April 2016
INSTRUCTOR NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2016 - SPRING EIDITION
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Essentrics is great to pair with any activity especially running! It offers a number of specific benefits that can help runners reach their true potential, stay pain free, and continue to do what they love. The repetitive motion of running can cause one to overuse various muscle groups and create body imbalances; this can in turn lead to pain and injury. Some of the most common injuries from running include:
In Essentrics, we strengthen your body in motion and elongate your muscles by liberating your joints and providing you with a balanced body. This will allow you to remain strong, flexible and injury-free. Essentrics will increase the speed and stamina of your runs, keeping your entire body balanced head to toe. We focus on strengthening your joints and training your body to pull up and out of the joints as you run to ensure that we are not forcefully landing on our knees and ankles, resulting in joint pain and damage.
Doing Essentrics before beginning your run will activate all of your muscles. Giving you that boost of energy and making your body loose and agile. Use Essentrics for a post-run cool down to combat soreness in your muscles. Unique to Essentrics is the amount of work we do with the feet. This will unlock the hidden potential and strength so that we can get the most of out of our runs.
Instructors from Amsterdam, Sabine Parent and Jane van Hout, recently lead a warm-up for a group of 750 women competing in a running contest. Sabine and Jane, along with two dedicated students, went though a series of exercises including plies, ceiling reaches and footwork. They pulled inspiration from the Power up your Runs routine by Master Trainer, Danielle de Wildt. The girls received amazing feedback and have even been asked back again next year.
“I’ve received a lot of positive reactions, like more speed, more power and energy and pain free runs.”
– Sabine Parent
Inspire yourself to try something new. Change up your playlist!
PCW8: Standing & floor
Petra Blank: Amsterdam
Warm up: Gold – Years & Years
Trademark 1 (side lunge circle sweep): Virvelvind – Ane Brun
Trademark 2 (windmills with PNF): Kill and Run – Sia
Footwork: Adore (Extended Club Mix) – Jasmine Thompson
Side-to-side lunges & diagonal front reaches: Hallelujah (feat Uhre) – Alexander Brown
Hands & arms: Run Away Together – Anouk
Plies: Show me Love (EDX’s Indian Summer Radio Mix) – Sam Feldt
Calf sequence: Where the heart is – Haevn
Trademark (push/pull piano) Let it All Go – Birdy + Rhodes
Fan kicks: Rivers – Thomas Jack
Alphabet: To let Myself Go – The Avener, Ane Brun
Side leg lifts Song 1: Don’t be so Hard on Yourself – Jess Glynne and
Side leg lifts Song 2: How Deep is your Love – Calvin Harris + disciples
Quad raisers & release: Be the One (Dillistone Remix) – Dua Lipa
Spine strengtheners: Get Away – Jessie J
Row the boat variation: To Dresden – Alexandre Desplate
PCW4: Full-body workout
Iliana Sanchez: Montreal
Warm-up: Ni tu ni nadie – Moenia
Trademark 1 embrace a large ball: Canto dela terra – Andrea Bocelli
Trademark 2 Washing tables: Ain’t nobody – Felix Jaehn Ft. Jasmine Thompson
Arms: Beautiful liar -Beyonce & Shakira
Plies: Stole the show – Kygo
Windmills: Hispanola – Vangelis 1492 -Conquest of Paradire
Calf Sequence: Back to black – Amy Winehouse
Trademark- Deep lunges: Moments in love – Art of noise
Bum Exercises: Love runs out – OneRepublic
Sit-ups: Man eater – Nelly Furtado
Side leg lifts: Work: Rihanna
Floor stretches: Dis, Quand reviendras-tu? – Martha Wainwright
Floor Stretches: Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas – Alex Syntek
Floor Stretches: Angels – Robbie Williams
Floor stretches: Come away with me – Norah Jones
Level 1:
Charlotte Franklin – Arlington, VA
Kay Aparo – Smithtown, NY
Sylvie Lebel – Cornwall, Ontario
Barbara Cannis – Toms River, NJ
Anne Marie Tasse – Gatineau, QC
Kadejah Laudi – Baie d’Urfe, QC
Hayley Wilson – Portugal Cove, NL
Dolores Caroll – Pierrefonds, QC
Johanne Hebert – Lorraine, QC
Level 2:
Caitlin M Whitten – Monte Vista, CO
Kay Goode – Oshkosh, WI
Gay Dippel – Sunrise Beach, NM
Hi Training team;I am working towards completing my Level one certification; my question is in regards to windmills. I am a little confused with which way my hips should be facing during these exercise. Do I keep them locked and facing forward? Any clarification would be appreciated.
-Eager Apprentice InstructorAnswerWhen trying to understand your body orientation during each exercise it’s best to go back to your manual and review the objectives. During the windmills, keeping the hips still and facing forward will lock part of your spine. The objective of this exercise is to liberate all the muscles in the top three and increase the mobility of the spine through the rotational movement of the arms. Allowing the hips to rotate is essential to finding the maximum degree of mobility in the spine and pectorals. We need to allow our hips to move to ensure that we are doing this exercise with our maximum range of motion. Effectively engaging the core and pulling up through the spine and the abdominals will enhance full body shaping of the torso. Windmills are one of the best Essentrics exercises and therefore must be executed properly to ensure that the proper benefits are being received.
Sara currently lives on the Greek Island of Corfu but is originally from Amsterdam. Sara has a background in dance, martial arts, and aerobics. She discovered Essentrics and instantly fell in love. It was new and had a unique combination of all the other activities she already loved. Most importantly it is body movement at its core and accessible for everyone.
“After moving back again to Corfu, I chose a more slow-paced life style and having the opportunity to grow our own natural fruits, nuts, olive oil and vegetables I introduced Essentrics to “my Greek winter woman” from the local community center. They were/are so supportive, and enthusiastic as you can imagine and also thrilled like I am about something so new and challenging.”
Corfu is an exotic Greek island known for its remote beaches, and scenic views, and olive exports. Sara has the pleasure of combining her love for Essentrics with Corfu’s green landscapes by organizing and accompanying tour groups on hikes though nature while enjoying a 30-minute Essentrics session set in a serine location.
“I also convinced my local travel agent, Hans, to add a release &restore Essentrics session to a relaxed beach holidays, to complete the rejuvenating feeling. I offered Essentrics last year and the coming year in the German language to a meditative, creative Holiday club (their program also includes Qi-Gong, Thai-Chi and painting. Most of the guests were thrilled by this NEW program, enjoying the International tunes and the fabulous views.”
Sara is challenged each day as she is introducing Essentrics to so many new individuals in a variety of languages. Sara is currently teaching in 4 languages: Dutch, English, German and Greek …… Sara must adjust the cues for each exercises by changing the imagery and making it more applicable to her new found clientele.
“With the Greeks, regarding the season, I am changing the “dragging sacks of rice” in to either “dragging bags of olives” or into “dragging sacks of potatoes” since most of Greeks are growing their own foods.
The pulling weed movement is in real agriculture life much harder, I need at least a good spath, rubber boots and after a hard day of working on the land we just love to contract- release -relax and stretch!
The biggest achievement was to me that now Essentrics has dragged attention to people who have never done any sports in their life and are now joining for the second winter and even twice per week.”
With many projects on the go including organizing and Essentrics retreat in Switzerland, Sara is motivated to complete all her four levels and be fluently teaching in all 4 languages. She has adapted a simple way of life and is able to share something she loves and allow each person to feel wonderful in his or her body. As Essentrics grows we see how slowly but surly we are forming a global community! Sara you are an inspiration.
“So dear Essentrics teachers worldwide, would you please keep posting your knowledge on our instructors group? I will be gratefully following.” Sara Hamel
References:
LAURA SCHWECHERL. “The Most Common Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them.” Greatist. N.p., Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.