Posted March 13, 2013 - 11:46am by Corinne Dawson
Creating Balance with Pilates: What we feed our body matters!
FOOD! There are some people who keep their relationship with food simple. These people seem to think about eating the way I think of taking showers. I just take a shower when I need to, don’t think about it much or agonize about how long or how hot of a shower to take, I just do it. Calories in, calories out, eat good food when you are hungry, they just don’t have to think about it much. Most people intellectually understand that it really is a simple equation, but that sure doesn’t make it easy for everyone!
Food, for most of us, is so much more than the nutrition we need to keep our bodies moving. It is how we celebrate, how we mourn, how we express ourselves, how we act naughty! Ugh!! And we have to do it several times a day just to stay alive!
When I think about this topic personally, as a former dancer and a Pilates instructor for many years, I have been talking about this food dilemma since I was in junior high! I haven’t ever been at an unhealthy weight, so I don’t claim to have experienced one of the amazing uphill climbs I have watched some of my clients work through. I have really been thinking about the same silly 10 pounds forever!! Recently, I have been trying to teach my young kids about food and lead my family on a healthy path, and I try to be a good role model for my clients. When I come upon a tricky topic in my life, I always go back to the basic principles of what Joseph Pilates taught us. His work brings my body to a more balanced and centered place. Life is all about creating balance.
Maybe this food thing is just like everything else in Pilates. Sometimes we get pulled of our center by something. Sometimes we get off balance. When that happens to me, I just keep on getting back to the mat, back on the reformer, to get realigned and re energized. My Pilates practice will never reach the end, it is a daily reconnection. When it comes to food, we need to be informed about what works best for our unique body. I am doing a spring cleaning project for my diet and it is going to start this weekend. Educating myself about what is in all the food we can choose from is my starting point. Chicago is packed every weekend with ways to learn and grow as a person, and this weekend, there are some great nutrition events.
First, this Saturday, in celebration of National Nutrition Month, Galter is hosting a FREE Nutrition Fair which is open to the community. No registration is required.
- Talk with registered dietitians about your nutrition questions
- Grab a healthy snack
- Enter a raffle for free nutrition counseling sessions
- Receive healthy eating information and discounts on nutrition services and products.
- Bring the whole family and learn something new.
Second, a wonderful Galter LifeCenter member and Pilates client has help organize an event called the Good Food Festival & Conference. It's at UIC Forum, 725 W Roosevelt Rd., Saturday, March 16, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Chek out the Good Food Festival and experience the movement that’s transforming the way we eat. Celebrate locally produced, sustainable food and farmers at our family-friendly Good Food Festival.
- Explore exhibits from artisan food producers and farmers and sample their products.
- Hear nationally significant speakers like Fred Kirschenmann from The Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in our Good Food for Thought speakers series.
- Attend a very special demonstration workshop with Sandor Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation or hop on a bus tour to visit four of Chicago's leading urban farms.
- Dive into 75-minute workshops on foraging for wild edible plants, techniques for season extension in your garden, urban homesteading, and don't miss sausage-making with Publican chef Kim Leali.
- Cultivate your curiosity on the Good Food Commons with micro-sessions on beekeeping, composting, food preserving, microgreens, and community building
- Enjoy chef demos by Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), Carrie Nahabedian (Naha), and Paul Virant (Perennial Virant)
- Watch Chicago chefs face off in the Kimchi Challenge, a fun and lively contest to find the city's best kimchi. Judges Steve Dolinsky (ABC 7), Louisa Chu (WBEZ), Bill Daley (Chicago Tribune), Sandor Katz (author, The Art of Fermentation), and Andrea Mattson-McGaffey (Edible Alchemy) will name the winner. Visit http://goodfoodfestivals.com/chicago/ to learn more. Tickets start at $10. Buy online today and save!
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