely manner. All comments must be approved before they appear on the board, so please be patient, we will process them as quickly as possible!

As, always, your questions, comments and feedback are more than welcome. Enjoy, and thank you again for interest in the Strength Through Length program!