#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Public Speaking Terrifies me!

from a wordpress blog - https://stagustaf.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/I suck at talking.  Give me a pen and paper or a keyboard and I’m a happy camper but communicating with my voice is something I’ve always struggled with.  It does not come natural to me.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy being around people and talking, I just always feel like when I talk nothing comes out how I want it to come out.  I would much rather be the listener in a group of people who only chimes in with little bits of well thought out conversation.  After conversations I’m always thinking to myself…why did I say that, why didn’t I say this,  that’s not what I wanted to say…..     Needless to say public speaking terrifies me!  And it doesn’t matter if I’ve had months to prepare for something..I still get terrified and still feel like I suck!

Maybe you are saying to yourself right now, Don’t you talk for a career?  Don’t you spend your time one on one and in group settings teaching people Pilates (mainly using your words)?  The answer to that is yes I do and there are many days when I ask myself how in the world did I get here???  This was one of those weeks where I asked myself that question about 50 times.  My week started off teaching a full day of Pilates Teacher Training workshop to 8 new trainees.  What this means for me is that for about 6 solid hours I stood up in front of a group of people and talked with 8 sets of eyes and ears focused on my every word and even taking notes!!  Just writing about this makes my stomach a little queasy! Fortunately, usually once I get into my teaching zone I forget about my nervousness and my love of what I’m teaching shines through.

pilatesunfilteredLike most weeks, I taught my usual schedule of around 20 private Pilates sessions and 10 group classes (again…more talking..) And then something happened that was more terrifying than all of my live speaking time….A recorded interview of me talking to Jenna Zaffino aired on her new, super amazing podcast Pilates Unfiltered.  For someone who hates talking, I can tell you that even worse than having to talk in front of others is listening to yourself talk.  I listened to the podcast so I could remember what I had said. Knowing that quite possibly hundreds of other people could listen to it too is terrifying!   Unlike other speaking opportunities I’ve had on local news stations or in front of local community groups where I’m talking most likely to people who don’t know a whole lot about the topic of Pilates, this podcast is specifically geared toward other Pilates instructors and enthusiasts!  I compare this to being in junior high and having to talk in front of all the “cool kids”.  Quite possibly, Pilates instructors that I’ve admired for years for their amazing teaching and their incredible knowledge of the body and the Pilates work…. could listen to this. Did I mention my stomach is queasy just writing this??

1-steve-jobs-1I’m hoping that by sharing my fears this week, I might inspire someone to follow their heart.  You see as much as I suck at talking, as much as I hate putting myself out there so people can hear me suck at talking I know that it’s what I need to do.  I decided a long time ago that life is too short to not do what you are passionate about.  Life is too short to not push yourself to grow and expand.  I’m not exactly sure where I’m headed in life or what my exact purpose is but I do know that I’m pretty passionate about how amazing the Pilates work is and how it can be used as a health tool in anybody’s life.  I have a career that I absolutely love and believe in with my whole heart even if I do have to push past my discomfort of talking in front of others.

I want to send a big thank you out to Jenna for being such an amazing supporter in my Pilates journey and for being an inspiration for myself and everyone who is daring to put their passion out in the world.  And a thank you to all those supporting people in my life (way too many to list) who love and support me in whatever I do, no matter how it turns out! I’m going to go do some Pilates now and try to forget about the uncomfortableness of sharing me (the parts I like and the parts I don’t) with the world!

 

 

Practice What You Teach: Squats are fun??

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Every Saturday morning I get the chance to teach a very inspiring group of spunky women who take their Pilates practice pretty seriously.  And by seriously I mean they are dedicated to make their Pilates practice part of their lives.  It’s rare that they miss a weekly class, but more than that it’s that they truly incorporate movement into their lives and they love sharing it with others.  When it comes to their Pilates practice…they all are beautiful movers who come to class each week and give it their all.  It reminds me of one of my favorite Joe quotes,” Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.”  These women live that quote and I’m extremely honored that I get to be part of their journey watching them grow in their movement practices and learning from them every time I teach them. Now that I’m done bragging about my rock star clients, let me get to today’s blog…   patience-quote

My Pilates practice last week got kick started by my Saturday morning Return to Life Pilates Mat Class crew.  Our class focus last week was flow and transitions.  If you practice Pilates you know this is code word for “no rest between exercises” and “Pilates just became a cardio workout”!  The class started standing, transitioned to the mat and nobody quit moving until they finished standing after their last Pilates push up.  I can tell you that this type of class leaves you feeling taller, stronger, fully mobile in your spine and kind of ready to collapse and take a nap! It’s the kind of class that takes every ounce of your determination and will power to stay focused so that you can give it your all and finish the whole thing with as much control and fluidity as when you started.

So when we finished just a couple of minutes before class end time I was a little surprised at what happened next.  Once of the women said,”Hey, we’re here anyway let’s finish it out with some squats.  How about 50?”  In my head I was thinking,”Really… you just did this amazingly hard, super intense workout and you want to throw in some extra squats??” But when I looked at everyone else and asked “Who’s in?” EVERYONE said “let’s do it!”  So we did 50 squats and I joined in (because if they could do 50 squats after the workout they just did, surely I could do them after a morniimg_8903ng of teaching!).

I’m not going to lie…I was sore.  I was sore that day and for probably 3 days after!  All I could think was clearly I need to be doing more squats in my life!  I also kept thinking,”How cool is it that I have such an amazing job where I not only get to do something I love on a daily basis but I also get to be inspired by amazing clients on a daily basis!!”  In case you’re wondering…I’ve been doing more squats throughout my days and it must be helping as when this Saturday rolled around and we decided to do those 50 squats again at the end of class they were a little easier!

And to complete the story, we decided this week to include the other Saturday morning classes and clients who were at the studio in our squat fun.  So this week we grabbed the other class that had just finished and those coming in to attend the class after and we did our 50 squats.  My Return to Life crew was calling out the count as we went(apparently they don’t trust my counting!) and by the time we got to the last ten everyone in the room was counting down, smiling and finishing up their 50 squats!  Afterwards there was lots of positive chatter…”great job, way to go, glad you joined us, etc.!”

I don’t know about you, but I rarely take it upon myself to do 50 squats(even though I know how great they can be for your body..).  It’s not that I mind them so much, I just don’t think of it or find the time. I’m so grateful for all of our amazing supportive clients at the studio that help create an atmosphere of comaraderie, health, and inspiration that has me happily doing 50 squats on a Saturday morning…just for fun!  And if you’re coming to class next Saturday…I hope you’ll join us!

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Happy Pilates Exercises

mindfulnessThis week has been slightly busier than normal for me with my kiddos heading back to school, our new fall class schedule starting, a new class of teacher trainees starting and just general first of the month busyness at the studio. As I reflect back on my Pilates movement time this week I’ve realized that I did lots of Short Spine on the reformer, and two or three mini reformer workouts in between clients throughout my days. If you were wondering why Short Spine, why reformer…I was thinking the same thing.  Here’s what I came up with!

Generally on busy weeks I don’t think much about my workouts and tend to just do what fits in my schedule and what my body feels like it needs. This theory easily explains me doing lots of Short Spine on the reformer.  Short Spine on the reformer is one of my “happy Pilates exercises”.  I love how Short Spine makes my body feel long and stretched out but also makes me work and concentrate on what I’m doing.  If I’m feeling tired or tight throughout my day I can jump on a reformer and do 5 or 6 Short Spine repetitions and I feel happy and energized.  So I’ve decided clearly I used Short Spine this week as my happy pill as I was navigating a busy, chaotic week!

pilates happy hourAs for my mini reformer workouts, I’ve decided that my decision to do these workouts was subconsciously from my need to use my movement time to de-stress and reconnect to myself.  There is something absolutely genius about the design of the reformer and the sequence of exercises that helps me not only get a work out in but also refocus my brain! Even when I have 50 other things on my mind, I can lay on the reformer, start doing my footwork, and before long I am focused, concentrating on my movement and working my way through the sequence of exercises.  I almost always end up doing more than I had thought I would when I got on and I always feel better and more focused afterwards!  Much more than a workout this week my reformer time definitely was my refocus, reconnect to myself health tool!

Do you have exercises, or movements that you use not only to create strength, flexibility and balance in your body but to help you and your body deal with the stress of daily life? I would love to hear about your “happy Pilates exercises” or favorite workouts when life is busy!!

 

 

Pilates Travel Tips and our best travel workouts!

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hotel PilatesWhether you travel on a regular basis or are just taking a summer vacation, you can take your Pilates with you easily!  There are so many exercises you can do just about anywhere with just your body or a small prop that you can keep up your core strengthening, body lengthening, strengthening and balancing Pilates workouts just about anywhere.  Here’s some simple tips to remember when traveling and some links to our favorite exercises for the road!

1. Pack a few small,lightweight props like a Theraband, a small 4 inch ball, or a magic circle so you have plenty of exercise options!

2. Remind yourself that doing something is always better than nothing!  You are probably not going to do a full hour Pilates session in your hotel room and that’s OK!  Just doing a small sequence of exercises or even some of your favorite stretches will keep your body feeling happy and healthy!

stretch3. Get creative!! Workouts don’t just have to happen on a mat in your room or at the fitness center. Go for a walk and enjoy some new scenery and add some off your favorite exercises in along the way!  Use a park bench to do some tricep dips or take a towel and lay in the grass and do some of your favorite Pilates exercises!   Try some Pilates in the pool!

4. Mix in mindful movement throughout your day.  Vacations and trips are often disruptive of our regular schedule and that’s to be expected.  Try to add little bits of movement in throughout your day and pay attention to how your body feels.  Stretch when you need to stretch, walk when you’ve been sitting too long and pay attention to your posture!

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite travel mini workouts and exercises:

My Favorite Things Pilates Mat Workout (no props)

Resistance Band Pilates Mat Workout

Intermediate Pilates Mat Workout

Wedding Arm Magic Circle Workout

All Levels Mat Workout

Magic Circle Workout for Home

Side Leg Kick Workout

If you have a favorite travel workout, let us know!    We’d love to add it to our list.

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Play More, Learn More, Do Something Different

I love to play with movements and exercises in my own body and I love to help others figure out how to do the same.  This week I was watching a little video my friend Jenna had posted using a couple of Magic Circles and it inspired me to grab some circles and play with how I could incorporate (both of) them into a pretty traditional Pilates Mat sequence.  The result of me playing was figuring out that there were so many possibilities outside of the “traditional” magic circle exercises I often used that allowed me to work deeper in exercises, get more out of certain exercises, and have fun doing it.  After I played I of course wanted to share it with others…so I added what I played with into a couple of my mat classes….calling it Double Magic Circle Mat Class!

The beauty of this process of me playing and then sharing with clients is that they start to learn to play too! And by play I mean they feel comfortable not just doing the exact version I’m instructing but changing it to something that might feel better in their body, something that helps them feel the work of the exercise more or something that might challenge them more.    And when you learn to play with movements you start to figure out that you have the ability in your body to make big changes to how it feels and moves(we are so much more in control of our health and bodies than we realize!).

I think as instructors sometimes when we teach the same exercises over and over and we forget to actually “teach and inspire”. We simply recite the words and instructions we know so well. {I’m completely guilty of this so I’m assuming there might be a few other teachers out there who have done this occasionally)  And while there is nothing wrong with what we’re saying, it also doesn’t necessarily “teach and inspire” clients to “do something different”.

insanityI feel like the quote,”You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect to get a different result” is so relevant in movement.  As a movement teacher one of the biggest gifts you can give clients is teaching them how to “do something different” to keep progressing in their movement practice.  And that doing something different doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the exercise itself, but we can give clients a different way to experience the movement of the exercise, a new way to think about a movement or a new way to execute a movement with a prop.  By teaching them to play with movements they learn to connect to their bodies more, engage more and trust themselves to makes adjustments and changes to an exercise so it suits their body.

Here’s to another fun week of playing and learning and using movement as a health tool to inspire your life!!!

 

Practice What You Teach: Thanks Joe & Clara!

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I was sitting at dinner this week with some of my “Pilates friends” and my stomach muscles were hurting…not from Pilates, or the Pilates paddle boarding we had just done, but from laughing so hard! The older I get the more I appreciate those moments hanging out with friends just laughing….laughing so much it makes your stomach hurt and your eyes water. It was a fun evening! It reminded me of something I had heard last year when I got to hear Pilates elder Mary Bowen speak at the Pilates Method Alliance annual meeting.

Mary started off her talk by saying we should all be thanking Joe and Clara. And simply stated, “How different would your life be without them? How many of your friends and experiences would have never happened if it hadn’t been for them creating and doing the work they did?” In a room full of Pilates instructors there was a lot of thoughtful agreement that day. At the moment her words were a powerful reminder to me and I often come back to those words in my life.

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My friend Cassie from Northwoods Pilates with Mary Bowen!

First of all I think that it is crazy empowering and amazing that one guy could start an exercise system that could change so many lives over so many years. So many times when we think of people who change the world we immediately think of world leaders, genius scientists and Oprah(is it just me who thinks of Oprah? I love her)! But Joe was a pretty regular guy with a passion for movement and health. He was doing something he loved and sharing it with the world because he knew it could help others. During his lifetime he worked with a lot of clients and had an amazing impact on so many lives. Joe never really had the chance though, to see how what he was doing would continue on to inspire millions of people! Whether you are a Pilates instructor, a school teacher or a doctor I think it’s a great lesson in following your passion and having trust that what you are doing is perfect and that your reach is probably much further than you could ever imagine.

Second, isn’t it kind of incredible how much just one person can impact your life experience?   It’s hard for me to look at my life right now and imagine what it would be like without my Pilates friends, my studio, my clients over the years and my Pilates experiences.   I can’t even begin to count the ways that Pilates has brought incredible people into my life and incredible experiences that bring me happiness! In the crazy busyness of life it’s so easy to forget the impact that you can have as one person. It’s so easy to forget that by doing something simple like being yourself and sharing things you love, you can have a profound effect on others, their life path and their happiness.  And those simple things like those connections with others, those life experiences, those moments you share… are really what make life fun and meaningful.

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Joe & Clara Pilates

Thanks Joe & Clara for all the many ways you impacted my life and so many others! Thanks Mary for being part of my Pilates experiences and reminding me of the impact of just one person! And for all of my Pilates friends in my life know that I am ever so grateful to Joe and Clara for starting it all so we had a chance to connect!

P.S. If you want to learn a little more about Mary Bowen, Cassie wrote a great blog about what she learned from Mary after last year’s conference and you can click here to find it!