Inspiration of the Month Patti Lounsbury

pattilWhen did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start?
My first Pilates session was July 11, 2014. My sister, Susan Frye inspired me to start. She has practiced Pilates for years and highly recommended it to me for my lower back pain.
How often do you practice Pilates and what type of sessions or classes have you been doing?    
I have been doing semi-private Pilates sessions once weekly. I try to implement principles of Pilates every day during whatever I am doing.
What benefits or improvements have you noticed in your body and life from doing Pilates? 
1. Better posture: I hadn’t noticed this until others had pointed it out to me. And now I think about it much more often and implement better posture in walking and sitting.

2. Significantly less lumbar pain: This is great for me because lower back pain has been a problem for many, many years.

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

I love the cat, anything that involves the back (which many exercises do); I like all of the exercises involving the foam roller. I really cannot think of anything that I don’t like.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing Pilates?
I would definitely recommend it. I really don’t believe it can hurt. Carey is a superb instructor and very careful about proceeding with exercises.

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Pilates and Rodeo??

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One of my favorite job perks as a Pilates teacher is that is has changed how I look at the world.  If I’m just getting introduced to someone, walking through the grocery store or maybe watching a sporting event on TV…I can’t help but look at how people move.  I automatically notice what moves well and what doesn’t, I notice the balance in their body, I notice the patterns in their movement.  This might explain why I’ve become a little bit of a rodeo fan.  I started watching rodeo and specifically Iowa bareback rider Tim O’Connell because of a friend, but my continuing to watch definitely has to do with my fascination with movement.  As a side note, I also think I like rodeo because it’s short and sweet and keeps my attention.  I am not one to sit still for any period of time to watch a football or baseball game on TV…but 8 seconds I can handle!!

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As I’ve watched Tim and other riders this year there are a few things that really stand out to me and even though I am seeing these things in his 8 seconds on a bucking horse…I think they are lessons that apply to all of our movement practices.

  1. Centering    This has got to be one of the best examples of a strong center!  These cowboys not only stay on these crazy, bucking horses but they often make it look easy! When I think about the power of the horses and how much core strength it takes to stabilize your body as that horse twists, turns, jumps and does everything it can to throw you off… I’m in awe!  The example in my own life that keeps popping up into my head is when I go on a jet ski ride with my hubby! He seems to think it’s fun to jump big waves and take quick turns and even though I haven’t found the fun in this yet, I always make a point to use centering to not fall off!!   The whole time I’m on the back of the jet ski I am hugging my inner thighs toward my center and engaging my core muscles so that I can constantly adjust to the direction changes and stay centered.  Whether you are trying to keep centered on a horse, a jetski or just keep your balance when you slip on a piece of ice….a strong center is so important!!
  2. Mind Body Connection   I don’t hear the rodeo announcers talking a whole lot about what the cowboys are thinking while they are riding, but I guarantee they have a specific thought process they use every time they get on a horse to ride. To be the best at what they do they have to figure out how to focus their thoughts on exactly what their bodies need to do for those brief 8 seconds.  The human body is capable of some pretty amazing things and I really think that most people don’t realize how simply powerful we are in controlling movement and movement results in our body.  By simply focusing our thoughts on the movements we want to create in our body we can move better and continue to work toward our movement goals.
  3. Consistency   As I’ve watched Tim this year make his way to being the World Champion one of the biggest things that stands out to me is his consistency.  Consistency is of those things that you can only get in a movement practice of any kind…by doing.   You don’t just jump on your first bucking horse and have a solid ride (or least I’m guessing!)  You learn techniques and you practice, practice practice, and then practice some more.  Every time you ride is a chance to practice in your body what your brain knows “technically” how to do.  The more you do it, the more consistent you get and the more “polished” your movement looks.  Most of us aren’t riding bucking horses, but we can use this idea of consistency to produce results in how our bodies move and feel.  If you want to keep your spine flexible and healthy, if you want to keep your muscles strong and flexible…you have to consistently practice these movements in your life!!

Practice What You Teach: Practice, practice, practice

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This weekend I had the chance to workout with one of the trainees in our teacher training program.  I often make the offer to trainees and other instructors that if they want someone to workout beside and practice their traditional order and reps to just let me know. What I love about this type of workout is that having someone beside you going through the sequence and exercises motivates you to stay focused, yet it’s really your workout.  We don’t talk and I definitely don’t teach exercises, we just workout side by side.  It’s not a class where you are waiting for instructions from your teacher, it is truly your movement practice and you are simply practicing the exercises in your body at your level.  After our workout I was reflecting a little on how important it is to create this type of practice time for myself and alspractice-makes-better-gray-free-downloado for my clients.

As a Pilates teacher I spend a lot of my time and focus helping people learn how to move properly and helping them fine tune good movement patterns.  But I
have to remind myself that to be an effective teacher means after making sure someone is being safe and understands the movement, one of your most important jobs is getting them to practice and keep practicing.  The only way to get better at a movement is to practice.  The only way to keep getting stronger and continue to create more balance in your body is to practice.  If someone continues to practice…they will improve their movement, they will maintain and gain strength, balance and flexibility and they will keep progressing.

This conversation reminds me that as a student of the work, more important than mastery or perfection…is the practice.  As a teacher it reminds me that motivating and inspiring clients to stick with their movement practice, to practice on their own, to incorporate it into their life….is just as important as knowing how to how to teach proper mechanics and technique of the exercises.  It all comes down to practice, practice practice!

 

Does your neck get tired after a day of working at your computer?

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Pilates can help you avoid back and neck pain from long hours at your computer!   Write yourself a yellow sticky note — (or a reminder in Outlook) to “Check your Pilates Posture” every 60 minutes.    Try it for 2 weeks — and see if you develop a better sitting posture while you’re working!

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Inspiration Of The Month – Nancy Mayfield

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nancymayfieldI am not sure exactly when I fell in love with Pilates. I took gymnastics as a child, and as I later pursued a life in the theater I enjoyed challenging myself in new ways: yoga, dance, karate, Tai Chi, mat Pilates.  But like many students, my irregular schedule and lack of funds made it difficult to take regular classes, and working at home with videos quickly became boring.  As my career focus turned to research and administration instead of performing, my life became sedentary and I began to gain weight. Before I knew it, I was getting injured doing simple things: missing a step walking down the stairs resulted in a nasty sprain.  Carrying a nephew around threw out my back.  Holding my phone in place with my shoulder at work created neck spasms and headaches.  It wasn’t until I started working with a physical therapist to help me with the latter that I came to realize just how weak my body had become.  My fears of further injuries had resulted in my avoiding the basic exercises I most needed to build up my muscles and protect my joints.

I tried to ease myself back into a healthier activity schedule with gentle yoga, but after 6 months I felt more flexible and slightly more resilient, but no stronger.  The more advanced classes aggravated my past wrist and ankle sprains, and I was frustrated by my limitations.  I really wanted to revisit Pilates, but the studio I was going to didn’t offer a class that worked with my schedule.  So I started shopping around and asking my friends for recommendations.  All it took was one session with Cary and I knew Rivercity Pilates was exactly what I had been seeking.

I started with mat Pilates once a week, and experimented with trying other classes as my schedule would allow.  I was a little intimidated by the Pilates equipment classes at first, but quickly discovered that I really enjoyed the graceful lengthening exercises on the Tower. I was just starting to really make exercise a part of my routine when I sprained my wrist again, worse than ever.  In the past, this might have made me give up.  But the amazing instructors at Rivercity worked with me modify our workouts, and helped me stay positive and forward-thinking.  It took a long time, but I have gradually regained strength in my wrist and can now plank better than when I first started!  I take two classes a week, and I have been trying to work in a third, even if it means trying something difficult or new.

It sounds obvious now, but somehow it took me a long time to recognize that the only way I will get healthy is if I make health a priority.  The success of my Pilates classes encouraged me to starting working with Health Coach Amy Boelk, whom I met during an open house.  I am now combining exercise and a guided health plan to help me create the positive habits that will help me feel more energetic and stronger, and more confident. I am so grateful to Amy and the entire Rivercity staff for helping me stay focused on living a happier, healthier life.

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Grateful that skinny and size 6 are not my goals!

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bigstock-thanksgiving-card-design-with-107366282As I was thinking about my blog this week I was reflecting on Thanksgiving and how I especially love all the reminders this time of year to practice gratitude.  Taking some time throughout my day to reflect on all the many things and people I have to be grateful for always brightens my day!  So I started thinking about my Pilates practice…what it has taught me and why I’m so grateful for it.    So many things popped into my head like:

  • the wonderful people I’ve met through Pilates
  • a healthy body
  • stress relief
  • positive body image
  • my love of movement
  • my love of learning
  • a career I love

But I really wanted to figure out what my top thing would be that I was grateful for.  I was thinking about the fact that I have been practicing Pilates for 17 plus years.  That’s a long time to do anything.  And I think what I’m most grateful for is how it has taught me to look at movement, and exercise and “fitness”.  When I started Pilates I was a twenty something looking for the next best thing to get fit, strong and skinny. I didn’t have the slightest idea how this Pilates thing that I would find would truly change how I live my life.

joep11Today I’m grateful that I know how effective my thought process is in changing how my body moves and feels.  I’m grateful that I understand how to incorporate movement into my life and not have to be worried about it.  I’m grateful that movement is something I do not because I want to be a certain size or look a certain way, but because I enjoy it and I love how it makes me feel. I’m grateful that movement is part of my life and not just a workout.

I read an article from Runner’s World the other day ago and the author, Marc Parent said this about a friend of his who had incorporated running into his daily routine that I absolutely loved:

“Rather than wear fitness like a fancy jacket on running days like I do, he has absorbed fitness into the fabric of his life. I’ve asked him how he does it, how he runs every day, and he always shrugs like it’s no big deal. He says a morning run is on par with brushing his teeth and he wouldn’t think of skipping that either.”

I like to think my biggest Pilates gift is absorbing movement into the fabric of my life and being able to help others to do the same!!!   #Grateful #Thankful #Gratitude #ThanksJoe