Practice What You Teach: Pilates fuzzy strap revelations…

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Today’s fuzzy strap revelations were inspired by Andrea Maida and her insightful blog called:  The Pilates Exercises and the Lower Body: Strength for Life!

Andrea is one of my favorite Pilates bloggies as I love how she talks about the connections in the Pilates method and shares her own personal revelations along the way (and she’s pretty funny)!  After reading Andrea’s blog about the lower body I often find myself rethinking the lower half of my body, it’s purpose in the Pilates exercises and how what happens in the lower half of the body effects the body as a whole during each exercise.

IMG_5794During a reformer workout this week I had quite a few aha moments when exploring this concept but my favorite was on the short box.  I tell people all the time to be strong in their straps and use
their legs to anchor, but I found I wasn’t doing it myself( or least not doing it enough!)  When I do Flat Back on the Short box I often keep my range fairly small as I feel like if I go to far I immediately start to feel it in my low back.  So today I dug a little deeper and engaged like I had not quite engaged before.

I anchored into the fuzzy short box strap and found my lower body.  I engaged through my legs to pull the strap apart and reach into and found a place of length where I almost felt like my sitting bones were going to lift off the box (and it was an amazing amount of work).  The beautiful thing was that I felt amazingly stronger throughout my whole body and was able to hinge back to a much bigger range of motion without any strain or pain through my low back. The exercise was at least 20 times more challenging but I also moved about 200 percent better!!  This is what I love about the Pilates work!!

The next day I also reconfirmed my new found revelations as I was feeling worked muscles in places that I hadn’t felt for awhile or ever! I love it when that happens and yet another reason I love the Pilates work.

If you’re working with me this week don’t be surprised if I encourage you to find your lower body in new ways.  The only thing better than finding new engagement and understanding in my own body is sharing it with others!!

Inspiration of the Month: Shari

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ShariWhen did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start? Two years ago, I was experiencing a lot of back pain. I had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and stopped exercising all together because I was afraid it was making things worse. After seeing an orthopedist and being diagnosed with osteoarthritis, I was told that the best thing I could do was to keep moving. I was told to find some type of exercise that I enjoyed and to stick with it.
I decided I wanted a personal trainer or program which would accommodate my physical limitations and hectic schedule. To be honest, I can’t remember exactly how I found Rivercity Pilates but I am sure glad I did!  
How often do you practice Pilates and what type of sessions or classes have you been doing?  I try to attend at least two classes per week. I usually attend mat classes, but I also enjoy the equipment classes as well. I get bored easily and I like to mix it up with different classes and instructors. Each instructor has her own unique way of explaining the exercises and that helps me focus on my technique.
What benefits or improvements have you noticed in your body and life from doing Pilates?  Just like a lot of things in life, you don’t appreciate something until it is taken away. I didn’t notice all the benefits I was getting from Pilates until I had to stop due to an injury. When I am able to attend class regularly, my back feels better and my body is better toned. Since I work out of the home in a stressful job, I also really enjoy the social aspects of attending a class. After class, I always feel better and more relaxed.
Do you have a favorite exercise or piece of equipment (or both)?   I enjoy working with the tower!

High heels and back pain

Why are high heels so terrible?

In a nutshell it puts our foot into an unnatural position from a bony structure and the muscles and ligaments have to work and change to support that. This means your calf muscles and Achilles tendon are tight and shortened and the muscles on the top of your foot/ankle are over stretched. Because of this you are much more prone to injury in the ankles but also in other parts of your body from the compensating your body has to do. So over time wearing high heels can cause Low Back Pain, knee and hip pain, and bunions.

So for those of us who like to wear high heels what’s the solution? Do we have to get rid of all our cute heels?

I of course like to educate people about why wearing heels a lot is not the best thing for you and can cause a stream of physical problems, but realistically I know that you’re probably not going to stop wearing heels because I tell you they’re not great for you unless you happen to be in a lot of pain!

Tips and exercise that can help counter the effects of wearing high heels.

  1. Take your shoes off at work if you can!! Just taking your shoes off and letting your muscles lengthen out when you are sitting at your desk will make a big difference!
  2. Anything to stretch your calves.   The easiest way to do this might be with a small ball.
  3. Stretch, strengthen and lengthen the muscles and fascia on the bottom of your feet with a small ball.
  4. Spread your toes. When we wear high heels our toes often get cramped into a small space and just spreading your toes apart 6- 8 times can stretch and strengthen the muscles you need to create proper support in your foot.
  5. Core strength is important as well so you can balance if you do get off balance -standing balance exercises are great
  6. Regular massage can be a great tool as well to keep the muscles and tissues healthy and lengthened as well (and it usually feels great!) spouse!!

Carey was on Fox28 in the Morning to talk about these exercises.

Cheap and Quick are Two Things that Should not be Associated with a Pilates Training Program!!

Shelley and Nancy at a recent Mat Instructor Training Class at Rivercity Pilates.

Shelley and Nancy at a recent Mat Instructor Training Class at Rivercity Pilates.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well!  Often times when people are looking at our training programs I hear things like,  “Wow that is really expensive!” or “That takes a long time.” Here’s the deal.  Our training programs are teaching you to teach a highly effective, complex movement practice called the Pilates Method to any body.  The first step in being able to teach the method is actually doing it in your body and having a Pilates practice of your own.  You will also need to learn to communicate with different types of clients, modify movements to different bodies and be able to effectively progress clients at the appropriate level.

The process of fine tuning your own Pilates practice and learning how to teach it to others is not a short one. It involves you spending time with an qualified instructor so that you can learn and keep learning and involves you practicing what you learn in a variety of environments.  Just like getting your haircut with the best hairstylist in town is much more expensive than going to Cost Cutters, learning from an experienced knowledgable instructor is more expensive, but of course worth every cent!

Taryn is ready for another Instructor Training session1

Taryn is ready for another Instructor Training session!

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to Pilates instructor training programs!  So if you are serious about teaching Pilates, take some time to do your research and find a program that is credible and meets your specific goals in taking the program.  At Rivercity Pilates we encourage potential Pilates instructors in training to start the discovery process by simply taking a complimentary private session and maybe a few classes at the studio to start the process.  We also have you come in and chat with us one on one so you can get all your questions answered.  For more information contact us today!

Practice What you Teach: Something is always better than nothing…..

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I was chatting with my Mom the other night and catching up on her day, which quite frankly was a crazy, busy stressful day that would have exhausted anybody!  She mentioned how she loved my blog announcing I was going to be blogging about my daily Pilates practice all year long(she’s always my biggest supporter so this was no surprise!!). She mentioned it was her goal to start doing her Pilates everyday too and how it just didn’t happen today.  She was going to watch and workout with a DVD in the morning but started working on other things that needed to get done and the day got away from her (we can all relate to that!).   This conversation is exactly why I’ll be sharing my personal Pilates practice all year long….

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Today’s blog inspired by Mom!

I want to change the way my Mom and you think about movement!  Sure it’s great to go to the studio and take a class or put a 30 minute DVD on and workout, but it’s not always realistic!  On those days, instead of beating yourself up because you didn’t do anything I want you to start thinking of how you can incorporate your Pilates movement throughout your day.  Can you do 10 squats standing in your kitchen after you loaded the dishwasher?  Could you lay on the floor and take 2 minutes and do your Hundreds exercise?  How about just doing some stretches while you are watching the news?

Could you take 7 minutes to do a mini Pilates workout? ( you probably don’t even need to change clothes…)  The video below is me teaching my favorite mini Pilates Mat workout.  It’s really just the first sequence of a classical Pilates Mat routine.  I make a daily deal with myself to always do something even if it’s just the Hundreds( and yes some days it’s just the Hundreds!!).   Many days though I continue on and do the workout below or some version of the Pilates Mat sequence.  Once I get started it feels good and I enjoy it.

[tweetthis]Adding Pilates to your life is easier than you think! #beinspired #practicewhatyouteach [/tweetthis]

If you are creating a Pilates practice at home you might find our little YouTube videos are much more convenient than a DVD.  You can easily put the YouTube app on your phone or tablet and bring up the Rivercity Pilates Channel so you can watch them anywhere, anytime.

I don’t know about you but just the thought of finding the DVD, getting the TV set up to watch it, and finding the time to watch it when I won’t be distracted is enough to make me not watch it or put it off to another day.  On the other hand I don’t mind starting to watch a YouTube video on my phone when I have a few minutes as it’s portable and I can sneak into a clear room and follow along and if I don’t get through the whole thing I know I can continue with it another time.

I’m super excited to share my Pilates practice journey this year and even more excited to hear from you and how you are incorporating your Pilates practice in your life!  Be sure to comment below or on social media and share your story!

 

 

Couch Potato Pilates for Beginners

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CP1 (1)Has it been awhile since you’ve worked out? Are you feeling uncomfortable in your body and ready to make some steps toward getting your health back? Does the thought of joining a gym or a group fitness class scare you? Our 6 week Couch Potato Pilates Series for Beginners is designed for you!!

This 6 week series of classes will introduce you to the Pilates Method of exercise in a very un-intimidating small group atmosphere. Each class will only have 6 clients maximum and everyone will be starting fresh like you! Movements and exercises will be introduced with detailed explanations of what to do and why we do it and there will be lots of variations for every body type. There will be plenty of time for questions throughout the sessions.

Clients will be introduced to basic Pilates movements and we will be using the Pilates Tower system to introduce movement ideas and concepts. The Pilates Tower equipment is designed to help Pilates instructors give clients a “support system” to move at their appropriate level so they can move safely and efficiently and continue to progress in their Pilates practice.

Ready to get started? We are offering 2 session options starting in February.  You can choose 8 am Saturday morning starting February 6th or 11:00 am on Mondays starting February 1st.  We suggest scheduling a complimentary private session with your instructor before starting the series so you can get introduced to the studio and learn more about the 6 week series!

Couch Potato Pilates (3)