Inspiration of the Month May 2019 Brenda Kochanny

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When did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start?     

My Pilates practice started as a joke. My girlfriends and I decided we needed to find an alternative to happy hour. In all seriousness, the joke turned into the feeling of my muscles getting longer and uncoiling from stress. When I started I had just had twins and was early in my trading career with high stress and high demands.  At this time I didn’t have time for exercise and I loathed exercising, but Pilates never felt like exercise to me, as I loved it. So, I bought the Windsor Pilates VHS tapes and off I went!

How often do you practice Pilates and what type of sessions or classes have you been doing?    

My goal right now is 3-5 times per week. I mix it up with Mat Class, Reformer, Roll/Release & Relax on Saturday morning, and Privates with Carey.  With some current health challenges if I can do Pilates this often I have found my body and pain level responds very well.  

What benefits or improvements have you noticed in your body and life from doing Pilates?  

Pilates for me is a big benefit to my stress and tension levels.  When I do an early morning class I stand taller and ready for the day. When I know it’s going to be a particular challenging day in the office I get to the early morning class. Being recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis & other Autoimmune Conditions Pilates has been a key to my journey to find my way back to less pain, function and decreasing fatigue. Pilates is less impact on my body and if I am having a particular hard day I can change my level of intensity or the way I do the exercise and still get movement in which is key to my health. Another key for my health is stress reduction.  Being in a high demanding Agriculture Commodity Trading business my neck and shoulders have been known to turn into cement.  Doing Pilates keeps me from turning into cement, which keeps me away from doctors and physical therapists offices.

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

Favorite exercise is Seal & I love the Reformer!  The Seal reminds me of doing Pilates early on in my living room during the early morning hours and being terrible at it.  I couldn’t roll and my legs were going everywhere! My biggest concern was my husband seeing my crazy Seal legs and laughing at me. The reformer classes feel like my muscles stretch even further, which is always good for me. I love the different balls we use in Roll/ Release class and I have bought my own and they travel with me.  Some days I have to get them out during the day if it’s a harder day in the office and use them to roll out my neck and upper traps. If I do it sooner than later I have no headaches.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing Pilates? 

Do it… You can adjust each exercise or each class. Even if you aren’t feeling on your game you can get benefits of it.  If you’re looking for stress relief do Pilates. Coming from a person who has a love hate for exercise do Pilates. Pilates is an investment for today and for your future health.  I truly believe Pilates saves me from other medical bills.

How does doing Pilates make you a better Mom?    

Pilates has helped me with stress for the entire life of my kids. Over the last year my kids have seen me do less and be in pain. Getting a diagnosis, outlining a path on how to improve my health and doing Pilates consistently has helped reduce my pain and fatigue, so I feel like doing things again.  My kids will graduate high school this year so I need to stay active so I can travel to see them wherever their adventures take them.  I have many more years of being a part of my kid’s lives and Pilates is crucial to that.  Pilates keeps me grounded. I find so many times during my everyday life of using my breathing practice.

How has the journey of becoming a Pilates teacher effected your Pilates practice?  

Being a teacher has helped me be more aware of movement in my own body. I think there are a couple exercises that I was probably “hanging out”, so now I know how to engage more and reap the benefits.  Using different props in my practice has been very beneficial.

 

Secret Momming Energy Tricks!

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Somebody said to me this month… Don’t you get tired of being at the studio? And how do you get everything done? How do you get your kids to places, do the dishes, fold the clothes, do all the mom stuff and life stuff… and how do you find time to sit on your butt and watch Netflix and just relax??
 
I laughed and said well… sometimes that stuff just doesn’t get done! But really… I have an amazing husband who shares all the family duties with me and we coordinate as much as we can to get the important stuff done( you know .. kids to school, feed the kids( totally Jeff’s department as I don’t cook..), laundry, cleaning, etc  AND we try not to get too crazy with each other when the house is messier than we’d like, the kids are fighting with each other and we forget an appointment that we thought the other person was going to take the kids to…. 
 
Do I get tired of being at the studio?…honestly no. There are days when I am ready to go home so I can replenish and get some me time in and get some family time in…but I love what I get to do! That must be the key because even after a crazy day when I’ve been teaching for 8 or more hours and trying to do business stuff in between…I wouldn’t change it for anything.   As for finding time to sit on my butt and watch Netflix…that’s pretty rare and I’m ok with that.  I’ll sit and watch an occasional show with my hubby or kids but honestly I would rather relax by reading a book, going for a walk or taking a relaxing bath! 
 
Momming and parenting in general is hard.   If you are a parent I don’t have to tell you this!!
 
50% (that’s generous… maybe 75% if I’m being really honest!) of the time I feel like I am totally failing at parenting and the other 50 percent I am having proud mom moments when I just stand back in awe at the loving, caring people our kiddos are becoming..
 
Pilates and movement are clearly my business but they are also a non negotiable part of my life that keeps me sane, less stressed and focused on what’s really important to me and my family.
 
I kind of feel like movement is my secret momming energy trick…
For a long time I didn’t realize how powerful it actually was in my life but lately I have really realized that if I’m not moving on a regular basis all the other stuff in life gets harder… I get stressed out easier, I feel lethargic and I don’t get my to do lists done! So I’ve made it a point this year to be overly intentional about my movement time. Here are 3 pretty simple movement rules I follow in my life…
 
  1. EVERY day starts with a minimum of 10 minutes Pilates time. I picked 10 minutes because I can always fit 10 minutes in. 10 minutes doesn’t seem like much but because it’s short I can commit to staying focused and flowing through exercises and I always get a great little workout in. Many days if I have time I do work out longer but honestly my longest morning workout are usually only a half hour max!
  2. ALWAYS a walk with the dog.. rain or shine I figure we always both need a walk… so even if it is a run around the block in the pouring rain or snow… I just do it!
  3. If I’m feeling tired or lethargic (this usually happens in the afternoon) I make myself do a minute of movement time before I reach for tea or coffee… yep just a minute! And you know what? 9/10 times I don’t get the coffee! My favorite go to movements are bouncing on the big ball for a minute, jumping jacks, or footwork on the reformer if I’m at the studio… all these things engage my whole body, get my heart rate up and my breathing activated and always leave me feeling energized!! It’s kind of amazing how simple yet effective this can be!

If you haven’t ever thought about how important moving your body is in helping give you energy to live the rest of your life, maybe today is the day to think about it! If you are rushing through life and find yourself not having the energy to do all of the things you want to do I would encourage you to explore how you could add some movement and exercise time into your life in ways that will improve how all your days feel! And of course if you need some ideas or suggestions myself and the movement teachers at Rivercity Pilates would love to help!