The BOOM MIND class creates a mindful exercise experience by drawing on principles adapted from yoga and Pilates. We ask participants to turn attention to centering, control, flow, and breath.
Here are the BOOM MIND Movement Principles:
- Centering – Centering is a principle found in both Pilates and yoga-based exercise. BOOM MIND incorporates instruction on improving kinesthetic awareness, breath, and intention. Centering also describes the initiation of movements from the center of your body or the core. Centering provides a framework for mindful movement as is a part of each MIND warm-up. Providing a focal point or intention for your class may help participants concentrate their energy and effort around a specific class goal.
- Control – Control is a principle central to Pilates-based exercise. Movements in BOOM MIND are performed with control. By challenging posture, balance and stability, participants learn to move with more stability and efficiency.
- Flow – Vinyasa, a method of yoga in which movement flows, is a specific style of yoga that coordinates movement with breath. In BOOM MIND, we link movements and breathing in a similar way to improve circulation and create warmth while creating seamless transitions. Challenge your participants to keep the flow of movement going from one exercise to the next during transitions in your movement blocks. For most mind-body exercises, lengthening and extending movements are performed with the inhale while relaxing or deepening movements are performed on the exhale.
- Breath – Both Pilates and yoga incorporate a variety of breathing techniques. In MIND, we encourage even and continuous breath. While many breathing techniques may be incorporated into class choreography, teaching diaphragmatic breathing will help maintain postural support while encouraging deep breathing. When leading this breath pattern, teach participants to breathe in deeply through their nose, maintaining a firm abdomen, while expanding their lower rib cage and back. Exhaling through their nose or mouth, the rib cage relaxes. It is important to teach participants to maintain a flexible spine, with a sensation of lengthening all the time.