McKinney Movement Center

11/21/2025

11/18/2025

Your Home-Based Mobility Toolkit for the Holidays is Here! ✨

This busy season can lead to stiffness, especially in the neck, back, and hips.

Don’t worry we’ve got you covered - Our Instructor, Samantha, walks you through 4 simple stretches here that you can sneak in while waiting for the oven or taking a quick break from decorating. 🎄🦃👩‍🍳

Keep your body feeling supported and stress-free with these few stretches:

1. Hip Hinge & Twist: Release those tight hamstrings and open up your mid-back (perfect for standing over a stove!)
2. Standing Calf Stretch: Give your feet and calves a break from all that holiday running around.
3. Doorway Chest Opener: Reverse that hunched-over posture and breathe deeper
4. Pigeon on a Couch: Melt away lower back and hip tension.

Don’t let tension steal your joy! Hit save and send this video to a friend or family member who could use a 5-minute stress break today.

11/16/2025

Pause. Breathe. Reflect. This is your reminder to stop chasing and start acknowledging. 🙏

Have you truly recognized how much you’ve overcome and how strong you’ve become?

Give yourself credit where credit is due. You are powerful. You are resilient. You are here. 👏✨🙏

11/13/2025

We sat down with our amazing instructor, Jen, to talk about what truly lights her up as a Pilates teacher, and her answers are so inspiring!

It all comes back to:

🍁 Healing & Recovery: Finding personal healing after having her beautiful babies and navigating diastasis recti. This personal journey fuels her passion for helping others recover and rebuild.

🍁 Changing Lives: Being a part of your journey—helping clients transform mentally and physically—is incredibly rewarding. It's about taking care of herself so she can help change your life!

🍁 Community: The Pilates community is something truly special. The support, the passion, and the connection she feels is unparalleled.

▶️ Press play to hear the full story & tell us below: What are YOU most grateful for in your movement journey?👇

11/11/2025

The body achieves what the mind believes.

This November, believe in your power to progress. Progress isn't always elevation in an upward trajectory or linear. Often it requiring a stillness, a deepening, and a the ability to grit through the repetitions of building a strong foundation.

Whether you are working to build a new healthy habit or increasing your tension on your springs in classes...look how far you have come. Don't forget that part of looking back at where you began and how far you have come. Of course we can always work harder, add more layers, and continue to unlock more potential in terms of bettering ourselves... But, know this: We SEE YOU and YOUR PROGRESS and we are PROUD OF YOU!

What a gift it is to be a community that continuously desires to learn, grow, and continue discovering confidence in their daily lives. Drop a comment below and share some wins - let's encourage each other! ⬇️

11/11/2025

😴 Struggling to Sleep? Your Pilates Mat is the Ultimate Reset Button! 🧘♀️

Research confirms: Simple stretching and a mindful routine can be a game-changer for poor sleep. The exercises you see here designed to soothe your nervous system, telling your body it's safe to rest.

The Science Behind the Chill -
When we're stressed, our body is in "fight-or-flight" mode, driven by the sympathetic nervous system, which pumps out the stress hormone, cortisol. Gentle movement and deep breathing activate the parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s "rest and digest" mode. This shift effectively lowers your cortisol levels, slows your heart rate, and signals to your mind and body that it’s time to unwind.

Two Key De-Stressing Exercises to Try:
1. Belly Breathing (AKA, Diaphragmatic Breathing): This is a direct line to your parasympathetic system.

How to: Lie on your back or sit comfortably. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.

Inhale: Breathe slowly and deeply through your nose, letting your belly (not your chest) rise like a balloon. Count to 5

Exhale: Gently exhale through pursed lips, allowing your belly to flatten as the air leaves your lungs. Count to 6-8. (Repeat for 5-10 minutes, focusing only on the breath.)

2. Thoracic Spinal Rotation (Side-Lying): Releases tension often held in the upper/mid-back, a common area of stress.

How to: Lie on your side with both knees bent up towards your chest (as shown in the video!). Extend your arms out in front of you, stacked together.

Movement: Keeping your knees anchored, take your top arm and open it away from your body, rotating your chest until your shoulders are as close to the floor as comfortable. Follow your hand with your eyes.

Breathe: Inhale as you open, and exhale as you slowly close the arm back to the starting position. (Repeat 5-8 times per side, moving slowly with your breath.)

🌙 Build Your 30-Minute Bedtime Routine -
- Create a sacred transition period to tell your brain the day is done.
- Brain Dump: Write down any to-do list items or worries in a journal. Get the thoughts out of your head and onto the page!
- Unplug: Turn off and put your cell phone away at least 30 minutes

11/08/2025

Give yourself the gift of a reset. 🧘♀️

Our monthly Empower-U Member Workshop, led by expert Julie Erickson, is centered on the theme of reflection to help you rejuvenate both mind and body.

What's in store:
- A powerful "Year in Review" to celebrate every win.
- An exclusive peek at Julie's new "Season of Growth" journal.
- A restorative intro to Yamuna® Body Rolling.

Elevate. Empower. Educate. Join us!

11/07/2025

Meet Amanda!

Amanda is originally from Alabama where she studied at the University of Alabama as a pre-med biology major. She is a teacher and has experience as a Physical Therapy Tech at Integrated Physical Therapy where she met our very own, Stephanie Gordon-Meek. At Integrated she had the opportunity to work with clients in the rehabilitative setting utilizing the Pilates method. Her Pilates journey began in Physical Therapy several years back when began doing private sessions with Stephanie to recover from three major spinal surgeries.

Overcoming spinal stenosis through rehabilitative movement inspired her to get certified in Pilates so that she could help others restore and find confidence in their movement quality after surgery. Living with chronic pain doesn’t have to hurt so bad.

Amanda is currently finishing her Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training right here at McKinney Movement Center.

Her personal experience brings an entirely new meaning to the phrase, “No Pain, No Gain.” Amanda motivates her clients to experience their goal of no pain and ALL gain, which is the return of their strength and mobility! She is so excited to be teaching at MMC!

You can catch her class on :
Wednesdays at 9:00am | Progressions 2👏💪

11/07/2025

Your movement practice is a blissful pause in your busy day. It’s where time, space, and intention align in the perfect space where you can tune out the noise and truly tune IN to yourself. ✨

We've crafted our studio to be your sanctuary, your movement home. With a warm, inviting, and elevated movement atmosphere it's truly the best place to achieve that deep mind-body connection, reflect on your journey, and leave feeling centered, stronger, and completely rejuvenated (YES, all while getting a workout)!

Reflection requires alignment & setting aside the time for your body. We want to encourage you to pre-book your classes for the next few weeks! Treat your Pilates sessions as non-negotiable appointments for your mind and body. When you plan ahead, you ensure that time for YOU is protected. 🙏

Explore and enjoy your moments of reflection in sessions this month.

11/06/2025

Meet Clayton -

Back in 2012, a lifelong dedication to heavy lifting and farm work met a painful reality: a bulging disc and constant discomfort. He felt his body was failing him, and the fear of re-injury became a constant shadow, limiting his strength and confidence, both in the gym and in daily life.

He knew there had to be a path back.

Through dedicated Pilates practice with a deep dive into mind-body connection, proprioception, and detailed mechanics, the story has completely changed. He didn't just 'fix' a bad back—he rebuilt his foundation from the ground up, eliminating compensation patterns and replacing fear with unshakeable confidence.

Today, he is stronger, more connected, and loading with a new sense of freedom. His journey proves that when you prioritize stabilization and core health, the sky truly is the limit.

You don't have to live with limitations. Ready to drop the fear and start rebuilding your foundation?

➡️ DM us LET'S GO to get started today!

11/04/2025

Level System 101: Where Do You Belong? 💡

This month we are taking a deep dive into a reflection of your progress and part of that is making sure you understand our class intensity levels! 💪✨🙏

Every workout begins with planning and signing up for the workout - let’s ensure your movement practice is perfectly aligned with your current strength and skill.

SWIPE to break down the differences between our i1, i2, and i3 classes! We’ve created this guide so you know exactly what to expect (and how you should feel afterward!).

We never want you to feel overwhelmed or bored. Choose the class that your instructor best recommends or that really gives you the best ability to achieve your goals!

👉 New to the studio? Start with i1 to nail your understanding of alignment and get that Balanced & Strong feeling!

❓ Questions? Ask Us! Comment below with your current favorite class or level and why you love it! If you recently progressed up to try another intensity level, what has that unlocked for you?

11/03/2025

If you sit at a desk, your spine needs this! 😩

The Mermaid Side Stretch on the Reformer is the ultimate fix for stiff desk posture, designed to unlock incredible lateral spinal mobility and open your rib cage.

Most people miss the deepest stretch by simply pushing the carriage—making their shoulders work instead of their waist. Master the alignment and feel the difference in your posture and breath!

Alignment Checklist for the Perfect Mermaid🧜‍♀️
Focus on these cues for a deep side bend, not a diagonal push:
- Anchor Your Hips: Keep both sit bones heavy on the box. The movement starts above the hip. 🍑
- Create the Rainbow: Move your spine sideways in a smooth arc. Don’t fold forward at the waist. Think of staying flat against a wall! 📏
- Release Shoulders: Your arms guide, they don’t move the carriage. Focus the work in your deep oblique muscles. 💪
- Breathe to Deepen: In your deepest stretch, INHALE deeply into the upper side of your ribs. Push them up to the ceiling to open the intercostals and QL for maximum mobility. 🌬️

Reflection Tips: Self-Assess Your Form
Use the studio mirrors to check yourself:

- Check the Plane: Look sideways. Are your lower ribs sticking out? Draw them gently back so your shoulder, rib cage, and hip stack in one straight line.
- Look for the ‘C’: From the back, can you see or feel a smooth, fluid ‘C’ curve in your spine? If it looks or feels collapsed, re-anchor and lift up before reaching over.

No Reformer? We show you the Mat Mermaid at the end of the reel so you can practice this mobility at home!