I hope you’re doing well. I’m starting my new website and wanted to invite you in and give you a warm welcome. For some of you, it’s been awhile, I know. I’ve missed you! I’ve been busy finishing my book, “Yoga for the Student Body,” which is finally in the publishing stages. And now, yeah, it’s time to get things rolling.

I wanted to start off by sharing with you a note from one of my Pilates students at Elmhurst College.

“Thank you for this class! I always looked forward to coming to this class. It has really helped me improve my posture overall and strengthen my ankle! I hope you continue to teach Pilates with such passion. We are lucky to have a teacher that is willing to put in so much effort! Thanks!”

Melissa had been eying the treadmill ever since graduating high school three years earlier. Every time she pressed go, her pesky ankle injury stepped up and extinguished her efforts. With a trusty Theraband, she was able to realign her ankle rocker and start to take off.

The truth is, I’m the lucky one. I am passionate about exercise and love what I do. Exercise holds the power to do so much for us. I see it firsthand everyday with students ranging in age from eighteen to 81. I get to explore all ranges of human movement with my clients. And most importantly, I am privileged to try and help students get better. For some, it’s the need to build good posture when hours of studying stack up at the library and for others it’s the need to relax when life becomes an uphill climb. And for everyone, exercise is about helping you come into your own.

I am very passionate about mind-body techniques because these timeless tools help in every area of life. The sharpening of our attention in meditation helps us maintain focus when life is testing us just as much as the soothing waves of deep relaxation soften the effects of stress. In between, we get to strengthen our core, open our hips and open up to a bigger life. Yes, we train ourselves on the mat so everything gets better off the mat.

I hope you’ll come join me in these continuing mind-body adventures. We’ll soon be adding some videos with short sequences to help you bring the practice home. And as you get familiar with the site be sure and check out the Relax Trax to download into your phone. It’s meant to help you get some good zzz’s.

So happy to re-connect and hope to see you soon!

Barb Kahovec, CYT, PM