What’s in a Name?

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Pay attention to the names of those exercises when you’re in a Pilates class at the studio.   Why?   It may give you a clue to whether you’re doing the exercise correctly.

Case in point.   Me.

When I began doing Pilates, I hadn’t worked out in 2 years.    I was out of shape, and I had aches and pains most everywhere.    I started Pilates because it was low impact, and because when I took equipment classes, the equipment helped me with movements that were really hard for me during mat class.   If you’ve tried to do crunches and experienced back & neck pain — then I know you know what I mean.    16 months later, I am still learning exercises.   Every time I think I have one figured out, I hear the instructor saying words I’ve heard hundreds of times, I make an adjustment, and the exercise feels new to me.

picture by MarchMatness.com
picture by MarchMatness.com

Most recently – it happened with Spine Stretch.    I take one or two mat classes a week (if you count my private sessions when Carey makes me do mat), so I’ve done spine stretch in a class over 100 times.     Suddenly a few weeks ago, I actually felt my spine stretch!   Let me be clear.   I’ve always felt some stretch.   Usually, I felt a hamstring stretch during that exercise.    I’ve felt my shoulders stretch.   But when I focused on breathing as Carey coached me, when I tried to take note of every cue she gave – I felt my spine stretch.   Now it’s becoming one of my favorite reward exercises because it feels so good.   You know what a reward exercise is — right?   The exercises between the really hard ones that you really enjoy?   When I concentrate on the cues I’m given, I feel that spine stretch in my spine, in my hamstrings and in my neck and shoulders.

[tweetthis remove_hidden_hashtags=”true”]Do you wonder why a #PIlates exercise is named because you feel it somewhere else? [/tweetthis]

The lesson for other students?    The names aren’t just for the instructors!    The names help us understand the exercise.    Joseph Pilates must have been pretty incredible.    He came up with all the exercises that we do in classical pilates and all the equipment that we use.   If he decided to name something spine stretch, the name is probably a clue that the student would feel something in their spine!      Pilates is a journey, and there’s a lot of learning and thinking along the way.

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I follow pilates hashtags on twitter now, because I learn a lot.   There are stories about Joseph Pilates, the benefits of Pilates, and videos of many professionals doing the various exercises.  I saw a tweet last night where a student had posted a Tumbler photo of herself doing backstretch (I think), and she called it elephant.   I would tell her, what I wrote here.    Pay attention to the name of the exercise, because Mr. Pilates knew what he was doing.    Whether it’s an exercise like spine stretch or long spine, to the animal exercises like seal or elephant, there’s always something in the name and an elephant just didn’t have triceps to work!

Becky
Rivercity Pilates student, and part time blogger!

For those of you that might want to perfect that spine stretch — here’s a video from the RivercityPilates YouTube channel.

Addicted to Handbags

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Photo credit: Pilates Fitness Institue Facebook Page

Photo credit: Pilates Fitness Institute Facebook Page

Some people have a problem with alcohol.    Some people have a problem with cocaine.   I have a problem with handbags.    It used to be Coach. Then it was Dooney.    Then it was Kate Spade.   Oh to have that cash back!!!!    However as my taste in handbags went from $50 to $100, to $200 to, you have to be kidding if you think I’m going to admit my most expensive handbag — somewhere I figured out that I was investing in things that brought me limited joy.     I love some of those handbags.    I have a drawer (and a plastic bin or two), full of handbags which have brought me joy at one time or another.     Those handbags didn’t help with my body image.     Those handbags didn’t make me feel better when I looked in the mirror.

A few years ago, I decided I was going to invest in myself.    That’s a complete lie, what was happening was I was going to a wedding, and I wanted to look good.     I went on Jenny Craig, I did aerobics, and I paid for private pilates sessions.     I lost weight, and no one recognized me at the wedding.   It wasn’t exactly what I was going for.    I struggled.    After I went back to eating “regular” food, I gained weight, and went through some things that are a part of life:  stress, losing a parent, things that I just wasn’t prepared for.    So much for that investment.    Here came the L-Bs (pounds) right back.  And more.

[tweetthis]Are you addicted to #handbags or #shoes? Read my story![/tweetthis]

Now I had to worry about my health as well as the mirror.    They were both screaming at me that I needed to get off the couch.    I googled.   I actually joined a gym.    It cost $38 per month.   I went 5 times the first month, and then I didn’t go for 14 months.   That didn’t work out so well.  I could have spent $532 on another expensive handbag, but I was “investing” in my health!

I started Pilates at Rivercity Pilates for 2 reasons.   1) They offered a complimentary session so that I could see if I was able to do the exercises and 2) I knew the pilates equipment would assist me in doing things that my overweight body simply couldn’t do.    Here I am, 18 months later. I am clearly a Pilates-aholic.   I have started a mindful movement practice, and it brings me a peace I didn’t know was possible.   I am not going to tell you I haven’t purchased an expensive handbag in 18 months, but I can tell you, that I purchased that handbag after I had purchased my Pilates packages!    That unlimited Pilates classes package may be expensive, but like the picture says,  your body will be around a lot longer than that expensive handbag!

Becky
Pilates Student Blogger

 

 

 

 

Runners Should Eat More Spinach!

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IMG_1758My friend Kristin came to visit recently.  Kristin is fit and healthy.   It doesn’t come naturally, she works at it.   No matter what time zone she’s in, (vacation or not) she gets up early for her run, and she supplements her run with visits to a gym (even if she has to pay the daily fee when she travels).   She’s one of those “no excuses” people and it seems like she’s successful at it, because she’s healthy AND she has more energy than anyone I know.

Kristin noticed that I have a foam roller in my living room.    She said, “I have one of those, but I never use it — it hurts!”.    I started giggling, and she asked me what I was thinking.    I said, “You need to read the blog I wrote, My Foam Roller is Like Spinach”   I told her it was a story about how I learned to love my foam roller.    We chatted for a while, I sent her the link to the blog,  and I explained the types of moves I love on the foam roller.    She decided she would try it the next day after her run.

Fast forward a couple of days, and Kristin came in after her morning run.   “That foam roller really works!”    She said she usually has really tight hamstrings and they’re tight for at least the first mile.     The day after she used the foam roller — she said that first mile was easier because her hamstrings weren’t quite as tight.    She also said she usually has some “hurt” in her legs the last mile, and that it was definitely “less hurt” the day after she used the foam roller.   I’m not a runner, so I had no idea that the foam roller could make an impact, even after one use.   The foam roller didn’t instantly make Kristin more flexible, but it did have a measurable effect on how she felt during her run.

[tweetthis]Are you a runner? Do your legs hurt at the start of your run?[/tweetthis]

For the rest of her visit, Kristin returns from her run, and goes immediately to the foam roller, telling us “she’s going to have more spinach”!   She even said she’s going to start using her foam roller when she gets home!  Foam rolling is like spinach, it’s an acquired taste, but try it and see what a difference it makes!