When’s the last time you exercised your feet?

Getting Healthy, Motivation and Inspiration, Workshops / Special Events

Sometimes when I start talking about feet exercises or showing them to clients I gets some crazy looks. I can just imagine the dialog going on in my clients head……

“I came here to do Pilates, you know…strengthen my core and tone my body so I can feel strong and energized in my life. I can’t believe I’m paying for a Pilates session and we are doing “foot exercises”. I’m mean really.. my feet are fine and how in the world is exercising my feet going to help me get a strong core, keep my back pain at bay and look good in my favorite jeans? I’m not really breaking a sweat working my feet…how could this be good for me? Aren’t there more important things we should be doing?”

I get where clients are coming from. If you’ve never thought about or been educated on the importance of your feet/ankles in relationship to how the rest of your body moves, then foot exercises probably seem ridiculous! But I can tell you from someone who specializes in movement, it is SO important to take care of your feet!! And this doesn’t just mean taking care of them when they are hurting or are causing you pain, but taking care of them so they don’t ever cause you pain! And just in case you are wondering….paying attention to your feet CAN totally help you find proper alignment in your body, prevent injuries, strengthen the entire body more efficiently and can even help you lessen or get rid of back pain!

The wonderful thing about taking care of your feet is that it is truly not difficult and does not take a lot of time to do it. But the little time and effort you put into your feet now can save you years of misery later in life!

Want to start learning more? Here’s some basic foot facts that you might find interesting!!

The foot and ankle contain: 26 bones (One-quarter of the bones in the human body are in the feet.); 33 joints; more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments (Tendons are fibrous tissues that connect muscles to bones and ligaments are fibrous tissues that connect bones to other bones.)
During an average day of walking, the total forces on your feet can total hundreds of tons, equivalent to an average of a fully loaded cement truck.
75% of Americans will experience foot problems at one time or another in their lives. ( WOW– thats 3 out of every 4 people!!)
Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. High heels are partly to blame.
It’s rare that two feet are exactly the same; one of them is often larger than the other.
Over 2 million Americans seek treatment for plantar fasciitis (heel pain) each year.
Foot disorders in the elderly are extremely common and are the cause of much pain and disability, and consequent loss of mobility and independence.
1/4 of all the bones in the human body are down in your feet. When these bones are out of alignment, so is the rest of the body.
When walking, each time your heel lifts off the ground it forces the toes to carry one half of your body weight. ( Who knew your toes were so strong??)
Your feet mirror your general health. Conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can show their initial symptoms in the feet — so foot ailments can be your first sign of more serious medical problems.
Click here to register.

Intrigued? Join me on for my Healthy Feet Workshop on October 6 th where we’ll dive into learning about why your feet are so important to how the rest of your body moves and you’ll learn lots of “foot exercises” that you can easily start incorporating into your life to keep your feet and body healthy throughout your lifetime!!

4 Week Beginner Pilates Mat Series

Beginning Pilates, Getting Started, Motivation and Inspiration

Beginner Pilates Mat Series

4 weeks – Wednesdays at 5pm

October 3, 10, 17, 24

Everybody has to start somewhere and if you are looking to start practicing Pilates or maybe come back to your practice, this is a great place to start. The Pilates Mat for Beginners class will focus on learning the fundamental Pilates skills as it introduces participants to a beginner mat sequence perfect for building strength and mobility in your body no matter where you are starting. By committing to 4 weeks you’ll have a chance to not just try it out but to really experience how a weekly Pilates class can change how your body feels. This is a great class for those brand new to Pilates, those coming back to their Pilates practice and those who are wanting to just fine tune their Pilates practice.

4 week package runs from October 3-24th, Wednesdays at 5 pm

Need to miss a class due to other commitments? No worries, you can make up the class in the next 4 week session!

Cost $49.00

Click here to sign up today !!

October Life Inspired: Mindful Mat with Jane

Life Inspired monthly gathering, Motivation and Inspiration

Life Inspired is our free monthly community event! This month’s class is Mindful Mat Pilates with Jane. Mindful Mat Pilates is a class focused on learning the basic Pilates Mat exercises in your body, with an emphasis on the Pilates principles of control, breath, centering and concentration. You’ll learn to adjust exercises to your individual body allowing you to achieve more strength, balance and mobility in your body.

If you are brand new to Pilates you’ll love this class as a way to learn the basics and experience how great Pilates can feel in your body. Those with Pilates experience will enjoy experiencing how focusing on the mindfulness of each exercise can help you get even more out of each exercise. You’ll walk out of class feeling refreshed, refocused and amazing in your body!

This is a free class but space is limited so please sign up ahead of time to reserve your spot! Sign up using our online scheduling system or email us at rcpilates1@gmail.com or call us at 319.665.2499 to sign up.

Are you tired of feeling stiff and achy?

Barre, Motivation and Inspiration, Pilates in Your Life

One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients as they age is stiffness and specifically morning stiffness. If you often find yourself feeling stiff and creaky wondering what is going on with your body…I have some great news for you. There are lots of things you can do to improve how your body feels and diminish the feeling of stiffness!

Robert Chu wrote a great article called 10 Tips to Overcome Morning Stiffness and here’s what he lists as the main causes of Morning Stiffness :
The basic causes of morning stiffness are lack of daily physical activity, being overweight, having a poor diet, not sleeping properly, and being in an environment that tends to be cold and/or damp.

The great news about this list is that all of these things are things you have control over! By doing things like moving more, paying attention to what you are eating, having good sleep habits and keeping your environment comfortable you can keep your self feeling less stiff and creaky and more mobile!

Here’s a few of my favorite movement inspired tips for feeling best in your body:

Regular exercise that moves your body in a variety of ways. You know how every time you look at a 5 year old they are doing something different with their body…jumping, twisting, summersaulting, squatting, etc.? As adults we could take some lessons from those 5 year olds. My favorite motto when it comes to our aging bodies is: move it or lose it! When we don’t regularily move our body in different ways… we start to lose the ability to move like that. It might not be socially acceptable for most adults to twist and cartwheel throughout their days, but what we can do is choose exercise time that encourages our bodies to move in a variety of ways to counter the fact that most of us are probably not moving as much as our bodies would like them too! Practices like Pilates, Yoga and Martial Arts are great for safely introducing a variety of movements.
Add more mini movement time throughout your days. When we make an effort to look at our activity throughout our days most of us probably are finding we are pretty sedentary. Taking more breaks from sitting, parking further away at the grocery store or always getting up during commercials of your favorite TV show can help keep your body moving more and feeling less stiff and creaky! Need some ideas on how to move more? Check out our Office Pilates series on YOUTUBE for a great series of movements that can be done at the office or even from your favorite lounge chair at home!!
Drink lots of water...this one seems so simple but it is so important! Did you know staying well hydrated actually helps your joints feel better? Read more about the benefits of drinking more water and joint pain here! It turns out your joints need water to stay healthy and as you might guess everything in our body functions better when it has enough water. If you are adding more movement time in you may want to consider adding more water in to your life as your body will need it to function at it’s best!
Stretch more. The feeling of stiffness often is a result of muscle tightness that happens due to our lifestyle. Sitting for long periods of time can especially affect muscles in our neck, back and hips. Self massage techniques using small therapy balls is one of my favorite ways to stretch and lengthen tight muscles and fascia(the connective tissue covering the muscles in our body). If you are new to these techniques try a rolling class like our Roll, Release and Relax class that is designed to help you stretch and lengthen muscles throughout your entire body! Do you experience tightness in your low back, hips or backs of legs? Some simple stretches at home with a theraband or yoga strap can really help loosen up tight muscles and will probably only take 5-10 minutes at the most!

Looking for some ways to add more healthy, safe movement into your life? We would love to introduce you to the benefits of a mindful movement practice like Pilates in your life! Sign up for a complimentary private session to get introduced to the studio, talk to an experienced teacher about your health goals and get introduced to Pilates!

Inspiration of the Month Kathy Mathews

Motivation and Inspiration

Inspiration of the Month – September 2018

Empower Your Body ~ Inspire Your Life

When did you start Pilates and what inspired you to start?
I started taking Pilates classes about 3 years ago. I was having a lot of back pain and was encouraged by Shelley Mockler to give Rivercity Pilates a try. She promised me I didn’t have to be an athlete to feel comfortable going there (and she was right!)

How often do you practice Pilates and what type of sessions or classes have you been doing?
I have a full schedule in the rest of my life, so I try to make it to at least one session per week, either a class or semi-private with a friend. I also try to do at least a few mat exercises or Carey’s 20 minute intermediate mat exercise video at home most days.

What benefits or improvements have you noticed in your body and life from doing Pilates?
I have a lot less back pain and tend to be more aware of how I hold and move my body.

Do you have a favorite exercise or piece of equipment (or both)?
I don’t think I have a favorite—I like learning something new and being challenged to do any of the exercises better. I appreciate the concentration it takes.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing Pilates?
Give it a try for a few months and don’t be intimidated. It’s fun and feels good! I would also encourage everyone to take some private or semi-private classes if possible to learn some of the core principles that will let you get more out of the group classes.