#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Lessons From My Son

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I got to do something I love this week – Pilates with my son!  As a Pilates teacher my kids get a lot of exposure to movement and of course I’m always playing and moving with them.  As a mom of 3 and business owner I can tell you that getting one on one alone time with the kids is definitely rare and treasured and rarely does it happen at the studio!  This week the stars aligned and my son Tyler was able to come hang out at the studio with me for part of the day.  It was probably the first time that I worked with him in a more structured way than our usual play time at home or Pilates Mat class at school and it was super fun!

img_9551As a parent I get to watch Tyler move when he’s taking a Ninja Zone class, a Taekwondo class and even when I teach a Pilates Mat class at his school, but this was definitely different.  I loved being able to put him on the reformer and watch him put the pieces together to figure out how to do Footwork on the Reformer.  I loved seeing that although I only cued him a couple of times to engage his abdominal muscles, he automatically engaged them on most exercises. I loved seeing how even though it was a challenge, he worked to control equipment (ie no banging or making noise…which is asking a lot from a 10 year old boy!) and it didn’t take his body long to figure it out!  When I showed him how to do an exercise I call scooter on the Reformer he jumped on and said we could both do this at the same time (and he was right!).  After that exercise Tyler decided we should make a Parent/Kid Pilates class that he would help me design!

As he tried exercises it was fascinating to listen to him talk about how the exercises felt (be sure to watch the video of him describing jumping on the reformer!) He of course wanted to play on the Cadillac (who doesn’t?…it’s like a giant jungle gym!)  so I let him play on his own and found that he ended up doing movements with the Trapeze that were really close to traditional exercises without any cuing from me!

img_9553From a personal practice standpoint, working with Tyler reminded me of the joy of movement and exploring movement.  As I worked with him I tried not to over teach him, but just give him some basic instructions designed to keep him safe and let him figure things out on his own.  It was very cool to see how the feedback from the equipment helped him very quickly move better and more efficiently.  What a great reminder of the value in trying new things and trusting the design of the equipment and the exercises!

 

 

 

Fine Tune your Roll Down!


The Roll Down on the Cadillac is a great exercise for gaining more mobility in the spine as well as strengthening the core and shoulder stabilizers.

This video will highlight the basics of the exercise including how to set up and breathing. It will also give you some fine-tuning tips so that you can get more out of each exercise.

Share this blog on your facebook page, tag us, and you’ll get a free mat, barre or yoga class at Rivercity Pilates!

How about a mini-workout for Abs and Thighs?

Introducing the core, inner thigh, and back of the arms Pilates Magic Circle Mini-Workout!


If you’re looking for a quick core-strengthening, arm-toning, inner-thigh workout . . . this is it! This magic circle mini-workout is a great workout to do at home in between your classes or as an addition to your at home workout. Try it twice a week and be sure to let us know what you think!

Need a Pilates Magic Circle? Stop by the studio and pick one up at our Inspiration Boutique!

The Inspiration Boutique is our studio retail store. We have a line of fashionable, functional workout clothes (including our own Rivercity Pilates workout wear, Lucy and Glyder) and an assortment of small at home workout equipment including the Magic Circle, foam rollers, and various balls and props.

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Getting Down and Back up

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Can you sit on the floor and stand back up without touching your hand or knee on the floor?  Last week when I took Benjamin Degenhardt’s Upright Pilates workshop he started by talking about this ability. There has been some interesting studies done on life expectancy in older adults being directly correlated to this ability.  The first thing that popped into my head when this discussion started was….Can I do it?    When I got to try it during workshop time I was a little embarrassed at how hard it was for me (I am a Pilates teacher after all….). ..and I have to tell you I had to use a hand on the floor.  This bothered me and I made a pact with myself to practice and master this!

Have I mastered it yet? Nope. Have I been practicing…you bet.  Almost every time I practice Pilates I take a little time to try out my ability to get down and stand back up. Somewhere in that practice I learned a lot about my teaching and about what I can do to help others move better in their life. Here’s a quick video of my 8 year old daughter and I practicing!

I had been practicing the crossed leg sit and stand which is often shown as the example of getting down and back up. I found myself getting creative and exploring what was so hard about the movement and what I needed to do to be successful at it.   I discovered if I added a little rolling like a ball in once I sat down I could use my momentum to help get me back up.  I learned that the position of my feet and ankles made a big difference in my success of standing back up.  And then at some point as I practiced I had an aha moment.  It went a little something like this in my head:

Most of my clients are probably not going to be able to do this. Is there any benefit to training them to get up and down exactly like this? Does it really matter if one hand or a knee touches the floor?  Probably not.   Is there benefit in helping them strengthen and balance their bodies in a way that allows them to safely get down and up from the floor? Yes of course!! Do we do this type of work in our sessions?…ALL THE TIME!!   What can I do as a teacher that would benefit my clients the most when it comes to getting up and down?

My conclusion:  Talk about the benefits of Pilates more! The Pilates exercises are so well designed to help us live life and do little things like get up and get down to the floor. Sometimes I need to be reminded as a teacher that my job is not just to teach the correct way to do an exercise or movement but to motivate, inspire and educate clients on why this work will help them live life better. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more motivated to do the detailed work of an exercise when I know why I’m doing it and what it will help me do in the rest of my life.

As a quick example, we often have specific foot and ankle positions that we use in Pilates exercises.  Sometimes I feel like these adjustments seem small or insignificant in the big picture of the exercise to clients.  I have found though that when I talk about how important it is to have flexible, strong feet when you want to get up off the floor or at that moment you need to catch your balance….clients seem to connect to that more, something clicks and they make the effort to work on that detail of the exercise.

Don’t be surprised if you hear me teaching a little bit more about not just how to do an exercise but why we do it! I would love to know from you: is this type of teaching helpful for you as a student? Are there any particular exercises or pieces of the Pilates exercises that standout for you because of what they help you do in your day to day life?

Two simple exercises to help with Upper Back Tension and Shoulder Pain!

These simple moves done on a foam roller can help you to open tight shoulders and provide a much needed destressing of the shoulders and upper back.

 

By coordinating these movements with your Pilates breath and core engagement you can sneak in a quick total body movement break anytime!

Need a foam roller?  Stop by the studio to purchase one and get your free guide to using the foam roller!