Practice What You Teach: Squats are fun??

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Every Saturday morning I get the chance to teach a very inspiring group of spunky women who take their Pilates practice pretty seriously.  And by seriously I mean they are dedicated to make their Pilates practice part of their lives.  It’s rare that they miss a weekly class, but more than that it’s that they truly incorporate movement into their lives and they love sharing it with others.  When it comes to their Pilates practice…they all are beautiful movers who come to class each week and give it their all.  It reminds me of one of my favorite Joe quotes,” Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.”  These women live that quote and I’m extremely honored that I get to be part of their journey watching them grow in their movement practices and learning from them every time I teach them. Now that I’m done bragging about my rock star clients, let me get to today’s blog…   patience-quote

My Pilates practice last week got kick started by my Saturday morning Return to Life Pilates Mat Class crew.  Our class focus last week was flow and transitions.  If you practice Pilates you know this is code word for “no rest between exercises” and “Pilates just became a cardio workout”!  The class started standing, transitioned to the mat and nobody quit moving until they finished standing after their last Pilates push up.  I can tell you that this type of class leaves you feeling taller, stronger, fully mobile in your spine and kind of ready to collapse and take a nap! It’s the kind of class that takes every ounce of your determination and will power to stay focused so that you can give it your all and finish the whole thing with as much control and fluidity as when you started.

So when we finished just a couple of minutes before class end time I was a little surprised at what happened next.  Once of the women said,”Hey, we’re here anyway let’s finish it out with some squats.  How about 50?”  In my head I was thinking,”Really… you just did this amazingly hard, super intense workout and you want to throw in some extra squats??” But when I looked at everyone else and asked “Who’s in?” EVERYONE said “let’s do it!”  So we did 50 squats and I joined in (because if they could do 50 squats after the workout they just did, surely I could do them after a morniimg_8903ng of teaching!).

I’m not going to lie…I was sore.  I was sore that day and for probably 3 days after!  All I could think was clearly I need to be doing more squats in my life!  I also kept thinking,”How cool is it that I have such an amazing job where I not only get to do something I love on a daily basis but I also get to be inspired by amazing clients on a daily basis!!”  In case you’re wondering…I’ve been doing more squats throughout my days and it must be helping as when this Saturday rolled around and we decided to do those 50 squats again at the end of class they were a little easier!

And to complete the story, we decided this week to include the other Saturday morning classes and clients who were at the studio in our squat fun.  So this week we grabbed the other class that had just finished and those coming in to attend the class after and we did our 50 squats.  My Return to Life crew was calling out the count as we went(apparently they don’t trust my counting!) and by the time we got to the last ten everyone in the room was counting down, smiling and finishing up their 50 squats!  Afterwards there was lots of positive chatter…”great job, way to go, glad you joined us, etc.!”

I don’t know about you, but I rarely take it upon myself to do 50 squats(even though I know how great they can be for your body..).  It’s not that I mind them so much, I just don’t think of it or find the time. I’m so grateful for all of our amazing supportive clients at the studio that help create an atmosphere of comaraderie, health, and inspiration that has me happily doing 50 squats on a Saturday morning…just for fun!  And if you’re coming to class next Saturday…I hope you’ll join us!

 

ROI on Instructor Pilates Mat Teacher Training Program

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If you are looking into Pilates teacher training I’m guessing there are a lot of things weighing in on your decision to jump into this endeavor. Even though there are plenty of opportunities to teach Pilates as a full time career, many people start teaching Pilates as a part time job or as a supplement to movement teaching that they are already doing. Pilates teacher training is not a cheap investment and so I thought I would break down how long it would take you to earn back what you invested in your training.

ROI on Pilates Mat Teacheer Training... (1)In it’s entirety our Mat Training Module is approximately a $2000 investment by the time you include all of your lessons, classes, and training fees. Pilates instructors in the Midwest generally earn anywhere from $15 to $50 per group class depending on where they are teaching and how many students they have. For today’s calculations I used $20 per class to calculate how long it might take you to earn back the original cost to do the training. At this rate you would need to teach 100 classes to earn back the original investment. If you taught 2 classes per week for an entire year (52 weeks) you would repay your investment.

This of course is assuming you are just teaching group classes and only getting paid $20 per class.  If you are making more per class (which is pretty common) you will repay your investment much sooner.  There are also plenty of opportunities to teach Pilates in a one on one or private setting in which case you may earn between a higher hourly rate.

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Happy Pilates Exercises

mindfulnessThis week has been slightly busier than normal for me with my kiddos heading back to school, our new fall class schedule starting, a new class of teacher trainees starting and just general first of the month busyness at the studio. As I reflect back on my Pilates movement time this week I’ve realized that I did lots of Short Spine on the reformer, and two or three mini reformer workouts in between clients throughout my days. If you were wondering why Short Spine, why reformer…I was thinking the same thing.  Here’s what I came up with!

Generally on busy weeks I don’t think much about my workouts and tend to just do what fits in my schedule and what my body feels like it needs. This theory easily explains me doing lots of Short Spine on the reformer.  Short Spine on the reformer is one of my “happy Pilates exercises”.  I love how Short Spine makes my body feel long and stretched out but also makes me work and concentrate on what I’m doing.  If I’m feeling tired or tight throughout my day I can jump on a reformer and do 5 or 6 Short Spine repetitions and I feel happy and energized.  So I’ve decided clearly I used Short Spine this week as my happy pill as I was navigating a busy, chaotic week!

pilates happy hourAs for my mini reformer workouts, I’ve decided that my decision to do these workouts was subconsciously from my need to use my movement time to de-stress and reconnect to myself.  There is something absolutely genius about the design of the reformer and the sequence of exercises that helps me not only get a work out in but also refocus my brain! Even when I have 50 other things on my mind, I can lay on the reformer, start doing my footwork, and before long I am focused, concentrating on my movement and working my way through the sequence of exercises.  I almost always end up doing more than I had thought I would when I got on and I always feel better and more focused afterwards!  Much more than a workout this week my reformer time definitely was my refocus, reconnect to myself health tool!

Do you have exercises, or movements that you use not only to create strength, flexibility and balance in your body but to help you and your body deal with the stress of daily life? I would love to hear about your “happy Pilates exercises” or favorite workouts when life is busy!!

 

 

Pilates Travel Tips and our best travel workouts!

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hotel PilatesWhether you travel on a regular basis or are just taking a summer vacation, you can take your Pilates with you easily!  There are so many exercises you can do just about anywhere with just your body or a small prop that you can keep up your core strengthening, body lengthening, strengthening and balancing Pilates workouts just about anywhere.  Here’s some simple tips to remember when traveling and some links to our favorite exercises for the road!

1. Pack a few small,lightweight props like a Theraband, a small 4 inch ball, or a magic circle so you have plenty of exercise options!

2. Remind yourself that doing something is always better than nothing!  You are probably not going to do a full hour Pilates session in your hotel room and that’s OK!  Just doing a small sequence of exercises or even some of your favorite stretches will keep your body feeling happy and healthy!

stretch3. Get creative!! Workouts don’t just have to happen on a mat in your room or at the fitness center. Go for a walk and enjoy some new scenery and add some off your favorite exercises in along the way!  Use a park bench to do some tricep dips or take a towel and lay in the grass and do some of your favorite Pilates exercises!   Try some Pilates in the pool!

4. Mix in mindful movement throughout your day.  Vacations and trips are often disruptive of our regular schedule and that’s to be expected.  Try to add little bits of movement in throughout your day and pay attention to how your body feels.  Stretch when you need to stretch, walk when you’ve been sitting too long and pay attention to your posture!

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite travel mini workouts and exercises:

My Favorite Things Pilates Mat Workout (no props)

Resistance Band Pilates Mat Workout

Intermediate Pilates Mat Workout

Wedding Arm Magic Circle Workout

All Levels Mat Workout

Magic Circle Workout for Home

Side Leg Kick Workout

If you have a favorite travel workout, let us know!    We’d love to add it to our list.

 

Add an occasional private session to spice up your Pilates practice….

I love small group classes.  I love teaching them and I love taking them! I am a firm believer that every movement experience you have is a chance to work on your own movement practice, learn new things about your body, and just plain keep your body healthy.

What you’ll find in a small group class setting is that instructors will be guiding the whole class through a movement, watching bodies and giving cues that everyone can benefit from, and making sure that no one is doing anything that might be unsafe in their body.  From a learning atmosphere there is so much benefit to this type of atmosphere where students are empowered to explore their body’s movements, listen to cues, and adjust to find what works in their body.

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If you are someone who normally takes group classes I want to suggest that every once in awhile you take a private lesson.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised and excited by the things you can learn!

By taking a private session every 3 or 4 months you’ll find your instructor can help you find some things in your movement practice that you can focus on and practice in your small group classes.  This fine tuning session can really help you to keep progressing and working your way toward any movement goals you may have.  It’s a great chance to ask questions about exercises that challenge you or maybe you don’t feel like you are doing quite right.  And if you are feeling  a little “blah” about your Pilates practice, some individualized tips can really add new life to your practice and leave you inspired to keep working on things!

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Play More, Learn More, Do Something Different

I love to play with movements and exercises in my own body and I love to help others figure out how to do the same.  This week I was watching a little video my friend Jenna had posted using a couple of Magic Circles and it inspired me to grab some circles and play with how I could incorporate (both of) them into a pretty traditional Pilates Mat sequence.  The result of me playing was figuring out that there were so many possibilities outside of the “traditional” magic circle exercises I often used that allowed me to work deeper in exercises, get more out of certain exercises, and have fun doing it.  After I played I of course wanted to share it with others…so I added what I played with into a couple of my mat classes….calling it Double Magic Circle Mat Class!

The beauty of this process of me playing and then sharing with clients is that they start to learn to play too! And by play I mean they feel comfortable not just doing the exact version I’m instructing but changing it to something that might feel better in their body, something that helps them feel the work of the exercise more or something that might challenge them more.    And when you learn to play with movements you start to figure out that you have the ability in your body to make big changes to how it feels and moves(we are so much more in control of our health and bodies than we realize!).

I think as instructors sometimes when we teach the same exercises over and over and we forget to actually “teach and inspire”. We simply recite the words and instructions we know so well. {I’m completely guilty of this so I’m assuming there might be a few other teachers out there who have done this occasionally)  And while there is nothing wrong with what we’re saying, it also doesn’t necessarily “teach and inspire” clients to “do something different”.

insanityI feel like the quote,”You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect to get a different result” is so relevant in movement.  As a movement teacher one of the biggest gifts you can give clients is teaching them how to “do something different” to keep progressing in their movement practice.  And that doing something different doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the exercise itself, but we can give clients a different way to experience the movement of the exercise, a new way to think about a movement or a new way to execute a movement with a prop.  By teaching them to play with movements they learn to connect to their bodies more, engage more and trust themselves to makes adjustments and changes to an exercise so it suits their body.

Here’s to another fun week of playing and learning and using movement as a health tool to inspire your life!!!