Updated: Feb 9, 2022
There are so many places to workout, so many many people to turn to to ask for physical and mental support. What makes spark different? Here's one way: our class methodology.
What does the mind-body component mean?
Each class, we take you through an experience that is both physical and emotional. Our purpose is to build your internal resiliency. Science tells us that exercise and mindfulness are powerful components to wellness--we combine them to give you the best of both your mind & body. We do this because we believe that there is physical movement and mindfulness for everyone.
Why embed mindfulness specifically?
When we feel stressed, our bodies turn on the Sympathetic Nervous System. You might remember this word from biology class--it is the system our body uses to activate our Fight or Flight response to a stressor. A little extra credit time here: remember the last time someone told you to calm down and you defffiintely didn't? That's because our bodies only "language" is nervous system. So, if we feel stressed, we have to speak to it in: breath. As exercise is a kind of stress, we end with breathing! Our intention is to share with you how it feels to complete the stress cycle from stressor to stress to relief. (But it's the kind of stress that is POSITIVE and FUN stress!)
When you practice putting your body through this cycle, your body becomes more resilient. What do we mean by resilient? We do NOT mean that it no longer has to deal with those emotions or thoughts attached to specific events. Instead, resilient to us means that your body is more capable of handling difficult events because it has simply practiced doing just that. That way, when you feel or notice stress is your life, you know what you need to do to release that stress.
When you practice mindfulness during class, you will inevitably find different ways of activating mindfulness. The more variety you have, the more you will be able to activate mindfulness both in proactive and reactive times.
Tip:
Get the most out of your classes by taking a moment after class to pause and think, "What did I just learn?"