Photo by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash
If you have any kind of hormonal issue: thyroid, adrenal, female hormones, peri-menopause, menopause–Healthy Hormones (also called Mindful Movement) is your workout! Even teenage and 20 somethings benefit from this workout. I have dealt with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, low ferritin, low progesterone and am in full blown menopause now. I can do half of this workout and feel amazing without setting myself back with my adrenals! I have daughters in their teens, 20s and my oldest is 31 and they ALL like this workout and feel it helps them.
Teresa created this workout for Mary Shomon’s book, The Menopause Thyroid Solution. The book itself has many of the moves well described along with pictures of the moves. Teresa then tweaked it and added to it to create the workout dvd.
So what’s the difference? What is this workout like?
It is a variation on the Basic Workout theme, with moves tweaked to help with better lat engagement. The latissimus dorsi muscle goes from your hips up your back to your ribs (you can feel them tighten in the area of your bra band). One segment attaches to the front of your ribs and another to your humerus or upper arm bone. This is why ribs UP helps tighten and tone the triceps! 🙂 Lat activation also helps burn more blood glucose as well as “take out the trash” more efficiently by draining the lymph through the thoracic ducts– which in turn helps your body balance hormones.
Let me give a brief description of each of the moves:
Spinal Curl (Spinal Stretch): Variation of Primary Back Stretch, no flat back portion, arching and scooping then you roll up from the arch vs going all the way to the calves and doing head rocks.
No second half where you have the hands behind, but after doing a Trap & Lat Warm-Up (shoulder rolls taken up several notches!), you can do tilts that are similar to the tilts in The Box but using a towel, holding it in front of your body for better lat activation.
Plie Sequence: With all the Plies in Healthy Hormones, you never cross your midline. It’s all about those LATS! Arms are outstretched as you bring them up, back to shoulders, then low and back up to shoulders
Plie Pulls: If you haven’t found your lats by this point, you will now! 🙂 Pulling into a wide “W” while doing different hand positions will help engage lats as well as those triceps. Bye-bye, jiggly batwings!
Oil Wells: Starting with standing upright, you’ll learn how to engage lats to make this more effective when you reach through like traditional Oil Wells
T-Tapp Twist: Great variation! You won’t go down on the side as in Basic Workout, but you will get the twist along with a tall torso for slimming that rib to hip area! And the “jazz to a mitten” release after each side really helps release trap tension–feels good!
T-Tapp Twist with a Towel: Just like it sounds! You are using a towel, held in front, to help maximize lat activation as you twist.
Oil Wells with a Towel: Again just like it sounds! Holding the towel in front will help you keep those lats activated as you reach through.
Hoedowns: Main difference is hand positions–more lat activation tips to maximize the effectiveness of this powerhouse move!
You’ll notice there are no Reach Scoops, no Jazz Twist and no Box move. But Teresa has you doing a “Mitten Chop Organs in Place” several times. This is THE move for tightening and toning the tummy, helping to establish and strengthen those mind-to-muscle connections!
There are similarities to Basic, but the changes and additions make it a workout in its own right! There is fantastic instructional, the workout and a Form Tips section. AND it’s chaptered! That’s great for splitting up the workout!
In addition to 25% off the regular price of the Mindful Movement workout, you also get The Hormone Reset Diet book by Dr. Sara Gottfried! I don’t have this book to review it, but I heard Dr. Sara share at the 2012 T-Tapp Retreat and her session was full of information. I know I took pages of notes! I’ll be interested to check her book out!
{Please note that the following paragraph has an affiliate link. I do receive a small commission if you choose to purchase through that link. This helps me keep my website running and it also helps when I need a chocolate fix–that helps keep me sane! 🙂 }
You can check it out, read more and purchase HERE! If you have adrenal, thyroid or blood sugar issues, I would consider this workout. You may need to split it up, but it will be worth it!
Not only is Healthy Hormones a great workout for hormonal balance, it’s also great for slimming the torso, helping reduce the cortisol belly look and eliminating back fat, too!
Trimmer torso, toned arms, core activation and hormonal balance?! YES you CAN!
