Catie Miller found her calling in life by accident. Though American, Miller lives in London with her British husband. In 2012, she was pregnant with her first child and had just quit her 80-hour-a-week management job when she walked into a barre studio. "The class was filled with different types of people I was pregnant, there was a woman in her 60s and another woman who was a very well-known yoga instructor," she recalls.
"We all had different body types and abilities, and yet we were all able to do the movements and feel good about ourselves." Miller says that after class, she told her husband she had found her purpose she wanted to help other people feel strong and empowered through barre.
Inspired by elements of ballet and Pilates, barre combines slow movements with high-intensity intervals to work out your entire body. It's these small movements that make this form of exercise so inclusive. And though the movements are small, the repetition builds strength.
After Miller became a certified barre instructor, she opened a popular in person studio in London. Then Covid-19 hit and everything shut down. Certain that people needed to connect with their bodies and each other more than ever, she started offering Zoom sessions.
They were a hit, and now, even as the pandemic has waned, Miller has continued to offer virtual classes through her online platform, Barre Series. Here, she's sharing a few easy to-learn moves. The whole routine should take you 10 minutes. If you can complete it three to four times per week, you'll build stamina, gain strength, and create lasting change.
THE WORKOUT
Second-Position Plié
2 sets of 8 reps on each side MUSCLE FOCUS: QUADRICEPS, ADDUCTORS, AND GLUTES
(A) Stand with your feet wider than your hips and with your feet turned out (this is called second position). Stretch your arms out to the sides.
This story is from the Volume 3. No 1 - 2023 edition of The Oprah US.
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This story is from the Volume 3. No 1 - 2023 edition of The Oprah US.
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