I enjoy working out. Even if I have to force myself to do it every now and then. Then I remind myself how good I’ll feel after my workout, and suddenly I enjoy it again.

I’ve trained myself to do that.

Even consistency is just a matter of practice. At first, I wrote it down in minute detail in my planner: Sunday 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., CANTIENICA® training. I treated it as if it were an official appointment, just like going to the doctor or the hairdresser. I don’t need to do that anymore—the need to take care of my body is now ingrained in my cells.

A good habit is just a matter of practice—and eventually it becomes second nature

Wednesday is set in stone anyway—I’ll be working out at the gym at 6:30 p.m., and you’re welcome to join me, either in person or via livestream. www.sportsnow.ch/go/cantienica-studio-zurich/classes

The Miracle That Is My Life

My body knows that I care about it. Only when it’s doing well do I truly feel good—in body, mind, and spirit. Because it knows that I hear it and listen to it, it says loud and clear: “I need exercise. I need to work out.”

And then he gets what he needs. Right away. Because that, too, is a major advantage of the CANTIENICA® method: I can do it anywhere. I’ve often worked out in airport departure lounges. On hotel beds. On beaches. There’s always a spot to be found. I usually have a mat with me that I can fold up.

CANTIENICA®: Anywhere, anytime, anyplace

If I don’t have a clean floor, I can still do a full workout while standing. I can use a section of wall or a bar table to simulate a ballet barre.

You can always find a spot to sit cross-legged.

I push myself to the limit at every workout. For 30 years, at least twice a week. That comes to about 3,120 times.

Are you wondering—or are you asking me—what this is good for?

For a lot of things. Actually, for everything.

At 75, I’m more flexible than I was at 20. Flexible enough to do the splits. Flexible enough that I don’t need anyone to rub my back. Flexible enough to reach every part of my body.

I have more strength than I did at 30. I have more stamina. My body eagerly bounds up any staircase, even the one with 700 steps. And my body is in the best shape of my life. Where riding pants used to be tight at 20, my pants now fit well and loosely. The little belly from my forties is gone. The double chin is gone. My shoulder blades lie flat against my back. My spine has corrected itself from a severe curvature. The bunion has also disappeared. And yes, even the hemorrhoids and the chubby cheeks are gone.

That doesn’t make me a beauty. I’m just the best version of myself in this life. Since I can compare how I am today to how I used to be, I know that all of this comes from regularly pushing myself to my limits during training. The training is worth it.

When I find myself comparing myself to my peers out of necessity, one thing becomes very clear: Training at the highest level has nothing but advantages.

What Training at the Limit Really Means

You don’t have to imagine this limit as something I’m forcing myself to reach—I’m not straining, I’m not turning red, I don’t even have to break a sweat—unless I want to work up a sweat. It’s about a subtle limit: How much can I stretch my hip muscles today? How long can I hold my legs in the air using my pelvic floor muscles? How many micro-movements can my fully stretched and interconnected abdominal muscles make? How long can I breathe diagonally in the perfect pyramid pose? How deep can I sink into the glorious albatross stretch today?

Training at this limit has many beneficial qualities. I am completely absorbed. I lose myself in my physical abilities. I meditate in a state of complete tranquility. There is no room for negative thoughts between me and my fascia.

My Emergency Kit

I also always carry my emergency kit with me.

• Slipped while jogging in the woods? Immediately align your leg and rotate your knee outward.
• Tripped over a rock in the ocean? Do a few foot exercises right away in the warm sand.
• Have you been sitting too still in that uncomfortable concert hall chair? Stretch upward, sway your sacrum, and let your vertebrae dance.
• Short of breath? Stretch and rotate your diaphragm.
• Neck stretch? Stretch the bones and engage the right muscles.
• Hairdryer headaches? Get your skull bones moving, release the nerves, and relax your brain.

I am deeply convinced that whatever I can do, you can do too. Our bodies are made of the same miraculous substance.

My master class aims to convince you that you, too, can achieve all of this: strength, relaxation, lightness, resilience, quick reflexes, a joy of movement, and flexibility.

You just have to want it. I can’t do that for you. Everything else, I’ll be more than happy to show you.

Warm regards,

Benita Cantieni