Inspiration of the Month Heather Thorpe

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heather tWhen did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start?

 I started Pilates in 2007 primarily for health reasons. For years I struggled with anorexia, which had significant impacts on my body – my weight dropped to 78 pounds my freshman year of college. Recovery from anorexia focuses foremost on getting someone to a “normal” weight while addressing the underlying psychological issues at play – for me these were severe anxiety coupled with the need to be “perfect”.

 Continuing with yoga throughout my recovery helped get my energy levels back up, but I was still frustrated by feeling physically weak. Pilates helped me gain back core strength and muscle development, which made me feel empowered in my body for the first time. Today, Pilates helps manage my anxiety and is a continual source of encouragement when I think about how far I’ve come.

 

What benefits have you seen by committing to a regular Pilates practice? 

 

Pilates helps manage my anxiety and has improved my breathing immensely (I have chronic allergies and impaired breathing due to several bouts of pneumonia). It also gives me a much-needed retreat from the constant demands of grad school.

What inspired you to become a Pilates instructor?

 My first Pilates instructor was a friend who was working as an apprentice teacher in Santa Barbara. She needed practice clients so I agreed to be her guinea pig. Since then, Pilates has become such an integral part of my life that I wanted to share my love of it with others.

 

heather-thorpe[1]What is your favorite exercise?

Teaser! – whether on the Reformer, Tower, or mat.

 

What is your least favorite exercise?

Chest expansion, but I’m hoping it’s another exercise that I will grow to love.

 

What is your favorite equipment?

I started learning Pilates on the Reformer and it is still my favorite.

What would you say to someone thinking about starting Pilates?

 The benefits of Pilates are so varied and everyone can gain something from it. Whether you’re looking to improve your posture, alleviate chronic pain, get back into shape or start working out for the first time, or just interested in trying something new, Pilates is a method that is tailored to meet individual needs and will leave you feeling better than when you first walked in the door.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsC6gxZajk

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Pilates and Pregnancy Week 21- Adjusting to my growing belly!

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21 weeksWelcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog. We’re over halfway there! This week, the baby is the length of a spaghetti squash (about 8 inches) and weighs around one pound.

I am feeling great and have much more energy than I did in the first trimester. There are a few new pregnancy quirks, however. First, I sometimes have tingling in my right heel, which is more fascinating than annoying. It’s like your foot is about to fall asleep, but decides just to tingle instead. Second, my low back feels like it needs to realign itself most of the time, but won’t. My guess is that my bones are shifting and ligaments are stretching to make room for baby.

This week Carey started me on the Chair. We did a standing version of Cat/Cow where you start like you’re going to do Upside Down Push-Up (standing on the paddle, facing your Chair, with your hands on either side of the seat). Instead of lifting the paddle, you flow from a rounded spine into extension and back. It was great for all the tightness in my low back and abdomen.

We also did a version of the piriformis stretch that was wonderful. Sitting on the Chair, you put one foot on the paddle and cross your other ankle over your knee. Instead of leaning forward to feel more of a stretch,you let your paddle foot lift up to elevate both legs while still sitting tall. This is perfect for pregnant women who might feel uncomfortable trying to lean forward with a growing belly in the way.

Carey then switched me over to the Tower where we did a fabulous variation of Front Push Through. Instead of sitting with one foot placed up against each vertical pole, I took my legs wide, bent my knees, and let the bottom half of my legs dangle over the sides. This allowed me to push the bar further forward without running into my belly and to get a great stretch across my hips (which seem to always be tight these days).

The picture this week is of me doing Standing Arm Springs on the Tower. We will not be blogging next week because of the holiday, but will be back to share more of this wonderful journey in the New Year.

Wishing you and yours safe and happy holidays!

2013 Rivercity Pilates Inspirational Video

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We think our clients are pretty inspiring and we think you’ll agree!  Every month we feature one of our clients and share their Pilates story with you.  This inspiring video is a quick look at all of our monthly inspirations from 2013.  Enjoy!

Want to read their individual inspiring Pilates stories?  Look under our Inspiration of the Month Category on our blog to find the individual stories.

 

 

 

Pilates Side Plank – A great at home exercise to build strength and balance!

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The Side Plank is a great exercise for strengthening and toning the whole body. Practicing side plank at your working level will help strengthen and balance your body to prepare you for some of the more challenging Pilates exercises.  Start off by just holding the side plank for 10-15 seconds.  Gradually increase your time and try working up towards a full minute on each side!
Click the video above to learn how to fine tune your technique on this challenging exercise!

Pilates and Pregnancy Week 20 – The joys of stretching and finding out boy or girl!!

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week 20

Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! I’ve got a big announcement to share with you this week – I’m having a baby boy! Going into the ultrasound I was convinced that baby Cumings-Peterson was a girl and so it was quite the shock when the technician told us otherwise.

Baby looked healthy and was squirming all over the place. He weighs 13 ounces and is lying sideways across my abdomen. I’ve definitely felt more movement; especially during the late afternoon and early morning.

This week Carey taught me on the Reformer. We did both Short Spine and Long Spine, which are exercises where your feet come back over your head. Some moms-to-be are wary of doing any inversions, but I checked with my doctor and she said that as long as I was comfortable, it’s safe for me and baby.

I noticed that it was harder for me to get my feet into the straps today because my growing belly was in the way. Once I was in the straps, however, it felt great to stretch out my low back using those two exercises. We did modify Short Spine slightly in that I kept my knees extra wide to accommodate my stomach on the roll back down.

In addition to working on the Reformer, Carey had me do a long series of leg and hip stretches on the High Barrel. Your ligaments relax during pregnancy, which is why pregnant women need to be careful when exercising, but my muscles felt tighter than ever! My hamstrings are especially tight, which Carey said is probably due to the fact that I am tucking my tail bone under to support the new distribution of weight in my body. Needless to say, the stretches felt great.

We wanted to incorporate something blue into this week’s picture, and so here’s a picture of me, halfway through the pregnancy, sitting on a blue exercise ball.

See you next week!