Do You Practice Pilates with Precision?

 
This month’s studio focus is the idea of “Precision” in your movement practice. For me, precision is simply fine tuning.  Precision is the challenge of continuing to practice a movement so that each time I do it, it gets a little better and I get a little bit “more” out of the exercise.  Precision is what keeps my mind occupied when I’m doing an exercise that I’ve done thousands of times.  Precision is also what creates movements that are controlled and refined.
Precision is one of the qualities of a Pilates practice that I believe really sets it apart from other movement modalities.  Our focus is rarely how many reps can we get in, or how fast can we move.  Our focus is on how we can move in a way that coordinates our breath and movement and use our muscles in a balanced way to move with ease.
As a Pilates teacher I am talking about precision in relationship to my Pilates practice, but the great thing about this idea of precision is that you can apply it to practically any movement practice.  If you are flowing through a Yoga pose or lifting a weight I think you’ll find that just changing your mindset to think about precision takes any movement you are doing to another level.  It makes it a little more challenging, it helps you move with more ease, with more balance and it helps you move better!

Centering

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 This month’s studio focus is the idea of centering in your movement practice and in your life, and I think it’s pretty relevant to this time of year.
For me centering represents focusing on the important stuff first, because I find when I take care of what matters most first everything else falls into place.  When I’m practicing Pilates this means giving myself time to take care of myself and simply focus on myself even though life is crazy busy and I could be doing 100 other things other than Pilates.  It also means focusing on moving from my center first, because all the other details of the exercises often fall into place when I come back to practicing initiating movement from my center.
What does centering mean to you? We’re hoping you’ll take some time this month and explore how a little focus on centering might improve your movement practice!

Is the Pilates Cadillac just a souped-up version of the Pilates Tower?

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Definition of souped–up

  1. :  enhanced or increased in appeal, power, performance, or intensity; also:elaborate, embellished

I had a client who was fairly new to Pilates ask me,” Is the Pilates Cadillac just a souped-up version of the Pilates Tower?” and I absolutely loved her description!!

The short answer to that question is yes!!  The Pilates Cadillac is the souped-up version of the Tower!  The Cadillac was Joseph Pilates’ original piece of equipment that was designed to stretch, strengthen, lengthen and give your body feedback in a variety ways. Just like the name implies…the Pilates Cadillac has a quite the “presence” in the studio..  But that presence also takes up a big footprint in the studio.    As much as most studio owners would love to be able to have Cadillac class….it’s not really practical to have 4, 5 or more Cadillacs in one room.  This is where the Tower systems that you see in many studios came about.  The tower system is a version of the Cadillac that allows you to do approximately 75% of the traditional Cadillac exercises on a much smaller, space saving piece of equipment.

The main things missing from the Tower are the overhead bars that run parallel to the mat, the attached trapeze bar that attaches to those bars, and the hanging straps that attach to the bars. So what are you missing out on by using a Tower instead of the Cadillac? Most of the exercises are ones that involves variations of hanging from the bars, the attached trapeze bar/swing and the hanging straps.  These variations are definitely great exercises that are worth exploring in your Pilates practice, but the versatility of the Tower system gives you plenty of exercises that can be used to accomplish the same movement goals as some of these Cadillac only exercises.

Curious about the Cadillac?  Check out this video highlighting some exercises  on the Cadillac!  Want to play and try some of these exercises out?  Schedule a private session and be sure to ask your teacher if you can play on the Cadillac!!  Call 319-665-2499 and schedule a Cadillac session today!

 

Am I physically ready to become a Pilates teacher?

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Our 2015 Pilates Teacher Trainees!

The number 1 most common question I get from people as they are considering becoming a Pilates teacher is:  Am I physically ready to go through the program?   This may be code for, “Do I need to lose weight to become a Pilates teacher?”

My answer to this question usually starts with some more questions for them. Do you enjoy doing Pilates? Are you willing to put the time in it takes to continue learning Pilates in your own body?

The beautiful thing about our teacher training program is that you are required to have a Pilates practice in your own body.  You are required to log in hours of personal practice, private lessons with professional Pilates teachers, and group classes.  It honestly doesn’t matter where you are starting in your own body and it doesn’t matter if you have some things going on in your body that affect your movements.  If you commit to going through the program, by the time you are done you will have a consistent Pilates practice in your life and you will learn the knowledge and skills you need to help others create a practice in their own life.

So much more important than your starting place of your own Pilates practice, is your willingness to commit to getting all the program hours completed.

Are you thinking about becoming a Pilates teacher?  Does the idea of creating a regular Pilates practice in your life excite you?  Do you want to be able to help others create a Pilates practice in their life?  We would love to talk to you in more detail about our upcoming Pilates Mat Training program starting this September!!  Contact us today to set up a time to talk to Carey about the program details.

 

Rivercity Pilates truly is “Couch Potato” Friendly

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Has it been awhile since you’ve taken an exercise class or worked out?  Would you consider yourself a “couch potato”? Does the thought of starting back to exercise scare you?  Do you worry about making a fool of yourself in class or feeling out of place?  One of the most common things we hear from new clients is,” I don’t know why I didn’t try this sooner!”.  And so if you are one of those people who has been contemplating coming in, but just hasn’t made the leap…this blog is for you!!

We understand there are a lot of “roadblocks” that keep people from scheduling that first session or class and so we made up a quick list of our top 5 reasons why we would consider Rivercity Pilates Couch Potato friendly(ie debunking those excuses you are telling yourself about why you haven’t come in yet!) .

  1. A Complimentary private session.  We know that starting a new exercise method and even just walking into the doors of a new “exercise” place can be scary! This is the number one reason we offer a complimentary private session for new clients.  We really believe that movement is for everyone and we find the best way to get started at a new place is with some time talking and working with a teacher who is focused on your individual needs.  If you’ve never worked one on one with a professional movement instructor you are in for a treat!  You’ll leave this session feeling welcome at the studio, having a better understanding of what the studio offers, have a better understanding of your own body and excited about the possibilities of movement in your life!
  2. A positive, encouraging atmosphere. Are you looking for people to connect with who want to lift you up, support you and help you reach your health goals without feeling like you are out of place or don’t belong?   At Rivercity Pilates it’s our mission to make everyone feel welcome and create an environment where you can be yourself, enjoy your movement time and walk out of our doors feeling better than when you walked in!
  3. Beginners don’t feel like beginners….really!!   You’ll never feel out of place or like a failure because you can’t do an exercise a teacher is instructing.  Our teachers automatically give variations and modifications to all exercises for where ever you are in your body.
  4. We work around injuries, aches and pains and even hip and knee replacements.  Have a chronic sore back, knees that ache or maybe a hip replacement?  Great!! We love to show our clients that you can still do safe, effective movement even when you have “stuff” going on in your body!  And I guarantee if you are in a group class you won’t feel singled out or weird because of it!
  5. Variety.  When you are trying to create a regular movement practice in your life we think it’s nice to be able try lots of different things to see what you enjoy the most!  We have a wide variety of Pilates, Yoga, Barre and Zumba on our schedule that gives you the chance to create a custom schedule based on your favorite classes.

Ready to take the leap?  We would love to help you schedule your first complimentary private session or class!  Have a question before you come in?  Simply email or call us and we would love to answer it!

 

Zumba and Pilates? Why do we offer Zumba at Rivercity Pilates?

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Picture of people doing zumba at Rivercity PilatesHave you heard of Zumba?  Zumba totes itself as “Pretty much the most awesome workout ever. Dance to great music, with great people, and burn a ton of calories without even realizing it”.   It’s a total workout, combining all elements of fitness – cardio, muscle conditioning, balance and flexibility.

As a Pilates and Yoga studio we focus on being a place where our clients can come in and have a great movement experience that leaves them walking out of our doors feeling better in their bodies then when they came in.  So when we were looking to grow our offerings and offer some cardio based classes in our studio… Zumba seemed like the perfect fit! Here’s our top 5 reasons why we love ZUMBA and are hoping you do too!!

  1. It’s Beginner Friendly! Never been to Zumba before? Don’t worry! Zumba is taught for the beginner in mind and it doesn’t matter if this is your 1st or 100th Zumba class.
  2. It’s never boring!  We all know that cardio can be boring some days.  Even though we know how good it is for our bodies and minds…It’s hard to motivate yourself to get that walk or jog in, it’s a challenge to jump on your bike or even toss in a DVD to do a workout.  The great thing about Zumba class is that it’s fun and before you know it you’ve been moving and dancing for 50 minutes, burning lots of calories and having fun at the same time!
  3. The Music!   The heart pumping Latin music will leave you feeling energized!!  It’s been proven that music can change your mood and make you feel better in your body and we agree!!
  4. It does not have to be perfect!  If you are someone who feels uncoordinated in a step class or always get those dance steps mixed up….it doesn’t matter.  You’ll find with Zumba that you can easily follow along even if dancing isn’t your best skill!  You’ll be encouraged to move at your own pace, do what you can and just keep moving to the music!
  5. The People!   Exercise with other people who are learning Zumba and getting their cardio in at Rivercity Pilates.   We laugh, we sweat, and most of all – we get healthier!

Are you looking for some fun cardio to spice up your workout routine? Then Zumba is just for you!

Check out our Zumba class schedule and click here to sign up for a class today!

  • Mondays at at 11:00 am
  • Wednesdays at 9 :00 am
  • Fridays at 8:00 am
  • Sundays at 9 am