Need to work on balance? Try the Pilates Chair!

When you hear Pilates Chair what do you think of?  Do visions of the ab chair infomercial come into your head?  Does it sound like something elderly people would use so that they could exercise while sitting in a chair?

The Pilates equipment called the chair was named the chair because Joe’s original design allowed you to convert this mighty piece of exercise equipment into a sitting chair when you weren’t working out on it.  Personally I think this is pretty genius from a marketing standpoint!  How many people use their treadmill for a clothes drying rack at home?  Wouldn’t it be great if that treadmill easily converted into a couch when you weren’t using it?  Seriously though, if you are someone who wants to work on balance in your movement practice…you must try the chair!

Whether you are an elite athlete or simply want to navigate day to day life without falls and injury- balance is so important!!

Like all of the Pilates equipment, the Pilates chair is designed to help you find a quicker, more efficient way to get stronger and more balanced in your body quicker.  The chair design is simply a small seat with a spring loaded paddle below the seat.  Many exercises have you positioning and balancing your body somewhere on the seat and then using the loaded paddle to challenge your balance.  The size is just big enough to give you some support, but small enough to challenge your balance and of course your core strength!

Other exercises have you standing on the floor pressing into the spring loaded paddle.  Many of these exercises challenge you do do the exercise with one arm or leg while you try to keep balance in your body.

Interested in seeing how Pilates and the Pilates equipment can help you improve your balance?  Schedule a complimentary private session at Rivercity Pilates today!!!

Having a Knee Replacement?

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Are you thinking about a knee replacement or maybe you’re finally fed up enough with your knee pain that you decided to get it done?  Congratulations!!  As a Pilates instructor I see lots of bodies and lots of different things going on in the body.  As a general rule, I’m a fan of “do everything you can first before resorting to surgery” in many instances but I’ve really changed that attitude over the years when it comes to knee replacements.  I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of clients pre and post knee replacements and all of them have said something like this,” I’m so glad I did it! I can move and be active and not have pain in my knee! I wish I had done it sooner!”

I can also tell you that the clients who I taught Pilates to before their knee replacement swear by the benefits of their Pilates practice in helping them get through their recovery period with much more ease and speedier recoveries.   These clients always come back and tell me how their physical therapist is so happy with their quick progress and can’t believe how amazing their recovery is compared to others following the same journey.

Someone I know told me she was going to have a knee replacement soon and when I asked her if she wanted to come in and do some Pilates before the surgery to prepare her she said,”I have 12 exercises they gave me and I’m doing them twice a day.”  My response,” That is great- you should continue doing those exercises, but just doing the exercises won’t give you the same amazing benefits of doing Pilates before the surgery. I don’t know what exercises she was given but I am sure they were all great exercises designed to strengthen the muscles in her legs and hips, as well as keep those muscles flexible and mobile.  Since she was already doing these exercises I told her we would start her Pilates practice intro by just going over those exercises and applying the Pilates principles to those exercises so she could get more out them.

If you’ve never practiced Pilates before you might be wondering what is so great about Pilates?  What makes Pilates exercises different from the exercises the PT gave me as preparation?  Here’s my best attempt to explain the difference:

1.  Each Pilates exercise is a whole body exercise.  We are not just strengthening the leg muscles or the hip muscles! Yes the Pilates exercises will strengthen those leg and hip muscles but each exercise will also have you engaged,connected and working your whole body.  This comes in very handy when you are trying to figure out how to safely and effectively move your whole body around after your knee replacement surgery.  When the nurses come in to get you up and walking after your surgery you will appreciate your core strength, your upper body strength, and your ability to efficiently move all of your body, all thanks to your Pilates practice!

2. Pilates teaches you to initiate movement from your center.  Having strong core muscles that support your body and just knowing how to engage those core muscles is so helpful when you are recovering from an injury that is causing the rest of your body to compensate.  By having this knowledge and strength of how to engage those core muscles you will be able to support your body better whether you are using a walker or crutches and you’ll take some of the strain off of the rest of the body.

3. Body Alignment:  Pilates is considered a corrective exercise as we are continually trying to create balance in our body by doing movements in alignment and strengthening in alignment.  Creating balance in your body is important for everyone, but if you are recovering from an injury or ailment that causes you to compensate in the rest of your body it could save you from chronic pain, tightness and even injuries in the rest of your body long after your knee has healed.

When’s the best time to start Pilates if you are contemplating a knee replacement? Of course the sooner you start the more prepared you’ll be, but honestly even getting a few sessions in before the surgery with an experienced instructor can teach you some basic concepts that will help you immediately before and after the surgery.  After surgery you’ll want to talk to your doctor and physical therapist about the timing of starting regular sessions again.  The great thing about the Pilates work is that it can truly be adapted to any body so it is possible if you are working with an experienced instructor you can start incorporating the Pilates movements into your recover process sooner than later.

Want to see the benefits of Pilates before and after surgery?  Check out this video below of Pilates Instructor Nancy only 2 weeks after her kee replacement surgery:

Rolling for Relief

If there is one thing I’ve learned over my 20 plus years as a Pilates teacher, it’s this: stretching and releasing tightness in your muscles is equally as important as strengthening your muscles when it comes to functioning your best and feeling your best!

In fact, what I have found in my own body over the years is that to stay as balanced as possible I need to incorporate a regular Pilates practice with a variety of exercises designed to both stretch and strengthen my muscles, but I also need to have specific time to release tight muscles if I want to keep my body feeling the best.   My favorite way to relax and release tight muscles is a self massage technique called rolling.

I have to tell you it took me a little while to convince my mind that rolling wasn’t just a luxury, it wasn’t just a “when I had free time kind of thing”…it was a needed health tool that was important for keeping my body happy and feeling great.  No rolling isn’t a workout, but yes it will make big changes in how your body feels and will even help you feel more motivated to do your strengthening and cardio workouts, because you will feel better in your body.

So what exactly are you doing for your body when you use a self massage technique like rolling? 

Here’s a quick list of the benefits of rolling (self massage):

  1. You are increasing circulation and blood flow to tight muscles and surrounding tissues in your body.  Without good circulation those muscles will stay stiff, tight and unhappy. Improved circulation can enhance the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscle cells. As cellular health improves, tissues function more efficiently. More efficient functioning leads to the removal of waste products and may increase the absorption of excess fluids and reduce swelling in soft tissues.
  2. You are applying pressure with rolling techniques relaxes muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Rolling techniques relax muscle tissue, which can reduce painful contractions and spasms. 
  3. Self massage techniques can also reduce nerve compression. To understand this, consider that when muscles are contracted, they sometimes compress the nerves around them. When these muscles are relaxed, the nerves are no longer compressed, and, in theory, can get proper nutrients and operate more efficiently. The nerves can assume their normal work of transmitting messages to and from the brain, which improves functioning of the muscles and organs.
  4. You are specifically working on your “troubled spots” as I like to call them! All of us have imbalances in our muscles because of our movement patterns in life.  A well rounded, whole body movement practice (like Pilates) can be amazing for keeping your body more balanced out, but it will never completely balance you out!  Adding in a self massage technique like rolling can help you target areas that are especially tight and tense in your body and will help you create even more balance in your body. More  balance in your body (and less tightness and troubled spots) means you will just plain feel better and function better!  

Want to see what rolling could do for you? Join my 75 minute workshop to learn rolling techniques for your neck, shoulders and back.  If you don’t already have massage therapy balls you can purchase them in our online store and pick them up at the studio or have them shipped to you. 

For this workshop, I’ll be using 3 different sizes of balls: the Alpha Ball, the Yoga Tune Up Balls, and the Massage therapy plus balls.

If you’d would like to attend the workshop, but you don’t want to invest in balls until you know if you like it — watch this video!

Register for the workshop here!

My back hurts!

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I hear it all the time. “Can you just give me a few exercises I can do to make my back feel better?”

If you are looking for a quick fix I’m here to tell you there isn’t one! If you want to make changes in how your body feels you need to learn to change how you are moving your body (or not moving it).  This doesn’t happen overnight and there definitely are not magic exercises that will cure your aches and pains.

One of the biggest reasons that Pilates as an exercise method is so effective for helping people get rid of back pain is that by practicing Pilates on a regular basis you start creating a habit of paying attention to how your body moves and you start learning how you could be moving better and more efficiently.  Better movement means less pain in your body.

The good news is that a regular Pilates practice does not need to be complicated or even take a ton of time, but to really get the benefits you need to stick with it on a regular basis.  

How often should you do Pilates to relieve your back pain?
  • 2-3 Pilates classes or sessions a week
  • 1 private a month to fine tune your at home practice which consists of 10-15 exercises you can do 2-3 times at home
  • 1 Pilates class a week plus incorporating the Pilates principles into other workouts

The possibilities are endless!  Ready to get started on changing how your body moves and feels?  Contact us today to schedule a complimentary first session to learn more!!

Exercises for a Happy Back!

Have you heard of a spinal replacement? Neither have I. That’s why it’s so important to take care of your spine and it’s why I developed this new online workshop. All you need is access to the internet and a space at home to watch & participate in the workshop.

This is not “just another exercise class”. We often think of balance as the difference between standing or falling, but Joseph Pilates designed the Pilates exercises to create a balanced body.

It might be easier to understand if we talk about imbalances. You may not realize that your body has developed imbalances over time that often go uncorrected.

  • Do you always carry your purse on the same shoulder?
  • Do you sit at your desk in the same position day after day?
  • Do you find yourself sitting a certain way to avoid pain or discomfort?

Many times our stronger side does the majority of the work in a given exercise and we don’t even know it. Consequently, our stronger side gets stronger and our weaker side gets weaker and over time, this results as pain or discomfort.

During the online workshop, we’ll identify what may cause your back pain — and give you tools to identify what exercises will be most effective at helping you feel better. We’ll move together to find the exercises that work for you, recommendations for how often to do the exercises and variations that will help you as you progress!

Here’s how it works. You register for the online workshop. I’ll send you the link to watch the online session, along with the workbook to use during the online session, and the exercise guide for you to reference after you watch the workshop. Watch any time, and if you have questions, you are welcome to email me (Carey@Rivercitypilates.com).

Click to sign up for “Exercises for a Happy Back”