Inspiration of the Month Patti Lounsbury

When did you start taking virtual classes and what inspired you to start?

  • I have loved Pilates for years since originally starting. 
  • I broke my ankle at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic with surgery in January and am still healing, learning to walk and balance again. I required a lot of physical assistance and was unable to drive.
  • On April 1, I started virtual Pilates. It is so convenient to do the classes in my bedroom on a yoga mat. I love the virtual classes because I can spend nearly two hours per day performing strengthening and mobility exercises.

How often have you been taking classes?
I have been taking virtual classes twice per day since early April.

What benefits and improvements have you noticed in your body and life from taking classes?

  • Long range: Lumbar pain has been a problem I’ve had for many years. Since starting Pilates several years ago, the lumbar pain is considerably less and mostly gone. Indeed, prior to this injury, if I missed pilates for a couple of weeks (for example during vacation), the lumbar pain returned.
  • Short term: Since the fracture, there was considerable muscle wasting in the right leg that was visible in the right calf and knee. The muscle wasting is no longer visible and I am able to bear full weight on the right leg. The Pilates exercise helped considerably with these achievements.
  • In addition to the muscle wasting, there was total loss of balance in the right leg, something I had not anticipated. The Balance Exercises, I now do in addition to the twice daily virtual Pilates classes, are helping considerably with that.

Do you have a favorite exercise, movement or stretch?
I have found that all of the exercises that I have taken have been enjoyable and beneficial. I am so thankful that I was and am able to take them twice per day. My favorite exercises are “rolling like a ball” and “seal”.

In addition, I love all of the stretching exercises. One exercise that I find difficult is the “Teaser”. I am amazed at how the instructors can still talk while doing this! However, I do have to admit, that the teaser has gotten a teensy weensy bit easier since I started. 

The spinal exercises feel very good. All of the leg, arm, and core exercises are beneficial. Indeed, at first I thought, “How can I do this? I am so out of breath!” But the exercises over time have become manageable and I have become much less short of breath. However, I am certainly not at the point where I can say they are easy!

What would you say to someone who was a little hesitant about trying virtual classes? 
I would say, “Do it!”. If you don’t find it helps after a few weeks, you can always quit. But I would say the chances or your feeling better and stronger are very great. 

In addition, the instructors stress that if an exercise is painful, then you don’t do it. I have yet to find an exercise that was painful. My main limiting factor has been that some exercises were too difficult. Another favorable factor is that if I signed up for a class that was too difficult for me, Carey would catch it and have me change classes! I have always felt and continue to feel that the instructors’ main concern is the participant’s comfort, strength, improvement, and wellbeing.

July Life Inspired

“Life Inspired” Classes are free and open to anyone. Beginners and new to the studio clients are welcome, you do not need to be a Rivercity Pilates client to attend. Reserve your spot here!

When’s the last time you were coached?

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Often times I find that our male clients end up starting their Pilates practice because their wife or significant other convinces them to try it.  Once they get into the studio and start practicing Pilates on a regular basis they start to realize they actually enjoy the work and can feel the difference in their body.

I was checking in with a wife of one of our new to Pilates male clients this morning and she mentioned something that got me thinking a little bit more about how we teach Pilates.  She said he mentioned,” It’s been a long time since I’ve been coached and I’m really enjoying the instruction and coaching.”

Coaching is one of the things that really separates Pilates from any other fitness trend.  Pilates Instructors are trained to coach each body to learn exercises and movements that are very specific to their body.  Pilates instructors are not just worried about giving you a workout, they are trained to educate you on how to move your body more efficiently so that you can get a better workout and move better throughout your life.  Pilates instructors are trained to give you movement tools that you can use in all the other movements you do outside of the Pilates studio setting.

If you’re someone that enjoys learning new things or maybe you were an athlete in your younger years (or still are) you might find that learning to practice Pilates is something you’ll really enjoy!  Schedule a complimentary session at Rivercity Pilates today and let the coaching begin!!

So Excited About This

They say there’s a rainbow in every cloud, and although this shutdown has been hard, we’ve discovered some rainbows, and we were lucky enough to confirm another one yesterday. Here’s the formula for our newest rainbow.

Len Palombi is a friend of mine, and I learn from him every time I go to one of his classes. Len discovered Pilates as an older adult, which led him to become an instructor and specialize in Pilates for older adults and is the creator of Pilates for Boomers. In Len’s words, “After trying different fitness methods, I discovered Pilates and began an incredible transformation.  I’d love to help you achieve your own Pilates transformation.”

Our longtime clients may remember Len as a “visiting” instructor from the Chicago area. His restorative Pilates class was a hit with all who attended back in 2018, and now he’s going to teach it every week! Some of us will never forget his imagery as he leads the class – he is able to give examples that everyone can relate to!

Fun with Len after a worksop

Len is going to teach two classes every week which are described below. I took “Unlocking the Spine” via a video this week, and found it to be very effective at both making my back feel terrific, and helping me improve my mind-body connection as I listened and watch Len. This class is truly a testament to the Pilates method, as the movements were small and controlled throughout the class – yet afterwards I felt like I was moving better and had more energy! I hope you all will try both of Len’s classes!

Appropriate for all levels. No prerequisites required. This Mat class includes a gentle full body warm-up and basic Pilates exercises.  The focus is on breathing, gentle stretching and strengthening done at a slower, deliberate pace to provide a restorative workout.  Sign up for Virtual Restorative Pilates Mat.

Modifications will be offered to accommodate physical limitations and make the exercises accessible. This class is ideal for new students unsure of their skill level or physical abilities, older adults looking for a beneficial but lower intensity workout, as well as students looking to recover between higher intensity workouts.

Unlock Your Spine: Appropriate for all levels. No prerequisites required. This class is based on a movement method called undulation.  It consists of gentle, spine focused movements that re-hydrate connective tissue, restore muscle strength and joint mobility.  It’s gentle and accessible and a great complement to Pilates because it increases flexibility in a way that stretching cannot. Many people have practiced undulation to relieve neck, back, shoulder, muscle and joint pain – or simply to feel more limber. Sign up for Virtual Unlock Your Spine Class.

Do you hate gyms?

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Just 3 years ago, my answer to every one of these questions was yes.   Well, I was pretty sure I could get back up off the floor, but I knew I wasn’t looking too graceful while I did it.  My back hurt almost every single day,  and my knees were creaky.  When I got out of bed, I felt like I was walking like someone much older than my age.   My best intentions to walk every day, somehow disappeared before I stepped out of the house.    I had paid a monthly membership to a gym for a year, and quit going there after the first two weeks.    My mom had just lost a painful battle with pancreatic cancer, and my dad had moved in.

We went out to dinner one night, and I saw the Rivercity Pilates studio across the street.    I had taken some Pilates lessons a few years ago, and I knew the springs on the equipment would help me through exercises that my body simply couldn’t do by itself.   Still, it took me a few weeks to actually walk in the door of Rivercity Pilates.  I took my free orientation session from Carey, and was amazed at her knowledge, her patience and her concern for how I felt as she led me through Pilates exercises.  I bit the bullet and signed up for private sessions (the most expensive option), because I didn’t want to feel stupid if I couldn’t do an exercise in class.  I started to feel better after a few sessions, and I was able to see progress in how my body moved thru the exercises.   The atmosphere at Rivercity Pilates was so spa like and comforting, that it didn’t threaten me like a gym.

Two years later, I’m still going to Pilates 3-5 times a week.    While my legs didn’t move much two years ago at this time, now I can touch my toe to my forehead.   It’s not a very useful movement, but it sure feels good to be that flexible.     My boyfriend has also started taking Pilates, and he has gone from daily back pain, to hardly ever feeling back pain.     I take both private sessions and classes. I’ve talked with Carey about my experience, and she is starting a new class for people that might relate to my feelings. She just calls it Beginner Pilates 4 week series.   It could also be called, Pilates for the over 50 crowd or Pilates for people who can’t seem to get to the gym.   It could also be called Pilates will Change Your Life.

The class will be 1 session per week for 4 weeks.   You’ll get to learn some history of Pilates, and try the exercises at your working level.  (You’ll understand this more later — but the important thing to know now, is that Pilates isn’t about everyone doing the same thing.   It’s not about feeling the burn. Your neck shouldn’t hurt.    You don’t have to curl up and do hundreds of sit ups.   Pilates is a whole body exercise where you make progress gradually). Lots of individual attention.   Do you have to wear spandex?   No.   Wear comfortable fitting clothes that allow your body to move.   (I remember wearing huge tee-shirts to my first classes in an effort to hide the curves and extra love handles, just so I would feel better about going to class.)   

Take a deep breath, click here, and schedule your Complimentary Orientation Session at Rivercity Pilates with Carey.  Right now as we wait to see what happens with COVID 19 — all sessions are being done virtually!  If you’d rather call to register before you get nervous about it — call us at 319-665-2499!

Has it been a while?

“If you will faithfully follow the instructions, beginning with the introductory lesson, you will without a doubt acquire correct physical fitness with proper mental control. 

As you progress in your self instruction, you never have anything to “unlearn”.  These exercises will actually become part of your very self, securely stored away forever in your subconscious mind.  You who have learned correctly how to ride a bicycle, how to swim or how to drive an automobile need never worry with respect to the possibility of your failing to use the right technique in these skills.

So too the the acquirement and practice of the art and science of Contrology will instill confidence in you that will remain forever for future use.  Then it is simply only a question of “re-toning” the muscles that have in the meantime become “soft” as the result of disuse.”   ~ Joseph H. Pilates, Return to Life

I LOVE this passage taken from Joseph Pilates’ book Return to Life!  To me it really speaks to the value of learning how to move your body properly versus just exercising.  I am a firm believer that any movement is good movement if it is safe and you enjoy it, but at the same time I know that by there is immense value in learning how to move your body efficiently and with an awareness of your body. Anyone who has practiced Pilates on a regular basis can tell you that when you learn how to engage your deep abdominals, or stabilize your hips or shoulders it becomes part of you.  You are not just thinking of those things in your Pilates practice, but you continue to incorporate those ideas into all movement throughout your life.

Anyone who has practiced Pilates also knows that just because you are not making it to the studio to get your weekly classes in doesn’t mean you “lose” everything you have gained in your Pilates practice.  Just like once you’ve learned to ride a bike you never forget how….you never forget how to use the skills you learn in Pilates.  You may not be going through an entire workout like you would if you were taking a session or class with an instructor but you still know how to move properly and I’m guessing you’ve incorporated many of your Pilates principles into your daily life( good posture, balanced movements, using your breath to cue your body to destress and connect, etc.).

I love how Joe also talks about how when you do come back to your Pilates practice it’s not a matter of relearning technique but “re-toning” the muscles that in the meantime become “soft” as the result of disuse.  My translation of this is: It all comes back to you…just like riding a bike.  If you pay attention to your working level and use your Pilates principles you will safely strengthen your muscles and get your body back in shape in no time!

So if you’ve taken a break from your Pilates practice…don’t be discouraged- it happens to everyone.  When you are ready to come back to it you can assured that your body will remember how to move and you’ll be back to a regular Pilates practice in no time!