Pilates Around the Clock Exercise – the Commando Exercise!

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Taken from an exercise instruction sheet that Joseph H. Pilates used to sell for $1.00 in 1943, here’s your instructions for Around the Clock from Joe himself:

Are you game to try a Commando Exercise? It looks simple – but it’s rather straining until you have had lots of practice doing it. This exercise develops muscles and tissues that the usual physical drills and even swimming and hiking do not call into play. This “Around the Clock” stunt is especially effective in correcting bad posture, double chin, flabby & weak abdominal muscles, fat thighs, bulging hips, constipation, poor blood circulation and other similar physical imperfections. Below is the explanation how – in one minute morning and evening – you can go “Round the Clock”. It will do you no good whatever just to read about this simple exercise. It must be performed twice daily, day after day, without let up. Be a Commando and command yourself to do this one thing each day. You’ll be surprised at the result!

Directions: Lie on your back with arms pressed tightly against your thighs, as shown on diagram at 12 o’clock. Bend head forward until chin touches chest – with straight legs lift feet about three inches off floor and inhale deeply. Next, exhale fully and double up your legs against chest, thus helping to expel your breath. Now raise the lower part of the spine slightly off floor and with a pivot-like motion, twist the body around to the right to position shown at one o’clock on diagram. Again raise spine slightly and give another twist into position shown at 2 o’clock and stretch out flat as at the beginning. When you have moved from 12 to 2 o’clock, you have completed a cycle of these combination exercises. You then repeat this process, going to 3 & 4, then 5 & 6, until you again reach 12 o’clock. When you are proficient in going round the clock as a clock hand does, you can reverse the process and do it in reverse order.

 

 

Practice What You Teach: The Power of Words

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This week I did a Tower Class workout on Pilates Anytime with Pilates instructor Benjamin Degenhardt(which was amazing!) During and after the class I was reflecting a little on how much harder I worked during my workout just because of the words and imagery Benjamin used.  The exercises themselves weren’t anything new to me yet I did some of them differently just because of how he taught the exercises and the words he used.  Sometimes a cue he used would have me doing “more” or getting “more” out of that exercise than I would have been doing had I just been practicing on my own.

A cue he used a couple of times that really worked for me was to roll through the space behind your heart.  I usually think about IMG_7013rolling through my upper back but there was something about the heart cue that immediately gave me a sense of more movement in my spine. As a bonus, all week long I could hear his words when I was practicing on my own and it really helped me move better!

As an instructor this reminded me of how powerful our words can be in helping others find movement or create change in their body.  As a student it made me grateful for the opportunity to learn from a variety of instructors over the years. I feel like each teacher shares their own gifts and their own words and they are all important in keeping my movement practice evolving, which in turn keeps me healthy and happy!

 

Practice What You Teach: Don’t take the rules too seriously..

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Do you ever wonder if your Pilates instructor just comes in and hangs from the Cadillac or maybe hangs over the high barrel to stretch their spine when no one else is around?  We do!!  ItIMG_7456‘s the day before our Pilates Day celebration and I had an hour break before my last client of the day and I have to be honest I really just wanted to take a nap!  I got up at 3am this morning to come into the studio for some news coverage for our Pilates Day event and by the afternoon my body was feeling tired and tight!

Instead of sitting at the computer being unproductive and tired, I went to my favorite place- the Cadillac and did all my favorite “feel good” exercises.  I hung in Half Hang( for quite awhile..), did some nice stretchy Roll Downs and did a few of my favorite Rolling Back exercises.  I went to the High Barrel and did Ballet Stretches.  Today’s Ballet Stretches consisted of me rolling down through my spine over my outstretched leg and just hanging out and breathing. Then I hooked my feet on the high barrel and just extended backwards over it.  I also flipped onto my front side and just hung over the barrel in flexion. When I got done….I felt better and more energized- ready to tackle the rest of my day!

You might wonder why I’m telling you all this?  As a Pilates instructor I find myself teaching movement that seems like it has lots of rules…..Pull your belly in, don’t scrunch your shoulders, inhale here, exhale there.  The ideas and concepts that seem like rules are really what help people learn how to move better, more efficiently and help them start thinking about movement and alignment in their life, but many times people take the rules too seriously.  People think they have to be lying on a mat doing things perfectly to be practicing Pilates or any type of movement.  They think they have to follow the rules and the order… and the rules all the time!  I like to think of the “rules” as guidelines for how to move better not as an “all or nothing” rules to movement.

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Instead of focusing on all the rules of my Pilates practice I like to focus on all the tools my Pilates practice gives me.  One of the biggest gifts of my Pilates practice is probably just being able to pay attention to my body and then being able to use movement to make me feel better(like I did today!).  I find that one of my biggest challenges as a Pilates teacher is convincing and reminding clients that they have the ability to change how their body feels through movement any time!  The tools they are learning at the studio can be used practically anywhere( at your desk, on your living room floor, in the car…).  You don’t always have to move at 110% effort, do the hardest version of an exercise or do an hour workout for movement to be an effective health tool in your life!

[tweetthis]You can use #movement anytime to help your body feel better! #practicewhatyouteach[/tweetthis]

 

Why you absolutely need to attend a Pilates Day 2016 event!!

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PilatesDay_LOGO_2016What is Pilates Day?

Pilates Day is an annual, international, community event celebrated on the first Saturday of May every year.

The Pilates Day mission is to foster the public’s appreciation and awareness of the Pilates Method through a network of varied, innovative, and high quality grassroots Pilates events accessible and affordable for all.

Why should I attend an event?

I’m going to break this one down into two categories: Pilates lovers and those who have no idea what Pilates is!

For Pilates Lovers:

  • IMG_6792FREE Pilates with friends...what could be better than that! If you already know and love Pilates then a Pilates Day event is a great way to share your Pilates love with lots of others who love it too!
  • Share Pilates with a friend or two. If you already love Pilates I know you can’t help but want to share your love with friends and family you care about.  But sometimes it can be really challenging to convince someone to start a new exercise program.  Many Pilates Day events are designed to make it easy for you to bring a friend and let them experience the Pilates method in a very relaxed atmosphere.  The event is free, socially fun and gives you a chance to introduce someone you care about to the method you love!
  • Try a new studio or instructor.  Pilates Day events can be a great place to meet new Pilates friends or try a new studio or instructor without a big commitment.

For those who have no idea what Pilates is:

  • Find out what Pilates is!  You’ve heard your friends rave about it, heard the movie stars and professional athletes talk about it changing their bodies and you really have no idea what Pilates is….   This event was designed for you!!  Pilates instructors and practitioners are very passionate about their movement practice and there are so many reasons that so many people love it!  This free event was created so you could learn about what Pilates is and how using this exercise method might help you feel better in your body!
  • Check out a local business.   A Pilates Day event is a great way to meet Pilates studio owners, Pilates teachers and Pilates practitioners.   You’ll have a chance to talk, a chance to move and a chance to see if it might be something you want to pursue in more detail.
  • Free Stuff and more.  Besides all the free classes and giveaways during the Pilates Day event, many studios offer specials, introductory packages and even free classes for new clients so that if you are interested you can try out this Pilates thing with a little more depth after Pilates Day.

If you are in Iowa we’d love to see you at Rivercity Pilates for our Pilates Day celebration but if you are not near us you can click this link and check out all of the events worldwide and find one near you!!

 

Practice What You Teach: Nothing Special and why that’s amazing!

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When I committed to writing a weekly blog about my Pilates practice I knew it would not always be easy to write and I knew it would make me honestly look at my Pilates practice in my life.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to blog about my practice.  Usually something in my practice sparks an idea and the writer in me has no problem finding something to write about.

This week was not so easy, probably because there was nothing special about my Pilates and movement time that popped out as being unique or worthy of a blog!  I worked out and played at the studio and did some small bits of mat work at home like I usually do,but honestly I can’t even remember exactly what I did.

Since we have a Pilates Day event coming up in another week,  I had a busy “studio business” week (I consider my “studio business” time all the time I’m doing everything else besides teaching to keep the studio running and hopefully growing!).  As always this time of year, the kids were busy with school projects and activities. Our family had a somewhat stressful week at home as we were taking care of our family dog who was unexpectedly having health problems.  All of this(life stuff) though didn’t really affect my Pilates practice.

As I’m writing these words I’m realizing,”All of this( normal dealing with life stuff…) didn’t really affect my Pilates practice.”  And that makes me pretty happy and grateful!  I’m grateful to have a movement practice in my life that is always there and that is so part of me and how I live on a daily basis, that I don’t have to think about it.  I love that when life gets a little chaotic I don’t have to add to the chaos and stress by worrying about if I got my exercise in.  And I’m grateful for the opportunity to write this week about my Pilates practice as it truly made me appreciate what a gift Pilates is in my life!

International Pilates Day

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Mark Your Calendars!International Pilates DayPilates Day is an annual, international, community event celebrated on the first Saturday of May every year. The Pilates Day mission is to foster the public’s appreciation and awareness of the Pilates Method through a network of varied, innovative, and high quality grassroots Pilates events accessible and affordable for all. Pilates Day is a program of the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), and Pilates Day events are produced and hosted by PMA members.

Carey is one of five Pilates Instructors in Iowa who are certified the PMA, and Rivercity Pilates will celebrate Pilates Day with both classes and an open house.  All classes will be free on Pilates Day, May 7, 2016.   All classes are open to the public, and beginners are welcome.   Current Rivercity Pilates clients who bring a friend will be entered in a prize drawing AND win a free mat class!   New students who come to class on Pilates Day will receive a pass for Pilates Mat, Yoga and Barre for the rest of the month!  Bring a friend and we’ll see you there!

Visit our Rivercity Pilates Tasting Circuit to learn about & try Pilates, Barre, Yoga and Neural Reset Therapy and earn a Sparkle Bag of goodies!! (1)