Practice What You Teach: Nothing Special and why that’s amazing!

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When I committed to writing a weekly blog about my Pilates practice I knew it would not always be easy to write and I knew it would make me honestly look at my Pilates practice in my life.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to blog about my practice.  Usually something in my practice sparks an idea and the writer in me has no problem finding something to write about.

This week was not so easy, probably because there was nothing special about my Pilates and movement time that popped out as being unique or worthy of a blog!  I worked out and played at the studio and did some small bits of mat work at home like I usually do,but honestly I can’t even remember exactly what I did.

Since we have a Pilates Day event coming up in another week,  I had a busy “studio business” week (I consider my “studio business” time all the time I’m doing everything else besides teaching to keep the studio running and hopefully growing!).  As always this time of year, the kids were busy with school projects and activities. Our family had a somewhat stressful week at home as we were taking care of our family dog who was unexpectedly having health problems.  All of this(life stuff) though didn’t really affect my Pilates practice.

As I’m writing these words I’m realizing,”All of this( normal dealing with life stuff…) didn’t really affect my Pilates practice.”  And that makes me pretty happy and grateful!  I’m grateful to have a movement practice in my life that is always there and that is so part of me and how I live on a daily basis, that I don’t have to think about it.  I love that when life gets a little chaotic I don’t have to add to the chaos and stress by worrying about if I got my exercise in.  And I’m grateful for the opportunity to write this week about my Pilates practice as it truly made me appreciate what a gift Pilates is in my life!

International Pilates Day

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Mark Your Calendars!International Pilates DayPilates Day is an annual, international, community event celebrated on the first Saturday of May every year. The Pilates Day mission is to foster the public’s appreciation and awareness of the Pilates Method through a network of varied, innovative, and high quality grassroots Pilates events accessible and affordable for all. Pilates Day is a program of the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), and Pilates Day events are produced and hosted by PMA members.

Carey is one of five Pilates Instructors in Iowa who are certified the PMA, and Rivercity Pilates will celebrate Pilates Day with both classes and an open house.  All classes will be free on Pilates Day, May 7, 2016.   All classes are open to the public, and beginners are welcome.   Current Rivercity Pilates clients who bring a friend will be entered in a prize drawing AND win a free mat class!   New students who come to class on Pilates Day will receive a pass for Pilates Mat, Yoga and Barre for the rest of the month!  Bring a friend and we’ll see you there!

Visit our Rivercity Pilates Tasting Circuit to learn about & try Pilates, Barre, Yoga and Neural Reset Therapy and earn a Sparkle Bag of goodies!! (1)

 

 

Knee Replacement – How soon can you do Pilates?

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Whether you are contemplating knee replacement surgery or have had the surgery I think you’ll find the video above pretty impressive.  Just 2 weeks after her knee replacement Nancy is back at the studio doing many of her regular Pilates exercises.  The secret to her impressive road to recovery?  Pilates of course! Nancy’s regular Pilates practice before her surgery gave her the strength, balance and core strength to tackle the recovery process the best she could.  Since the Pilates method of exercise is so adaptable to any body Nancy was able to easily incorporate her Pilates practice into her recovery time and is doing fabulous!

To learn more about the benefits of Pilates before and after Knee Replacement surgery schedule a complimentary Private session today!

Practice What You Teach: Pilates Anytime Inspiration…

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My favorite workout this week has a little story behind it! My story starts with Shelley, one of the trainees in our Comprehensive Teacher Training Program coming in for her private lesson.  When I asked Shelley how her body felt and if there was anything in particular she wanted to work on she said she was hoping to do Reformer as she had just watched a couple of Amy Taylor Alpers‘ classes on Pilates Anytime and really had some “aha” moments!  I was asking her about what she watched and we excitedly talked for a a few minutes ( OK..maybe 7 or 8 minutes because as Pilates instructors this is exciting stuff….).

We talked about some of the ideas Amy was incorporating, how she taught certain exercises and how it changed how Shelley saw certain exercises.  One of the key ideas that Shelley was talking about was an idea I’ll call  “standing in your feet” throughout all the exercises.  Shelley kept saying,” I know you’ve told me these things, but for whatever reason how she said it just clicked!”.  This is one of the many reasons you should try to take lessons at least occasionally with different instructors: we learn different things from different teachers and sometimes just hearing something a different way helps ideas or movements make more sense in your body!!

Our conversation made it easy for me as an instructor to decide what Shelley would be doing that day in her session with me.  I had Shelley do an intermediate Reformer workout (one she knew well as far as order of exercises) and we focused on “standing in her feet”!  I took the idea that she had been introduced to and tried to incorporate it into every exercise she did and really incorporate it into her body.  Needless to say our focus and my cues and interpretation of this idea really changed how Shelley was thinking about each exercise and made her fine tune each exercise in a way that she hadn’t done before(aka- everything was more work!).

IMG_7354It just so happened that the very same evening Shelley and I were both at the studio and I ended up having an unexpected break due to a cancellation and Shelley did too as she was supposed to observe that session.  So I told Shelley it was a sign that I should work out (and she should teach me!).  I told her we could do some Reformer and she could be as picky as she wanted with me! So I did a intermediate Reformer workout and Shelley taught me giving me lots of cues about “standing in my feet” and just fine tuning my alignment.  It was a great workout that had me, just like Shelley earlier that day, working harder and moving better just from changing how I was thinking about each exercise.

If you practice Pilates or are a Pilates instructor and are unfamiliar with Pilates Anytime– you should check it out!  For a very small monthly fee (like what you would pay to take one Pilates class!)  you’ll have online access to hundreds of amazing classes, workshops, and tutorials with some of the best instructors in the world.  One of the things I love about my Pilates practice is that it is always evolving and it’s a continuous process of learning and incorporating things into my body. Every teacher that I have taken classes, sessions, workshops or continuing education classes from contributes to the evolution of my understanding of movement and the Pilates Method in my body and my teaching.   The video classes and workshops on Pilates Anytime allow me to learn from incredible instructors that I wouldn’t normally get to take sessions or classes with on a regular basis.

As a teacher of Pilates instructors I encourage all my trainees to use Pilates Anytime as well.  Our trainees have to get in quite a few observation hours as part of their training process and we allow some of those hours to come from watching classes and workshops on Pilates Anytime.  Although very different from observing a live session I do think it is so important for trainees to get exposed to different teachers and different teaching styles to help them learn things best in their body as well as learn how to teach it to others.  When you are in small town Iowa there aren’t a ton of options for finding multiple instructors to observe, so I really find Pilates Anytime an invaluable tool for training future Pilates instructors.

Are you a Pilates instructor or practitioner who watches Pilates Anytime?  I would love to hear about some of your favorite classes and what you’ve watched lately!!

Inspiration of the Month: Mike Palmer

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When did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start?

I started seriously doing Pilates last fall. To be completely honest, Becky made me start going to Pilates. She decided we both needed to be doing something active. When I didn’t have a plan, she signed us up for a couples Pilates class. After my first class I still had mixed feelings. A few months later, and while I still think she should have allowed “aerobic fishing” as an option, Becky signed me up for some private sessions. I really started enjoying Pilates after getting those private sessions under my belt to get an understanding of the different equipment and movements.

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

When I first started Pilates, my favorite things were just the quiet focused time spent doing Pilates and the warm relaxed flexible period afterward. After doing Pilates for a while, I started to notice that I was stronger and much more flexible.

The most amazing benefit from Pilates has been that my back pain gradually went away. It happened so gradually that I’m not exactly sure when it happened. One day after some strenuous activity that would have usually left me with a lot of pain the next day, I realized that my back wasn’t bothering me. Then thinking about it, I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I had back pain. I’ve struggled with chronic (and occasionally acute) back pain for years due to issues related to being in the Army and SCUBA diving (heavy equipment), and my being overweight and a job that had me sitting at a desk for hours at a time.

Do you have a favorite exercise or piece of equipment (or both)?

I initially liked the Cadillac – probably the big hardware/guy sort of thing. But after doing Pilates for a while I’ve discovered that using the different pieces of equipment is part of the fun. Even the same exercise on different equipment gives you a slightly different motion.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing Pilates?

I was at the bookstore and had that very discussion with someone about Pilates after we talked about how hard it was to see and reach the magazines on the lowest shelf ( especially if you had a sore back). They were wondering if they could just pick up a book or a video on Pilates. I suggested that initially taking private sessions would be the way I’d recommend. Taking private sessions initially would allow them to learn how to do the movements properly. Also, without using the equipment, it’s hard to appreciate how much assistance it provides for some of the exercises.

 

It’s starting to get kind of fun!!!

By: Shelley Oglesby, Rivercity Pilates Pilates Mat Teacher Trainee

April 9, 2016

Nancy and Shelley - teacher trainees

Nancy and Shelley – teacher trainees

I just finished my first week of teaching my practice clients in the Pilates Mat Teacher Training Program at Rivercity Pilates. Before my first session I was nervous, I couldn’t sleep as I was trying to go through everything in my mind that I wanted to cover with each client. My heart was racing as the time approached for my very first private Pilates teaching experience! I was honestly questioning myself about getting into this teaching Pilates thing. The anticipation was scary! I was trying to get myself calmed down and tell myself…I know these women, they are my friends, you’ll do fine, what’s the big deal?, etc. etc.… One of the other teacher trainees told me it’s like ripping off a Band-Aid; you just have to do it!

Yes! It was true. A big sigh of relief after my first client and it went really well! The Band-Aid was off. I thought during and after that first session that as I was teaching, explaining, encouraging, and demonstrating, that, hey, it’s not about me…it’s about the client!

So, I’m starting to feel better and go on to teach my second, third, and fourth private Pilates sessions in one week. I love the feedback I’m getting from these terrific clients and their honesty and hard work! And guess what?

It’s starting to get kind of fun!!

Here’s an example of a message I got from a client after I checked in with her two days after her session: ”I feel great. I can really tell I worked the lower abs and feel it makes me aware of standing up straighter. Thank you!!”

Okay…This makes me smile!