Mindfulness, Movement, and Exercise

Jenn Pilotti
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Discussions on mindfulness, movement, and exercise jennpilotti.substack.com

  1. Core Work That Actually Matches How You Move

    2D AGO

    Core Work That Actually Matches How You Move

    Most core exercises are symmetrical and linear — but that’s not how you actually use your body day to day. This short sequence intentionally incorporates offset and rotational movement to help you connect more deeply to your center in a way that translates to real life. You’ll move through two variations of a staggered plank hold, then a rocking sequence on the floor that asks your torso to stay soft while your body finds its edges. The whole thing takes just a few minutes and should leave your center feeling a little more awake — and maybe a little more connected. Want to go deeper on the ideas behind this kind of movement? More in the upcoming book, Spinal Intelligence. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    3 min
  2. Hip Circles with a Twist: Adding Isometric Pressure for Better Mobility

    2D AGO

    Hip Circles with a Twist: Adding Isometric Pressure for Better Mobility

    This variation on a classic hip mobility exercise adds an isometric element — pressing your hand against the side of your head — to enhance body awareness and grounding as you move through full knee circles. Try pausing at different points in the circle to really feel each position. A simple but effective upgrade to your movement practice. Interested in the philosophy behind these techniques? Learn more in the upcoming book, Spinal Intelligence. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    1 min
  3. Train Your Legs Before the Descent: Two Exercises for Downhill Running and Hiking

    3D AGO

    Train Your Legs Before the Descent: Two Exercises for Downhill Running and Hiking

    If you’ve ever felt your knees screaming on a steep downhill stretch — whether on a trail run or a long hike — you already know that going down is a different animal than going up. It demands a specific kind of strength, coordination, and body awareness that most people never train for directly. Here are two simple exercises to help you build exactly that. Exercise 1: Slant Board Single-Leg Balance For this one, you’ll need a thick board (a sturdy two-by-four or slightly thicker works well — thinner boards bow too much) and a yoga block, preferably cork, to prop one end up and create a downward slope. Stand on the board facing downhill, and here’s the key: lean your torso forward. This matters more than it might seem. If you were running or hiking downhill with your weight back, you’d be putting enormous strain on your knees. This exercise is meant to simulate the real mechanics of descent, so practice the position you actually want to be in. From there, focus on these three alignment cues: * Reach through the pinky edge of your foot so it feels long * Lift the inner ankle bone slightly * Rotate the skin of your calf inward and the skin of your upper thigh outward Once you feel stable, try lifting one foot and lowering it back down. Repeat on both sides. It’s a small movement, but done with intention, it builds the neuromuscular awareness that downhill terrain demands. Exercise 2: Step-Up (Staying Low) This one uses a box or step. Place one foot on top, set up the same foot alignment — pinky edge long, inner ankle bone lifted — and then step up. The critical detail: stay low as you rise. Don’t pop up. Don’t straighten and lock out. Why? Because descending a hill isn’t about standing tall — it’s about staying controlled and moving forward and down. The step-up mimics the coordination pattern you need, even though the movement itself is going upward. Think of it as training your legs to handle load while maintaining a forward-leaning, absorbed position. The Through-Line Both exercises share the same underlying principle: your body position on the descent matters enormously. Leaning back shifts stress onto your joints in all the wrong ways. These drills help you build the habit of staying forward, staying controlled, and trusting your legs to do the work — before the trail asks them to. Give them a try before your next run or hike and see how your legs respond on the way down. Found this useful? Share it with a trail buddy, and drop any questions or feedback in the comments below. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    3 min
  4. The Low Kick-Up Secret Nobody Talks About: Weight Transfer to Your Hands

    FEB 22

    The Low Kick-Up Secret Nobody Talks About: Weight Transfer to Your Hands

    If you’ve been struggling to build up to a low kick-up, this drill might be the missing piece. It starts in a deep squat — feet wide, heels off the ground if needed, get as low as you can. From there, the move is simple in concept but surprisingly rich in body awareness: rotate your entire body to one side, let both heels lift as you pivot, and transfer your weight into your hands before coming back down. The key cue that makes this work? Think about your belly button, your xiphoid process, and your pelvis all rotating together at the same time. This isn’t just a leg thing or a shoulder thing — it’s a full-body rotation that teaches you how to shift load fluidly between your feet and your hands. Do it on both sides. Go slow at first, then let it get more fluid as you find the pattern. You’ll quickly discover which side feels more natural — and which one needs more love. This is a great entry point for anyone working toward ground-based movement, capoeira, or just developing better body control close to the floor. Give it a try and see what you notice. Want more movement breakdowns like this? Visit https://www.jennpilotti.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    1 min
  5. Reset Your Wrists in 5 Minutes

    FEB 22

    Reset Your Wrists in 5 Minutes

    Most of us never think about our wrists — until they hurt. If you spend hours at a desk, on your phone, or doing any kind of manual work, your wrists are quietly accumulating tension. This short reset is a simple way to give them some attention before that tension becomes a problem. In this video, I walk through a few gentle movements designed to reintroduce sensation and mobility to the wrists and hands: Starting on hands and knees, you’ll lift and lower the heels of your palms to wake up the joint. Then a seated wrist circle lets you explore how weight shifts through the hands in different directions. Finally, some finger clawing and spreading movements help bring circulation and awareness back to the fingertips. The whole thing takes about five minutes, and you can modify every single movement based on where your wrists are today — whether they’re stiff and sensitive or you’re an experienced hand balancer looking to refine your foundation. The goal isn’t to stretch aggressively or push through discomfort. It’s simply to pay attention — to feel what’s there. Give it a try and notice how your hands feel afterward. That aliveness in the fingertips at the end? That’s what we’re after. These concepts are drawn from my books Body Mind Movement and Spinal Intelligence — now available for pre-order. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    4 min
  6. Finding Balance in Under 5 Minutes: A Nervous System Reset

    FEB 22

    Finding Balance in Under 5 Minutes: A Nervous System Reset

    We spend so much of our lives either running on empty or completely wired — and rarely anywhere in between. This quick standing practice is designed to meet you exactly where you are. Whether you’re dragging through the afternoon or buzzing with too much coffee and not enough calm, this nervous system reset works both ways. Tired? It’ll gently wake you up. Overstimulated? It’ll bring you back down to earth. In just a few minutes, you’ll move through some simple techniques — a bit of tapping along the collarbone and arm, a gentle massage along the cheekbones, some ankle circles to ground you through your feet, a flowing forward fold sequence, and finally a few conscious breaths to bring it all home. No mat required. No experience necessary. Just you, standing wherever you are, giving your body a moment to regulate. Give it a try and notice how you feel on the other side. That subtle shift — a little more settled, a little more present — is your nervous system finding its footing. Jenn leads short, accessible movement and wellness practices. If this resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who could use a reset today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    5 min
  7. Build Hanging Stamina Through Play: Leg Movement Variations

    FEB 17

    Build Hanging Stamina Through Play: Leg Movement Variations

    There is a surprisingly effective trick for staying on the bar longer, and it has nothing to do with grip strength. It’s your legs. When most people hang, their legs just … dangle. Inert. Waiting. But your legs are heavy, and how you hold and move them has a direct effect on how your hands, arms, and shoulders are loaded. More importantly, moving your legs gives your grip something to negotiate with — and that negotiation, it turns out, is excellent training. This tutorial is about building hanging stamina not by white-knuckling your way through longer hangs, but by keeping yourself interested while you’re up there. How It Works Grab your pull-up bar. Feet on the ground or off — your choice, and neither is cheating. Start shifting some weight into your hands. Then, keeping your arms relatively still, begin moving your legs. Start big. Paint slow circles with both legs, like you’re trying to trace the largest possible shape in the space around you. Reach behind you. Sweep side to side. Move forward and back. Turn your feet. Then start breaking the symmetry — one leg at a time, one going clockwise while the other goes counterclockwise, an eggbeater motion, legs going the same direction, legs going opposite directions. The arms stay quiet. The legs do the exploring. Why This Builds Stamina When you’re focused on a task — what shape can I make? what happens if I do this? — you stop obsessing over how long you’ve been hanging. The mental engagement changes your relationship to the discomfort. But there’s also something mechanical happening: shifting your legs around redistributes load through your core and changes the demand on your grip in subtle, constantly varying ways. You’re essentially giving your hands and forearms a moving target rather than a fixed one, which trains adaptability alongside raw endurance. Tap your feet down whenever you need a rest. That’s not giving up — that’s exactly the right approach. Touch down, reset, go again. The Only Rule Come up with as many ways to move your legs as possible. There is no correct sequence, no rep count, no timer to beat. The goal is simple: stay curious, keep exploring, and see what you discover. You might find certain movements that immediately make the hang feel harder. Others might surprisingly give you relief. Some combinations will feel coordinated and fluid; others will feel hilariously awkward. All of it is useful. All of it counts. Give it a try and let me know how it goes — drop a comment and tell me what leg variations you discovered. I’d love to hear what you came up with. If this was helpful, please like, share, and subscribe. More in the hanging series coming soon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
  8. Play Your Way to Better Shoulders

    FEB 17

    Play Your Way to Better Shoulders

    There is a certain kind of gym culture that insists everything must be optimized — the perfect grip width, the ideal scapular position, the precisely calibrated hang duration. It’s well-meaning. It’s also, quite often, the fastest route to a practice you abandon by February. This tutorial is not that. This is the other thing: permission to play. “Give yourself permission to play. Don’t worry about how long you’re up there for.” All you need is a pull-up bar. Whether your feet stay on the ground or come off it entirely is your call — both are valid, both are useful, and neither makes you more or less serious about your practice. What the Tutorial Covers The premise is beautifully simple: grab the bar, and start asking:what if? What if one hand shifts its position? What if you move a little sideways? What if you let yourself drift one direction and see what that reveals about where you’re stiff, where you’re free, where your body has been quietly waiting for attention? This mirrors the approach we took in the leg tutorial — the idea that curiosity is a better teacher than correction. Your nervous system responds differently when it’s exploring versus when it’s performing. The same shoulder that locks up under a prescribed protocol often opens right up when you’re just … seeing what happens. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jennpilotti.substack.com/subscribe

    1 min
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Discussions on mindfulness, movement, and exercise jennpilotti.substack.com

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