Why you need MindBody Balance to Survive well past 2022
My message is MindBody Balance is an absolute. Fitness and (with) Wellness must be one, playing the long game. Whether someone is 15 or 50, focusing on short term goals with a cavalier attitude is likely to compromise the body’s ability to be truly well. My target audience are all people involved in the industry of Fitness and Wellness to create a solid, positive and unified commitment to longevity.
The industry that I started out in the very early 80’s was less focused on the long-term sustainability of wellness through fitness as a lifestyle. It was totally focused on fitness, fun and looking fabulous. We still want that, but must recognise that fitness needs to be fitness and wellness as one and that we must sustain this for longevity and healthy ageing.
The opportunity to do this must be now, moving forward in a rapidly changing world of needs.
My ‘lightbulb’ moment of realising Fitness and Wellness is Medicine occurred in 1998 in France, where I was living for 1 year. Being Australian and very passionate about fitness, movement and health I designed my own programs and realised fitness and wellness based on mindbody balance was needed to be one to engage people in a different language and my success then and now is knowing as an absolute that Fitness and Wellness is Medicine and must be ONE for Longevity.
It is now 2022 and the problem is that as an industry we are currently failing to connect with many people who need us the most. That is the 15% of the population who are over 45 including the babyboomers and beyond, partly due to Covid but the popularity of extreme fitness that many older people do not want to be part of.
My belief is that as an industry our job isn’t done until we work out how to connect with that audience. What we need to do to is focus in on the images that we use to represent what being fit and well looks like, and the words that we use to talk about it.
My goal as an instructor is to be well versed in all areas of fitness and wellness as medicine and recognise all ages and the needs of all ages. In fact Lifestyle Fitness and Wellness is the most obvious of what is required, so the dialogue needs to change, the images need to change and the instruction needs to change, so all ages can benefit from the knowledge that Fitness also means Wellness and Fitness is Medicine. Particularly now is so important in keeping natural immunity strong.
I launched my book “YogaPilates Fusion®” in 2019 along with the A45PLUS Proage Empowerment App. I did this because I wanted to make solid, practical advice on how to be fit and well readily accessible to the people who need it the most, because it is clear that even though improvements have been made, the 15% of the population who are over 45 are nowhere near proportionally represented in the gyms and the other fitness programs that dominate the market.
This matters because fitness is unquestionably one of the keys to not only living longer, but to having a better quality of life across the spheres of health, happiness and connection with others until death.
In fact my mission is to help more people live longer while remaining happy, fit and well. Sadly too many people in their later years endure what any objective assessment would term a poor quality of life. I can only speak for myself here, but frankly I would rather remain fit and well as long as possible than spend decades being ‘old’, sick and miserable.
The help that I provide my clients and those who read my book, or use my App comes back to the Ten Key Principles that I identified back in 1998. These principles work for YogaPilates Fusion® as well as across a range of fitness and wellness modules. They are –
THE FLOW: The aim in all of this is to allow the body and mind to be balanced and move freely with breath, control and precision so that the muscles and joints move with even rhythm.
FOCUS: The focus is on you the individual. A great way to start YogaPilates Fusion or a balanced fitness class is to take a moment with your eyes closed to tap into how you feel right now, and imagine yourself feeling beautifully balanced, standing tall, and realising your strength and focus through your practice of YogaPilates Fusion, fitness and wellness.
BREATHE: Consider your breath to be a “moving meditation.” It is a beautiful thing when you move your body, flowing from one exercise to the next breathing deeply with your focus on moving through your life with a balanced body and mind.
BALANCE: Balance is achieved by focusing on the breath while maintaining the correct posture and spinal alignment. The movements in the YogaPilates Fusion program will connect and balance your left and right brain to enable your body and mind to flow in a balanced way moving forward.
MOBILISATION: Mobilisation is achieved through the regular movement of the spine through up and down motion as well as side to side, forward to back, and rotations.
CORE: When the core is activated movement becomes dynamic as well as being controlled and precise. Activation of the pelvic floor muscles and deep abdominal muscles are the key to achieving stability through movement.
CARDIO: Cardio work increases your heart rate and promotes blood flow throughout your body. I incorporate HIIT programs with all ages. This makes your heart strong, increases your lung capacity, and reduces your risk of things such as heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. It will also help with weight loss if required.
STRENGTH: When you lift weights, work out on machines, use resistance bands, or do exercises with your own body weight, you will build strength, muscle mass, and flexibility. Muscle loss is one of the main reasons people feel less stable and energetic as they get older. Building strength is key to my pro-aging approach to everything that I do.
STRETCH: Actively moving through this series of YogaPilates Fusion exercises will stretch as well as strengthen your muscles, tendons and ligaments. These hold your bones together and are critical to mobility and flexibility.
MEDITATION/RELAXATION/INTENTION: IRest or Yoga Nidra, also known as the waking sleep. It can totally change the way you feel physically and emotionally, and it perfectly completes the balance of the mind and the body that is at the core of the YogaPilates Fusion® method.
I have been named Top Fitness Instructor 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Awarded Longtime Achievement 2021
Previous presentations include Filex 2007, 2008 and 2019.
The Women’s Economic Forum India (WEF17) 2017
Mind Body Convention France 2006
I run training courses for Department of Education Teachers on Exercise and Meditation for Student and Staff Wellbeing.
I present at and run Retreats in Sydney as well as Workshops on many Mind/Body/Fitness and Wellness topics.
This link is a video put together in 2017 regarding my classes and my Proage philosophy (healthy ageing message)
Below are many links including what I have written for websites, online magazines as well as hard copy, YouTube and interviews:
https://www.coveredhub.com.au/the-stories/tag/Jill+Healy-Quintard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5xwf_F8MW0
https://www.sheenaalexandra.com/post/2018-year-of-infinite-possibilities
https://tta.edu.au/contributors/50202/jill-healy-quintard
https://www.globalhealingexchange.com/experts-practitioners/jill-healy-quintard/
https://www.northernbeachesmums.com.au/local-heroes-jill-healy-quintard/
https://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/connect/bodyandbalance/about_us/body_balance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-healy-quintard-741334a/
https://www.filex.com.au/speaker/jill-healy-quintard/
https://www.livelovebydesign.com/llbdtvshows/jillhealyquintard/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51827968-body-and-balance—yogapilates-fusion
https://www.mamamia.com.au/author/jillhealyquintard/
http://www.totalwander.com/?p=2186
https://fitnessfreaks.com.au/blog/jill-healy-quintard/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/body-and-balance-relaxation-yoga-nidra
https://www.celebratelivinghistory.com.au/meet-jill-she-helps-people-reach-fitness-goals/
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/1541_juice.pdf
I have been published (released April 16, 2020) in a book ‘This is Me Series’ about real women, no touch ups all in swimsuits that celebrates life, age, beauty and a testimonial to living fit and well lives.
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