#MarchMatness2016 #anybodypilates

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 From Benjamin Degenhardt:

Every day in March, participants across the global Pilates community share content related to Joseph Pilates’ traditional Mat exercises.

Using the connective power of the hashtag, all the magic will happen in the social media networks of those that participate in this unique campaign and want to share their love for Pilates. Each day is dedicated to one exercise from “Return to Life through Contrology”, the original book by Joseph Pilates.

IT’S NOT A CHALLENGE. IT’S NOT A CONTEST. IT’S A CELEBRATION OF UNIVERSAL PASSION!

Check out more details on Benjamin’s website!!

From Carey:

As a Pilates geek I absolutely LOVE the idea of March Matness!  A whole month to celebrate the amazing Pilates mat work and really the method that has influenced my life and the lives of others so profoundly!!  I love to see the content that other Pilates enthusiasts post and of course love to participate.

One of the things I absolutely love about the Pilates work is how adaptable it is for any body no matter what size or shape you are, no matter where you are in your movement practice.   As an instructor I often find the pictures and representation of what Pilates is in social media are often…intimidating, unrealistic for many bodies and doesn’t do justice to encouraging people to try this amazing work!

So I’ve decided that my postings and participation this year in March Matness will be geared toward highlighting how the Pilates Mat exercises that Joe created can be adapted to any body. I of course love the beautifulness of highlighting the Pilates Mat exercises in their ultimate form and will definitely be showing people where they are going with an exercise. But my goal will be to show you the benefits of each exercise in your body, in your life, and in your Pilates journey (even if you’ve never done Pilates!!).  Video instruction of course is never as good as in person work with an instructor but I’m hoping that you’ll be able to see how your body might be able to incorporate the Pilates work into your body and get excited about the possibilities!  I’m hoping you’ll join along and share your journey and include pictures and video of where you are at in your Pilates practice.

[tweetthis]Celebrating #MarchMatness2106 with #anybodyPilates ! #pilateslove #pilatesforeveryone #returntolife[/tweetthis]

I’ll be doing daily videos and pictures talking about each exercise Joe created and be giving you some tips and ideas on how you can adapt the exercise to where you are right now in your body.  Join the fun and use the hashtag #MarchMatness2016  and #anybodypilates and we’ll share and highlight you on our website and social media sites as well!!

See you on the Mat!!

 

 

 

Practice What you Teach: Getting to be the student

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My Pilates practice started off great this week with a private lesson with Cassie at Northwoods Pilates and Wellness in Ankeny.  Cassie is a PMA certified instructor who trained with me and now has her own studio in the Ankeny, Iowa.   Cassie is an amazing teacher and nothing could be better than getting to sneak in an entire session just devoted to my movement practice. I’ve taken many of lessons with Cassie over the years but it’s probably been almost a year since I’ve taken a private with her since she’s relocated so it was especially a treat!

As a teacher of teachers I always find it fun to take lessons from my students.   It’s fun to hear your own influence in their teaching but also to see how they have created their own style of teaching.

There were some moments during our session where I often just laughed inside because I found myself doing things I see my clients doing all the time or I found Cassie saying things that I would often say, or I was just reflecting on what it might be like to teach me! Here’s just a few that might make you laugh too.

  1. During the Hundreds I couldn’t help thinking,” Are we done yet? Isn’t that a hundred? I obviously am not doing this many during my daily Pilates practice!!”
  2. Sometimes I need help concentrating!  More than once I found myself not following Cassie’s directions!!  I would be one or two reps into an exercise and realize I was not doing what she was asking me to!  She was very sweet and would just gently remind me until I realized and got it.
  3. Tensing my shoulders!(yes teachers do it too!)  When Cassie was teaching me something new or I was paying attention to other details of an exercise she would have to remind me (often by a simple touch of the hand) or verbal cue to soften my shoulders or connect them!
  4. Since Cassie is 32 weeks pregnant she often said things like,” you get to do this exercise that my body is sooo craving to do!”.  I can totally relate to that place in pregnancy where you are missing being able to move like you are used to!!
  5. At least a couple of times I heard Cassie say, ” Let’s try this “fun” version of an exercise!”. {my favorite phrase when it comes to movement! I’m not sure where she get’s that from!}
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Finn stretching his spine!!

As always my session left me feeling refreshed and energized and wondering why I don’t make a commitment to get over to see her and take more lessons!! I also got to hang out with Cassie’s son Finn and watch him play in the Pilates studio!  I absolutely love to watch as kids naturally move and play and do things that us adults are trying to recreate in our movement practice!  The picture of Finn just laying down and stretching his spine over the Spine Corrector barrel is a great example! (and he totally did that without prompting from anyone!)

 

 

 

Pilates Posture in the bathroom????

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Do you ever think of your posture when you go the bathroom?  Me neither until recently!! I was super excited to get a new “posture device” this week called Lumo Lift.  The Lumo Lift is a small tracking device that can be worn on your bra strap or shirt that lets you know when you are slouching.  As a Pilates instructor I spend my days talking to clients about Pilates in their daily life and how just by being aware of their daily posture and movement habits they can change how their body feels. I even dedicated a whole month last year to educating people about how to incorporate Pilates at your Office!  So when I saw this new device designed to help you maintain your posture throughout your days…I had to have one!!   I’ve only had my Lumo Lift a few days but I have to say I love this thing already!!IMG_6095

The Lumo Lift can be set to have as much or as little delay as you want( from instant to a 2 minute delay).  I set mine at 5 seconds so that it pretty much tells me immediately when my posture is not ideal by vibrating.  The Lumo Lift of course is fabulous when I sit at my desk to do computer work but what I love the most about the Lumo Lift is that I am starting to think about my alignment and posture at times when I would never normally think about it…like in the bathroom!!  I had to just giggle the first time that happened!!

As a Pilates instructor I spend my days teaching…usually walking around clients, spotting them, giving them cues, etc.   I’ve been amazed at how often I was getting buzzed while I was teaching.  I found myself leaning over clients to give cues and even slouching or rounding my shoulders as I was talking through verbal cues to clients.  I feel like just in a few days my awareness of my body has increased and I’m easily training myself to keep moving and aligning my body in ways that help me create balance in my body.   I’m excited to have found such a great tool that I can use to incorporate my Pilates principles and ideas into my daily habits!!

Want to learn more about the Lumo Lift?  Check out their website here.  Want one of your own?  You can learn more about Lumo Lift and purchase a Lumo Lift by clicking below:
Buy LUMO Lift Body Sensor Now

 

 

 

 

Do you “have a Pilates Instructor”?

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I was with a friend the other day ago and a moment came up where she introduced me to another friend of hers.  Immediately she said ” This is my Pilates instructor Carey” and then she paused just slightly and added “and my friend”.  It made me smile inside as I could tell by her pause that she almost felt bad for introducing me first as “her Pilates instructor”.  When the truth is, I can think of nothing more complimenting than to introduce me as “your Pilates instructor”!!  If you are a Pilates instructor or a teacher of any kind I’m guessing you can relate.

You see as a teacher I’m very passionate about what I teach and consider it an amazing compliment if you consider me “your teacher”!  Because “having  a Pilates instructor” is very IMG_7081different than just going to the studio or gym to take a Pilates class and it’s completely different from just going to see an instructor for your Pilates sessions.  When you “have a Pilates instructor” it means:

1.  You have created a movement practice in your life and you have a teacher who is part of that practice wherever you are.  You probably hear your Pilates instructor’s voice in your head when you find your shoulders scrunching up by your ears and when you do something amazing with your body that you would have never dreamed you could do- you probably send your instructor a note knowing they will love to hear about it!!

2. It means you have a movement instructor that knows your body, your personality, and your health goals about as well as anybody and is truly dedicated to helping you use movement to enrich your life!

3. It means you will always have a teacher in your movement journey to guide you, answer questions and support you.  Even if you have moved away from your instructor or maybe don’t physically see them on a regular basis, “your Pilates instructor” will always be part of your life and part of your movement journey.  “Your Pilates instructor” will always be there to cheer you on in your health and movement journey!

To all my Pilates students who refer to me as “your Pilates instructor” know that I’m honored to be a part of your movement journey and your life!!

 

[tweetthis]”Having a Pilates instructor” is sooo different than just going to Pilates class! [/tweetthis]

 

Practice What You Teach: Pilates in the Chaos!!

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My favorite Pilates workout this week happened in complete chaos!  In our basement living room area my husband was running on the treadmill, my daughter was playing with her American Girl doll horses and my boys were kind of sitting on the couch and their favorite gaming chair.  And by kind of sitting I mean when Big Bang was on they paused where they were and watched and then when a commercial came on they grabbed their Nerf guns and tried to pelt each other.  And the dog was running around “herding” the kids (she’s a Collie), carrying around one of my foam rollers in her mouth, and licking me whenever she could!IMG_6175

I don’t watch a ton of television but I do have a few shows I like to watch and Big Bang is one we often watch as a family so I try not to miss it! Since I hadn’t snuck in any dedicated movement time for myself that day I decided I would multi task and get some mat work in while I watched!  I know what you are thinking……”How can you possibly get any good mindbody exercise in among all that chaos?”

While it’s true that my Pilates mat workout was not taking place in a serene environment where I could wholly focus on me, my body and my breath…. I found that having a little bit(OK a lot) of chaos almost made me fine tune my concentration and focus skills even more than usual and I got a great workout!  As a bonus my kiddos often tried exercises with me or made up their own version of an exercise and I got lots of dog kisses!

Workouts in the chaos make me really appreciate my Pilates practice!  I love that I can essentially be anywhere and be able to do a safe, super effective workout that keeps me healthy and strong.  I love that I can fit my workouts into my life whenever and wherever I need!

Pilates for your heart!!

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As you may know February marks American Heart Month, a month dedicated to bringing awareness to heart health and what you can do to keep your heart healthy and strong.  Did you know heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States? Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease.  Did you know that Pilates can play a big part in your life to helping you keep your heart healthy and happy?

It turns out some of the most common causes of heart disease include:  lack of exercise, being overweight, high blood pressure and stress. All things that a regular Pilates practice can help you with!

Long before heart disease was a common household term Joseph Pilates was talking about the benefits of his method of exercise (which he called contrology) in terms of heart and whole body health.  In his book Return to Life, Joseph Pilates states,”Contrology exercises purify the blood in the bloodstream and whip it into instant action with the result that the organs of the body receive the benefit of clean fresh blood carried to them by the rejuvenated bloodstream.”   He also stated,” you should be exercising every muscle in your body in order to improve the circulation of the blood so that the bloodstream can and will carry more and better blood to feed every fiber and tissue of your body. These exercises induce the heart to pump strong and steady.”

So how can the Pilates method help you keep your heart healthy?IMG_6884

1.  Pilates can get you moving!  The Pilates method of exercise can be adapted to ANY body and can give you the tools you need to add more movement into your life!  Adding safe, efficient movement into your life can help you lose excess weight, get stronger, feel more energized and better condition your entire body.  Movement is a key component to creating a healthy body and a healthy heart!

2.  Improve circulation!  Joseph Pilates specifically designed his exercise method to increase blood circulation and improve whole body health.  By learning to breath properly and coordinate breath with whole body movements you will stimulate your body to work more efficiently inside and out!

3. De-stress ( and lower that blood pressure!)  Exercise is a natural de-stresser and a mindful movement practice like Pilates that combines breath and movement can be especially effective in helping you create a sense of calm in your life and your body!

Want to learn more about how Pilates can help your heart?  Schedule a complimentary Pilates session today!