Stress

We need to talk about stress.

A single season of stress can accelerate your biological age by years.

Unlike your calendar age, biological age measures how your body is aging at the cellular and molecular level. It's calculated from biomarkers tied to inflammation, metabolism, detoxification, and immune function—and it's one of the most powerful predictors of longevity and future disease risk.

The good news: biological aging is reversible. The stress damage isn't permanent, and your yoga and Pilates practice is one of your most powerful tools for turning back the clock.

Biological age can move both ways. Stress pushes it forward, but smart choices can slow it down or even reverse it. Not all stress is created equal, and understanding the difference is crucial for your health.

Chronic Stress is the aging accelerator. It keeps your body in constant survival mode, elevates cortisol around the clock, prevents proper recovery, and chips away at cellular health daily.

Hormetic Stress (the age reverser) includes short, controlled bursts of beneficial stress like challenging yoga poses, cold exposure, or intermittent fasting. It triggers your body's repair pathways and builds resilience. For example, your yoga and Pilates practice brilliantly provides hormetic stress while helping you recover from chronic stress.

Chronic stress isn't just emotional—it creates measurable biological changes including increased inflammation, cortisol disrutpion, glucose spikes, weakened immunity, and DNA damage. Every time you step onto your mat, you're actively reversing these stress-induced signs of aging.

Here's what's incredibly exciting: every conscious breath you take, every mindful movement, every moment of present-awareness is actively rewriting your biological age. You're not just exercising—you're triggering cellular repair pathways, optimizing hormone balance, reducing inflammation at the DNA level, building stress resilience, and literally turning back your biological clock.

Here’s your anti-aging challenge:

• Attend 2-3 classes focusing on breathwork and movement per week

• Make your practice non-negotiable during high-stress periods

• Experiment with beneficial stressors like cold showers or challenging poses

• Create boundaries that protect your recovery time

A single season of stress can age you by years—but a single season of mindful practice can reverse that damage. Your biological age is not fixed. Every time you choose your mat over your couch, breath awareness over reactive stress, presence over pressure, you're making a cellular-level investment in your longevity.

The science is clear: stress ages you, but your practice can reverse it.

Ready to reverse your biological age? Take a look at this week’s studio schedule and join me for class or sign up for an upcoming workshop.

* Function Health. (April 2025). Stress is aging you faster than you think—here's how to slow it down.

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Move or die

New groundbreaking research from the University of Colorado and Johns Hopkins University has identified the most powerful predictor of how long you'll live—and it's not what you might expect. After analyzing data from over 3,600 people aged 50-80*, scientists compared 15 different health markers to see which ones best predicted longevity. The winner wasn't cholesterol levels, blood pressure, or even age. It was physical activity—how much and how vigorously you move throughout your day. As Outside Magazine writer Alex Hutchinson* puts it "how much and how vigorously you move are more important than how old you are as a predictor of how many years you've got left."

The results showed that physical activity ranked as a better predictor of longevity than:

• Having diabetes or heart disease

• Cancer diagnosis

• Age

• Body mass index

• Smoking status

The best part? Unlike genetics or age, movement is something we can control.

Every time you step onto your mat, you're investing in your future self. Our classes don't just help you feel better today—they're building the movement patterns and strength that research shows can extend your life.

Here's how your practice contributes to longevity:

• Consistent Movement: With yoga and Pilates you can build a sustainable daily practice that research shows is the strongest predictor of longevity

• Functional Strength: We build the mobility and stability that prevent the movement restrictions related to aging

• Mind-Body Connection: Our practices reduce stress and improve sleep—both crucial for longevity

• Sustainable Habits: Unlike extreme fitness regimens, yoga and Pilates create sustainable movement practices you can maintain for life

When you workout consistently, you're choosing a longer, healthier life.

Ready to get started? See the studio schedule and sign up for class.

*Leroux, Andrew & Cui, Erjia & Smirnova, Ekaterina & Muschelli, John & Schrack, Jennifer & Crainiceanu, Ciprian. (2024). NHANES 2011-2014: Objective Physical Activity is the Strongest Predictor of All-Cause Mortality. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 56. 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003497.

*Hutchinson, Alex. (2025). Want to Live Longer? You Better Start Moving—All Day Long. Outside Magazine.

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