FREE! Pilates in the Park at North Ridge in Coralville!

Life Inspired: Pilates at the Park
Wednesday, June 21st 
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
  
Take your movement practice outside with a class at the park!  Bring your own mat or blanket and meet us at Coralville’s North Ridge Park for a playful Pilates class in the Park! Sign up online to let us know you’re coming here.
Address: 2250 Holiday Rd, Coralville, IA 52241
Link to Google Map: Click here!
**Please note: There will not be a 6pm Pilates Mat class at the studio this night- come join us for this free class at the park instead!!!
Sign up: Click Here!

Do you feel a little awkward getting on and off the #Pilates reformer?

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picture of pilates reformer.If you’ve been on the Pilates Reformer you know it is an amazing piece of Pilates equipment. It is supportive, yet challenges you and it really helps your body do so many different movements that create strength, flexibility and balance in your body. You also probably know that it’s not always easy to maneuver on the reformer. And by maneuver I mean get into position for an exercise and transition to the next exercise. It often can make the most fit person feel clumsy and awkward as they are trying to figure out how to best get on or off the Reformer or practice their transition between exercises. So don’t feel bad if you too have felt this way!

In fact, as a teacher I encourage my clients to celebrate this awkwardness, celebrate the way you have to think about and strategize about the way to best get up or down from the reformer, celebrate how you have to focus to maintain your balance and not fall as you try to gracefully stand up while leaning on the moving carriage. Why celebrate? Celebrate because transitions on the reformer teach our body to transition in life. They challenge our bodies in sometimes unexpected ways…which is what I like to think of as great training for life.

What do you want to be able to do in life? Reach down and pull weeds in your garden? Sit down on the floor with your kids or grandkids and then be able to somewhat gracefully get back up? Catch yourself when you step on an unexpected object that causes you to lose your balance. Learning to get on and off the reformer with control and grace will help you maintain your mobility, flexibility and strength and will help you train for those life skills!!

So next time you are feeling a little awkward transitioning on the reformer change your thought process. Think of the transition as part of the exercise that you are practicing. Just like it takes practice (lots of it) to be able to do your Teaser, it takes practice to learn how to transition between exercises. Remind yourself there is value in being able to transition between movements and even in awkward positions. Remind yourself that every time you practice those type of movements in the controlled, safe environment at the studio you are better training your body to avoid injuries in your daily life activities. You are keeping your body agile, training your balance and training body to move better in any situation!

The world did not blow up, and I did not feel like a failure!

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I’ve been practicing Pilates for a little over 3 years.   When I started, I took a combination of privates and small group classes, but since I retired, I take mostly private sessions – and a few semi-privates.    When Carey encouraged me to come to a Pilates class offered by a visiting instructor, I was terrified.  My comfort zone is now in private sessions with a teacher I know very well!

You have to understand, for the last 15 years of my work life (before retirement) I traveled between 20-30 weeks per year.    I watched a lot of reality tv in hotel rooms.    I have anxiety when I think of personal trainers and fitness instructors from watching the Biggest Loser on TV. I’m pretty sure I’d have a heart attack, or a total body collapse if I was in a gym with a trainer yelling at me to run on the treadmill!   So in my head, I pick the safest route, and generally that does not include taking a fitness class with a new instructor.   I did join a gym locally 4 years ago.   I went for maybe 2-3 months to a couple of classes a week – but the classes involved lifting weights without much personal attention (or detailed instruction) – so I was terrified that I would hurt myself and I quit going.

The class I was invited to was called Restorative Pilates.   Ok — that’s a pretty non threatening title, so I’m not sure why it frightened me.   I had no idea what to expect.    I knew I had met the instructor before, and I was pretty sure that he was not the yelling and screaming type!

On that Saturday morning, I decided to put on my Pilates pants and go to class.   The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t the only one that was nervous.     There were other students in the class going up to Carey and asking her to tell the visiting instructor that they had this or that going on – so they would be modifying some exercises.     Another student was really nervous that she wouldn’t be able to do some of the exercises.     Uh Oh.   It was time to start class.

What was class like?   It was terrific.    The guest instructor (Len) started teaching.   We started with the most basic of Pilates fundamentals – breathing.   Len’s cueing was amazing and after practicing breathing for a few minutes – we started at our toes – and flexed and stretched most every muscle in our bodies.   When he asked us to do hundreds – he gave so many modifications that everyone could feel good about doing their best hundreds – and after class, I felt great!     I went, I completed the class, the world did not blow up and I felt really good about class!    Here’s a tiny sample!

The moral of the story? Don’t be afraid of taking a class from a different instructor!  I learned things from that class that I use every day to make my body feel better!   Len’s ability to paint a picture that compared Pilates movements to everyday tasks gave me new ways to visualize the exercises that I was doing and I had a great time!     Of course, I took some pictures and a few videos so I would have them for this blog, and it seemed like after the class — everyone was feeling the same way!

Pilates is Chronic Disease Friendly Exercise

I’m guessing if you’re reading this post either you or someone you know has a chronic disease.  If this is the case then you probably are aware of all of the wonderful benefits that exercise can have in dealing with your disease.  You’ve heard about how exercise can enhance your mood, make your body feel better and help you deal with the day to day stress of dealing with whatever craziness is going on in your body.   But you may not believe any of this.

You may think that just getting out of bed in the mornings is sometimes the most exercise you can handle.  You may be terrified of walking into a group setting where you are not sure of what you were doing or if you are even capable of doing what is asked.  What if I told you there was a type of exercise available that would make you feel better, that could be tailored specifically to how your body was feeling on any given day and could be practiced in a one on one setting, in a small group setting or even on your own at home?

The Pilates method of exercise is truly adaptable to any body and can be an amazing health tool in your life.  The best way to get started is to set up a time to talk and work with a Pilates teacher one on one.  Many  Pilates teachers offer a complimentary first session so that they can introduce you to the method and have a chance to show you how it can be adapted to whatever is going on in your body.

 

 

 

Could an exercise studio really become one of your favorite places?

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As a Pilates teacher and movement nut I can tell you I love to talk about mindful movement and the benefits of Pilates in your life.  But I can tell you as a studio owner the reason so many clients tell me they love our studio has nothing to do with the quality of our teaching (and our teachers are fabulous!… I have some of the best trained, most amazing movement teachers around on staff.) The number one compliment I get from clients is about the amazing community that exists within our studio walls.  That’s right…the community, the tribe of people who consider Rivercity Pilates one of their home away from home places.

You see, very few people actually enjoy exercising (surprise right?).  But most of us know how important regular movement and exercise is to living a long, happy life and so we try to incorporate it into our life.  So even though I know our clients appreciate our highly trained, knowledgeable instructors, I truly think the the reason they keep coming back and the reason they are so successful at consistently adding movement into their life is because of their RCP tribe.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe gives them support, connects them to others, and makes them laugh every time they are here.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe makes exercising fun!! 

We all need a tribe or two in our life.  We need people outside of our immediate family and friends who share similar interests, are going through similar things and who are just fun to hang out with.  And what could be better than a tribe who is just like you…just trying to live your best life by balancing out healthy habits like exercise while  juggling families, juggling careers and just trying to enjoy life.  

Personally, our tribe, our community at Rivercity Pilates is probably the thing I’m most proud of when it comes to my business.  I absolutely love to come to work and get to check in with clients and see how their week is going, I love that I get a chance to really know clients which in turn helps me to better help them reach their health and fitness goals.  I love how friendly everyone is to each other and how supportive everyone is.  I love that clients chat and laugh with each other throughout class.  I love to see class participants catching up with each other before and after class.  

Are you looking for a tribe? Are you one of those people that knows they need to exercise and move more but sometimes just can’t motivate yourself to do it? We would love to introduce you to the Rivercity Pilates tribe!!  Get started by scheduling a one on one session with one of our amazing teachers or start with a complimentary group class.  We would love to meet you!!

Quit looking at your neighbor in Pilates class!!

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cheatingMost of us are naturally visual learners when it comes to movement.  In many ways this can be very helpful.  When our body is trying to figure out how to do a new skill or movement it needs all the input it can get to try to figure out what it is trying to accomplish and how to do it.  Visually seeing something is one of the many ways that your brain processes what it is trying to do.  The problem with visually watching something and trying to repeat it is that when we don’t do the movement exactly like what we  saw we get frustrated and sometimes overwhelmed!  We start to feel like we are failing or not getting something out of the movement because it does not look a certain way.

As Pilates teachers we know that the goal of an exercise is not to “look a certain way”.  The goal of an exercise involves gaining strength and flexibility in a balanced way as you do a skill like articulating through your spine or moving your leg in space while supported from your core muscles.  Accomplishing the goals of an exercise can look very different in different bodies.  This is why as teachers we often try to use our words to describe an exercise instead of just demonstrating an exercise.  We also try to give options in a multi level class on how you can do the movement best in your body.

At our studio we have a variety of clients, with a variety of different body shapes, sizes and different injuries or ailments.  You can often peek at a Pilates class and see many different bodies doing what looks like very different things even though they are all doing the same exercise. If you are new to the Pilates method of exercise and just starting to take classes this can be super confusing.  Because we are not accustom to taking verbal cues to learn new movements, the first thing new clients often do in class when learning something new is look at their neighbor and try to repeat what they are doing. But what happens when your neighbors in class are doing what looks like two completely different things?  Your brain and your body get overloaded with confusion!!!

So my best advice for new clients is to try to avoid just watching other clients to learn exercises.  Do your best to listen to the explanations of the movements and the goals of the exercise that your teacher is saying.  If this is hard for you…you are not alone!  Know that this way of learning often takes some practice- so don’t be too hard on yourself! Try not to worry what the movement looks like but instead focus on how it feels.  If you have specific questions about how you could get the most out of an exercise in your body definitely ask your teacher.  If you are not comfortable doing this in class or before or after class, maybe try a one on one session where your teacher can give you individual attention on each exercise.