Inspiration of the Month Kayla Lygoft

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Kayla

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

I have done Pilates with videos on and off for several years, but I began taking regular Pilates classes through Rivercity in November of last year.

 

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

The biggest benefit I’ve seen is body awareness and an ACTUAL desire to regularly moving my body! Talking with all of the instructors at Rivercity has helped me understand some of the quirks of my body alignment and has given me insight into how to ask better questions about how to help myself both in the studio and on my own time. It’s been amazing to become more in tune with myself.

 

Why did you decide to do the 2016  Empower Your Body Challenge and  what has been your favorite part about the Challenge so far? 

I always love a good challenge, so I was excited when Empower Your Body was announced.  I love to push myself and inspire others to do the same.  Additionally, this part of the winter and of the year can be a very difficult time to motivate myself to workout, and since I know that, I thought that jumping into the challenge would help me stay on track- and it has!  Even though I’ve had a few slower weeks, I keep going in order to stay a part of a program I committed myself to a month ago.

 

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

I’ve only recently had the chance to try out the larger Pilates equipment, so I feel like I can’t pick a favorite when it comes to those exercises, but overall, I LOVE the Pilates classes that incorporate Barre.  I was a dancer as a little girl, and didn’t stick with it very long, but it’s incredibly gratifying to pull those moves back out of my body as an adult! It makes me feel strong and sexy and it’s so. much. FUN!  If you haven’t tried one of the Barre classes, I suggest giving it a try!

 

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

I have already told several of my friends and family members about my venture into the world of Pilates, and several of them have taken my enthusiasm and suggestions to heart!  It’s an incredibly accessible form of exercise, and for those that haven’t had their bodies moving in a while, it’s a wonderful way to get back into movement.  In my case, I was nursing a shoulder injury when I came to Pilates, and from time to time the pain flares up, but now I know I have my instructors on my side and I can ask them questions anytime.  It’s an awesome support network and it’s so much more than exercise, it’s a community and something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life!

Teach Concepts – Not Exercises

images I just watched the amazing documentary about Eve Gentry: The Power of Pilates.  Eve Gentry is considered a Pilates elder as she is a first generation Pilates instructor who trained with Joseph and Clara Pilates.  Her story is quite amazing and inspiring and if you get the chance- watch the documentary.  There were so many take-aways for me from her story but probably most profound was hearing her say, “Pilates is a concept”.  We teach concepts and not exercises.  If you are just teaching exercises than you are merely a conveyor belt.”

I couldn’t agree more and find that as I help train future Pilates instructors that this is one of the most important concepts I pass on.  Teaching Pilates isn’t just about images-1memorizing all the exercises, or doing all the exercises.  Teaching Pilates is about teaching the Pilates concepts of efficient movement to our clients bodies so that they can actually have a Pilates practice.  As a teacher it is just as important that you know why you are doing an exercise or movement as it is that you know the choreography of the exercise.

To teach the Pilates concepts you have to know how to adapt them to your own body and your client’s bodies.  You need to be able to put yourself in a client’s body and help them find what they need to do to get to the next step.  Sometimes this means not doing traditional Pilates exercises at all.  Sometimes this means changing or adapting an exercise so they can learn the Pilates concept you are trying to teach them. Often times this means practicing the fundamental movements that make up the exercise before actually progressing to the traditional exercise.

[tweetthis remove_hidden_hashtags=”true”]When you are teaching #Pilates and your client is struggling…[/tweetthis]

As instructors our jobs go well beyond just knowing the exercises and a few modifications.  Learning to teach Pilates concepts to each different body is a skill that takes lots of practice and experience seeing different bodies move.  This is one of the many reasons that a quality, comprehensive Pilates training program requires not just workshop hours but also hands on practice and observation designed to help instructors fine tune this skill of teaching concepts.

Contact us today to learn more about Pilates instructor training programs at Rivercity Pilates and mentoring opportunities.

I don’t like to talk about what Yoga is…

We offer many Yoga classes at Rivercity Pilates.

We offer many Yoga classes at Rivercity Pilates.

I often get asked about difference between Pilates and Yoga. I can tell you I feel very comfortable talking about what Pilates is, the benefits, the order, the anatomy of exercises, the breath,and what it can do for your life, etc. I’m not so comfortable talking about the Yoga in the same way.

I have practiced Yoga off and on throughout the years but I’ve never studied it the way I’ve studied and practiced Pilates over the years. The amount of time, effort and constant digging into the Pilates method I do makes me more and more uncomfortable  trying to share credible information about Yoga. Yoga has been around much longer than Pilates and I know that even though I’ve taken classes and practice on my own I’m a newbie to the juice of Yoga. I don’t have a good deep understanding of the poses and why we do them, the order we do them or how changing something small in the alignment or positioning could change the whole pose. I know too much about movement and it’s complexities to realize I’m not giving it the credit it deserves.

So if you’ve asked me a question about Yoga and I don’t answer it as thoroughly as you might like, I apologize and I’ll gladly refer you to one of our amazing Yoga instructors at the studio who can answer your questions in much more detail!!  For those who are curious about both Pilates and Yoga I often recommend people trying both with a qualified instructor and see if one clicks with them more than the other.  Movement practices like Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, and others can be life changing and I really believe it’s worth taking some time to explore these practices in depth to find one that fits into your life!

Practice What You Teach: after MarchMATness…

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I’m not going to lie…I’m kind of glad MarchMATness is over!  As much as I LOVE the daily celebration of Joseph Pilates Mat exercises I was getting a little bit tired of creating daily video, pictures and blog posts!  My Pilates practice in March definitely revolved around March Matness.  Much of my free time at the studio was spent doing the daily exercise, getting pictures and video of the exercise of the day, blogging about the exercise and also playing with ways to incorporate the daily exercise into my classes and sessions(that was my favorite part!).

As April begins I’m finding a new appreciate of just being able to work out, focus on the exercise at hand and not have to worry about how to present it on our blog and social media sites!  I’ve snuck in a few full workouts on the Cadillac and the Reformer which felt great! I really just did Pilates mat work all month long other than random playing on the equipment so I found myself missing those workouts!! We’ve also had some beautiful springs days where I’ve been trying to get out and enjoy the nice weather with walks and trips to the park with the kids!  Of course I always sneak in a little (creative, playful) Pilates at the park when we’re there!

 

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Use your fitness band to fine tune your Pilates Mat practice!!

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Today’s Pilates Mat workout utilizes a fitness band as a tool in your Pilates mat workout.  This simple portable fitness prop can be easily integrated into your Pilates Mat work to help you work deeper and more efficiently!

 

 

March Matness 2016: The Push Up

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A push up is a push up right? Like many of the movements and exercises in the Pilates Mat work the Push Up is not “new”. Joseph Pilates did not create the Push Up, but he made it more than a push up when he sequenced it with the rest of the Pilates Mat work and incorporated the Pilates principles and ideas into the exercise.  A Pilates Push Up starts by rolling down through your spine, unrolling your spine as you gracefully walk out into a plank, doing your Push Ups ( with perfect form of course!) and then rolling up through your spine to walk back to your legs and rolling up through your spine to finish your Pilates Mat work standing tall, strong and aligned so you can leave your workout feeling so much more alive and energized than when you started! There is something quite empowering about completing a Pilates Mat workout and mustering up enough control, strength and balance to finish strong with this challenging exercise!