Twisted Bodies...Training Bodies Intelligently

The Curious Case of Creative Movement Part 2 What It Is As an incoming freshman at TWU, I thought I knew what movement was, what dance was, and how to create it and perform it.  I thought wrong.  I had excellent training growing up, far superior to most young girls going to dance studios.  We were required to take Pilates, taught good foundational elements, excellent technique, and I had some of the best teachers in the nation.  I was afforded opportunities to take classes from world renowned teachers and artists of dance.  I attended classes with professionals from Joffery, American Ballet Theater, The Royal Winnepeg Ballet, and former prima ballerinas from the Russian Ballet Academy.  I went in a strong confident dancer that freshman year and was knocked flat on my ass with knowledge that made my brain melt and my heart hurt.  I was attending one of the top ten universities in the nation for dance an...

The Curious Case of Creative Movement Part 1 The Back Story Before we get into the deep parts of what creative movement is, why it's important and so on.  I feel it's necessary to share a little personal history, in hopes it will help others better understand why this is so important to me and quite possibly you as well. I can still rock the Goodship Lollipop! Throughout my entire life I have danced.  In the beginning it was movement for movements sake.  I was a young child and simply enjoyed moving.  I enjoyed the way it felt to spin, roll, flip and sway.  I enjoyed how the music moved inside me, the vibration, and how it became an extension into the physical world.  After a few years of incessantly bothering my mother everyday all day with "Me go to dance school mommy?", she finally enrolled me in private studio to study dance.  She thought it would be a short lived 3 year old's adventure in movement, little did she know that 30 year...

Last time we checked no one was rocking balloon pants or signing the last name Hammer to their receipts.  That being said there is NO ONE in the studio who is Too Legit To Quit!  You have to know your limits and when it is time to walk away and rest.  Here are the Top Ten Reasons Why: When you take too many classes back to back your body fatigues and puts you at risk for injury. You need to give your body time to recoup and rebuild, we wrote another blog on that you should probably read it. Hydration doesn't just mean drinking water, it also means helping the fascia work out kinks so the body can hydrate correctly. You start to smell. We know the Twisted Twosome are cool and all, but don't you have better things to do than hang out with us all day? IF you hang out all day….we will put you to work scrubbing toilets, we hate that stuff. You suck in class cause your tired, and that make us angry and you won't like us when we're angry. Your body needs time to ...

What Has Your $$ Done Lately?   When you hear the word donation what comes to mind?  When your asked to donate to a cause, do you research where your money is going? Recently we saw an article about the growing trend of donation based yoga classes in the DFW area.  The article was very vague and did not give much description as to where the donations actually went.  Upon researching further and asking what the money was being donated toward, we found a very unexpected and troubling answer.  In most instances the money donated was going directly into the pocket of the instructor.   Learning that donations went to the instructor was very unsettling for us here at Twisted Bodies.  We believe that the studio is a physical space that embodies a respectful and supportive atmosphere, in which respect and support are exchanged by everyone.  This means we also believe that donations are an exchange that happens out of support and respect f...

Cold and flu season is upon us yet again and while we at Twisted Bodies work hard to keep your bodies fit and strong there are still those sneaky germs out there just lingering around waiting for you to unknowingly pick them up. You're going to get that tickle in your throat or that sniffly nose and once you do it's time for action! The sooner your put your germ warfare plan of attack into action the better. Many of you know Khristen as the Twisted Bodies witch doctor. She as well as Carissa much prefer natural remedies to those chemical concoctions that often leave you feeling fuzzy headed. So here are a few of our favorite remedies for this time of year… Sore throat?  Mix one tablespoon of honey with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. This mixture will coat the throat and help to open your nasal passages. Congestion? Mix 3 drops of eucalyptus oil into a vaporizer or in a hot shower to help open your sinuses. Stay hydrated with warm liquids! Headache? There are several ess...

As most of you already know, Twisted Bodies is closely associated with Susan G. Komen. We are an official donation center and participate in the Denton Race for the Cure every year by donating our time, services and funds. Khristen is a certified Pink Ribbon Therapeutic Trainer and works to promote therapeutic Pilates training for women pre and post-op mastectomy. What you don't know is why we hold this charity so near and dear to our hearts. Khristen's mother, Sharon Stanley passed away from breast cancer in 2009 at the age of 52. This is her story... On September 26 th of 2009 my sister got married. My mom, Sharon helped her plan every detail of her special day. She drove from Sanger to Victoria to scout and book locations, went wedding dress shopping and made countless trips to Hobby Lobby. We had many late night phone calls discussing catering, centerpieces and whether to throw rice or blow bubbles at the sendoff. I remember my sister insisting that my mom not wear he...

So you come to your first Pilates class and all of a sudden you start an inner dialogue that goes something like this: What the hell are they talking about? CV connection, is that a STD?  Crap, will I catch it from the mat? Pelvic floor, I have one?  What in the world have I gotten myself into? Foundation?  Why would my body need a foundation, I am not building a house! Don't worry, at some point or another we have all been there.  Overwhelmed with the anatomy talk, confused by the choreography of movement, and dumbfounded by how difficult it is to do something that looks so easy.  Pilates is not a treadmill, you can't just jump on and go for quick run or figure it out by pushing a few buttons.  Pilates is a forward and evolved way of thinking about functional performance and movement.  Once you surrender yourself to the vocabulary, choreography and breathing you will begin to see your body move and work more like a top notch machin...