Body work (with nature and art) helps us to destress our mind.
Movement is a healer, good stretching relaxes us, lifts our mood, increases our mobility and improves our metabolism.
Spring is the perfect time for stretching. Why not allow yourself to enjoy this every day - with short sessions at lunch and evening time!
Marja’s New online course offers a new model of ‘short session often’ focusing on strengthening and shaping your body through stretching. What is it?
Here Ulla Pesola interviews Marja about stress, stretching for all of us to think about:
Marja, you have been working on stretching over the years and now have pointed out the impact stress has into our lives. Why?
Stress is certainly part of our lives, but when it becomes overpowering it will draw us into fatigue and diminish our zest for life. Numerous symptoms explain its existence.
Tell us more, how can I tell if I am stressed?
In normal life we are often not aware of being stressed. This is why it is difficult to know how it loads our sensory system. It literally throws our bodies out of balance.
We often describe its sensations: “I’m exhausted, I can hardly lift my arm, every sound is too much, my stomach is bloated, my brain feels hazed, I cannot focus.” But there’s a lot more to it such as: a diminished pain threshold, weakened memory and hearing and an increase or decrease in appetite, poor sleep quality, irritation and difficulties in learning new things. And not forgetting the fatigue. All this has an effect on our self esteem.
It sounds like stress is dangerous to our health?
Indeed! At its worst stress is a killer. High blood pressure combined with a stressful lifestyle is like a ticking bomb with the threat of heart attacks and, who knows, how many strokes has it triggered?
What is the solution? You say stretching can be a solution?
As stress has become a chronic and almost a normal way of many people's lives, this has led many of us to make a conscious effort to actively counterbalance stress. This means reducing it on a regular basis!
Stress can be alleviated or even removed and stretching offers an instant way to distress the mind and body.
Let me give you an example. Just on a physical level, with well performed stretching, you will increase the space between your vertebrates and alleviate pressure on your joints. As your body shape elongates you begin to feel instantly better, more mobile and agile. As your breathing improves it’s like a miracle for your well-being.
How about cardiovascular exercise? Is that what makes exercising efficient?
Raising our heartbeat is good for us. We must remember the heart is a muscle and that it needs blood and oxygen. But exercising to be efficient is not all about sweat and tears. In fact quite the opposite. Efficient exercising can also be meditative and soothing. Not many are aware how much reducing stress alone can improve our metabolism. Walking is also a great way to calm the mind and a necessary daily activity, but it’s not enough to align the body or work on the deeper tissues. This is why I promote stretching as one of the best ways of destressing and balancing the body.
You promised us great stretching courses, what makes them so popular?
Stretching elongates tight muscles and lifts your posture. All this leads to a trimmed body and improved body shape - which we all love.
Other great results are that you will be pain free, but will also learn how enjoyable stretching can be. You can get stronger with stretching as the short muscles are elongated. It also improves your digestive system and quality of your sleep.
What makes Method Putkisto Stretching unique?
When we want to get real results it is necessary to tap into our deep muscle memory and renew it. This is why we use imagery that stimulates your brain to work differently, and it is in fact the visualisation that makes the sessions so mediative. We call this ‘working from inside out’. When you perform exercises correctly (= transition, placement), this not only develops your awareness of your body to a new level but your practice becomes therapeutic.
Explain Marja a bit more about this muscle memory.
In Method Putkisto we are building new neurological pathways. This creates synthesis, improving our brain function. *In science, this is called cross-linking between the synaptic connections of neurons and the areas of the brain involved in detection. This means activation of one sensory region causes the spontaneous activation of another sensory region at the same time.
You promote a new model ‘’short sessions but often’’, even twice per day, why?
Because of the results. Repeating exercises more often, but only 30 minutes at the time, gives you amazingly better results. Your well-being will improve at a fast pace. It is truly enjoyable as you get mobile and flexible. Now, for the first time ever, this is possible as we are online and you are also able to manage the time at your own pace as we have recordings of each live session.
That sounds too good to be true. So overall, you are saying: No need to feel stiff or tired, as stretching can make you feel better and improve your quality of life?
Indeed! What more can we wish for in Spring?
If it also makes me look amazing, I think I will be there too! Thank you Marja.
It was a pleasure, see you soon!
Do you want to to recuperate and calm your body and mind?
Join us for Marja’s new 6 week online training “A toned and flexible body In 6 weeks” starts Monday 25th April.
"Amazing, but true, my jeans feel really loose. I have changed my body shape." Anneli
"This is such a rewarding way of exercising. I really can imagine the air after a refreshing rain and, after that, it’s now so much easier to breathe." Liisa
FACT BOX
Based on research, regular exercising supports health, increases happiness, prevents dementia, reduces risk of early death and promotes longer life expectancy. It also:
Increases self-awareness, a sense of cohesion, ability to be a part of community, understanding of your own behaviour, an understanding of your own body and its needs
Improves your self-esteem and self-confidence, brain plasticity, empathy, mood, communication skills
Balances mobility, motor skills (cognitive functions) and relationships.
Promotes mental health, healing from trauma
Reduces stress, social exclusion and depression
Supports the challenges of the mind in everyday life, social inclusion and inclusion
Strengthens adaptability and resilience
Helps you to cope at work
Protects against mental exhaustion
©Method Putkisto
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