IT’S TIME TO SWITCH OFF
Maintaining a disciplined exercise program is an important part of caring for your body. So is practicing good habits of preparation for, and recovery from, intense exercise. Each of our Switch Playground classes begins with a series of yoga poses and movements, and finishes with a simple stretch.
These components of the Switch experience are just as important as any of the twenty stations that you’ll do once the class begins, because it requires time and practice to become present when you enter a different environment, and it requires care for your body to assist in the process of recovery.
“Nothing happens on the Switch Playground by accident.”
With the chaos of the outside world and the energy that is never ending (especially so in New York City) we are almost always in “switched on” mode while out and about, whether for work, for errands, for socializing, for shopping, etc.
Even when getting ready to exercise: You rush to the studio to get in your workout, are welcomed by the front desk staff as you check in, get high-fives from the trainers and instructor when enter the room with high-energy music playing – and then it is time to switch off the outside world, so that you can switch on the best version of yourself for the experience ahead.
“Set your intentions for the twenty stations ahead of you, rather than wasting your time and energy thinking about that email that you didn’t send…”
The yoga sequence at the start of class offers your body a dynamic warm-up for the muscle fibers and fascia and synovial fluid in your joints, so that your body is ready for the challenges of the Playground.
The yoga is also instrumental in helping you become present in that moment; becoming aware of your breath and your body, allowing you to set your intentions for the twenty stations ahead of you, rather than wasting your time and energy thinking about that email that you didn’t send, or the phone call that you didn’t make, or the notes that you didn’t write down before leaving the office.
Then, just as important is the stretch at the end of the class: It is a three-minute gift of time for your body, thanking it for what it just allowed you to do in accepting and overcoming the challenges of the workout.
It is also an opportunity to practice your deep breathing, sending oxygen to your muscle fibers to assist in recovery, to allow your heart rate to slow down, and to give your muscles a good stretch so that you can release lactic acid which will help alleviate soreness.
For me, success includes longevity and sustainability, and a proper cool-down is a valuable key to both of those things. Nothing happens on the Switch Playground by accident; it is all a part of a carefully designed program that will allow you to achieve the best possible results for your body and your mind.
“Switching on the right mindset for class is important, and that process begins by switching off the outside world.”
Mad love,
Steve
SHARE THIS POST