Everyone could use a little Balance

We live in a fast paced world where it seems like there's never enough time in the day. Our schedules are so demanding between work, kids, relationships, meetings, weekend activities and traveling that we barely have time to breathe and it seems as if our to-do list is never ending.

So, who the heck has time to work out, let alone eat right? Not many of us. But, "It's not matter of having the time, it' a matter of making the time," says Allison Pagano, a local yoga and Pilates guru, who has spent much of her life traveling the world, studying different forms of yoga, Pilates and holistic health.

"We've gotten to a point where we spend our entire day doing things for other people," Pagano said. "From the time we get up to the time we go back to sleep, we're constantly doing things for everyone else and we end up putting ourselves on the back burner. We forget about taking care of our own bodies first. How can we expect to be at our best for other people when we don't even feel our best?"

Pagano has dedicated most of her life to wellness, fitness and dance for one reason: to help increase the quality of life for people in her community. She combines yoga and Pilates movements as a cornerstone of her personal regimen to stay stress-free, balanced, focused, flexible and strong.

"It's a great way to just focus on yourself and your breathing for a few minutes a day," she said. "Life could be so much easier if we would just stop once in a while and just breathe deeply for fresh air rather than taking shorter involuntary breaths all day long that deprive our body of life's most precious element, oxygen. Besides, all you need is yourself and a mat."

Here are five of her exercises...

SINGLE LEG STRETCH FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Stretches the hamstrings and stabilizes the core. This exercise promotes focused breathing and total body awareness. Lie on your back, extend your left leg out, keeping your heel a few inches off the floor. Grab the back of your right calf or thigh and pull toward your body. Lift your head, neck and shoulders to meet the right leg, stretch, exhale and switch legs.

TRIANGLE POSE FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Stretches and strengthens the lower body and promotes the lengthening of the spine. The triangle symbolizes inward balance. Stand tall with your feet about three feet apart. Turn your left foot out 90 degrees, turn your right foot in about 20 degrees. Extend arms straight out to the side, parallel to the ground. Bend from the hip extending the left hand down toward the left ankle, right arm reaches straight up toward the sky or lengthen directly over the head. Reverse pose on the opposite side.

3 POINT POSE FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM This advanced pose is not for the novice exerciser. It will test your balance, strengthen the upper body and deeply stretch the hamstrings. This pose helps increase blood flow and circulation helps you acquire qualities of balance, strength and flexibility in life in general. Start on hands and knees, push up on your toes, straighten the legs placing the hips up toward the sky, your head drops between the arms. Plant the left foot into the floor as you slowly rotate hips to send the right foot straight up toward the sky. Repeat on the other side.

PELVIC CURL FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Warms up the lower abdominal muscle, challenges the glutes and strengthens the spine, especially the lower back. Lie on your back, walk the heels back toward the hips, rest your hands alongside the body. Inhale, press the feet into the floor, begin curling the pelvis slowly up toward the ceiling. Exhale, roll the spine down one vertebrae at a time releasing the pelvis back to its natural curvature with a small space under the lower back.

CHILD'S POSE FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Stretches the lower back and relaxes the entire body. The focus is to release and let go of any pressure or stress. The simplicity of this pose is exactly what makes it so effective. Start on the floor on your hands ands knees, sit the hips back over the heels, lay the top of your feet flat on the floor, extend both arms straight out in front of you, drop the head to the floor and breath naturally. Release stress and tension from the back and spine.