Amber Zuckswert – Dancer, Raw Foodist, and Pilates Instructor

Amber Zuckswert

My guest today is a multi-disciplinarian. She is a virtual pilates instructor, nutrition coach, dancer, yogi, world traveler, raw foodist, and blogger at EpicSelf.com. Her name is Amber Zuckswert and I’m very glad to have her with us today.

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us, Amber.

Q: I hope my intro was accurate. What more can you tell us about yourself, primarily your experience and work in the health and fitness field?

AZ (stands for Amber Zuckswert): My life long love of movement began at age 3 when my parents put me in ballet. I’ve been dancing, teaching and choreographing ever since. My love of movement lead me to pilates after suffering several overuse injuries from dance. Over the past several years I’ve taught pilates, dance, meditation and more recently yoga all over the globe. I knew my love of travel meant I needed to take my work virtually.

I now teach through skype over the internet to clients world wide. I studied nutrition extensively through college. More specifically; Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and in the last few years raw food, and superfoods. Nutrition has always been a vital component of maintaining peak performance on stage in in life. I use all of my experience to help clients balance their mind, body and spirit.

Q: What made you start blogging and how did you choose the overall theme of your blog?

AZ: I’ve created my blog 5 years ago as a way to share my passions and inspire others. I am a firm believer that mind, body and spirit are equally important in ultimate health. My theme grew out of all my passions. I quickly learned that I couldn’t cover all topics effectively so I’ve scaled back to few categories and create more videos now.

Q: What topics do you cover on EpicSelf.com?

AZ: My main five categories are Move, Nourish, Be, Green and Lifestyle Design. I’ve written over 450 articles over the years. You can find my top posts in each category here: www.epicself.com/articles/

The idea is that to live our most epic life we must build strong, flexible bodies through movement, nourish our bodies with whole foods, practice more being and less doing, live sustainably and create the life of our dreams.

Q: How has your experience as a dancer influenced the way you view fitness? Do you feel you’re more oriented toward skill rather than merely appearance?

AZ: My experience as I dancer has given me the discipline necessary to push my body and mind to extremes. There were several times in my life where I had no balance and suffered the consequences. Fitness is incredibly important. I recommend that everyone move more. At least an hour per day. That doesn’t mean a gym workout. That could mean power walking and yoga.

Moderation and consistency are key. We have to push and challenge our bodies, but not overwork so much that we induce fatigue, injury and adrenal burn out. Quality of movement is much more vital then quantity. I am to provide every client with the work they need to achieve their specific goals. If they want six pack abs they need to understand what type of discipline that takes. Rome was not built in a day. It’s never all about aesthetics with me. Building self confidence and quieting the ego are important elements to happiness. Much more so than having six pack abs.

Q: You created Virtual Pilates. What is Virtual Pilates and what do you teach in it?

AZ: Virtual pilates is a private one on one session with me through skype. I harness the power of webcams to create, demonstrate and correct clients form live over the internet. For an hour we flow through pilates mat, yoga and breath work designed for their unique body. Utilizing props if the client has them. Pilates is full body conditioning on a mat using your own body weight. It’s designed to slim and tone long lean muscles, craft perfect posture and alignment with challenge core work.

Amber Zuckswert in a swan position

Q: Why is Pilates such an effective fitness method?

AZ: Pilates targets the small stabilizing muscle groups as well as the larger over-worked muscles. It’s a mind body modality meaning that you learn how to connect your thoughts to actions. Clients learn where they are imbalanced in strength and flexibility and hone their focus to activate the weaker muscle groups.

Originally called contrology, Pilates is about ultimate mind, body control and precision. Emphasis is placed on the core of the body….from the thighs up through the shoulders. By targeting the core muscle groups that stabilize the spine and hips we can move more efficiently in alignment.

Q: Who would you recommend Pilates for? What goals does it help to achieve? Is it suitable for men and women?

AZ: Pilates is for absolutely everyone! Men and women, young and old. While it was developed on a man’s body… Joseph Pilates… it’s principles and movements can be modified for any demographic and skill level. Pilates is not a cardiovascular exercise. It will make you sweat and work your muscles hard, but is not meant to challenge the heart. It’s equal amounts of strength training and flexibility.

Q: In your blog you mention the term Cultivated Mindfullness and say you believe in living every moment by it. How do I practice Cultivated Mindfullness and what role can it play in my life?

AZ: Mindfulness means simply being awake. It means listening to your breath, watching your thoughts, smelling the roses, moving your body with complete awareness. It’s a skill that takes time and practice, but the beauty is you can start right now. Be aware of your thoughts. They create your reality! The more you practice the more you enjoy every moment. The more you are willing to go with the flow, step over your fears and live passionately.

Q: How strongly do you believe that our mind influences our fitness and health?

AZ: Our thoughts directly influence our reality. Nothing has ever been done without intent or thought. Our thoughts become our actions and habits. If we can watch our thoughts, and focus them on what we truly want then it will happen. If you think negatively you won’t achieve what you truly desire in all parts of your life including fitness and health.

To change negative habits you must start with your intentions. A simple example… if you perform a bicep curl focus first on the muscle contraction, then on the rest of the body form… what is the rest of your body doing? Are you breathing? Standing in a slouch? Explore the body for areas that aren’t aware or working. Learn how to turn on and off muscle groups to achieve your goals… learn to release tension where it’s not needed… learn energy efficiency.

If you mindlessly read a mag while biking in the gym you are doing yourself a great disservice. Use your thoughts to change you life. Same thing goes for nutrition. One of my favorite quotes is “if hunger is not the problem, then food is not the answer.” Most people eat for other reasons then fuel. The more we watch our thoughts the more we can become aware of why we are stuck in our current patterns of ill health.

Q: You’re a holistic nutritionist. How does your nutritional approach differ from that of a traditional dietitian? What are the foundations of your approach?

AZ: The foundations of my approach stem from a vast array of ancient and modern techniques. I mix western and eastern approaches and continually study cutting edge nutrition from experts around the globe. My friends know that if I’m not teaching on the weekends, I’m off at a nutrition or health conference learning from the best I can find. I’m forever a student.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, plus raw foods and superfoods fuse to form my approach. I don’t have clients count calories to start. I don’t believe in calories frankly. I believe in the vital energy of whole foods.

When you nourish your body with nutrient dense whole plants foods your body knows what to do. Each body is very different and needs to be approached and explored to find what works best. There is no one size fits all diet.

I take each client through an hour consultation after they’ve already logged their food for at least a week. I look at their Ayurvedic dosha type, their possible imbalances from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective and introduce raw and super foods. I will tweak percentages of carbs, proteins and fats depending on the clients activity level and goals. What we put into our mouths is one thing, but why we do it is another. I take clients to the root of why they are stuck in their patterns and how to break through and transform from the inside out.

Q: What would be some of the first steps you’d suggest for someone who wants to change their life for the better with a holistic approach?

AZ:   Look at your life as an ecosystem of balance. When one aspect is out of balance it will pull on the others.

Step 1: move more often

Step 2: eat more greens and veggies

Step 3: listen to your breath for a few minutes each day

Step 4: be in nature

step 5: step out of your comfort zone and smile at our endless possibility

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For more about Amber Zuckswert and her work check out her blog at http://epicself.com/

Among the other interviewees on this site you can learn from Sue Heintze, Vic Magary, and Rusty Moore.