Can you touch your toe to your forehead?

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First of all let me start this blog by saying never will you come to a Pilates session and get asked to touch your toe to your forehead!  It’s not something we ever do or even try to do.  That being said I have a story about how trying to touch my toe to my forehead gave me some new goals for my 2016 Pilates practice!

During a semi-private session one of my clients said to the other something like, “I can’t believe you can’t touch your toe to your forehead!”  She then grabbed her foot and put her big Toe on her forehead.  We all laughed and I mentioned how impressed I was!  She said,  “You can do this right?”.   Hmmmmm….I didn’t think sooo and surely wasn’t going to try it right then.   But of course after I got home that evening I had to try it.

I was sitting reading with my kids and asked them if they could do it.  They easily grabbed their foot and put it on their forehead( not surprising really).  I grabbed my foot and tried really hard to getIMG_5784 it to my forehead…….it did not go easily but I was close.  So I curled my spine toward my foot a little bit more and I could get it there( although for merely a second!) My abdominal muscles were working so hard to curl my spine forward that they started getting a cramping like sensation!! Maybe I needed to try the other foot.  I should have know that I naturally grabbed my less tight leg/hip to try it the first time and there was no way my right foot was getting to my forehead.

I’m a little bit competitive (especially with myself) and really don’t like to not be able to do things. So immediately my brain went to, ” Why is this so hard for me and why is it soo much harder for me on my right side?”.  A quick scan of my body and I knew that it was hard because of tightness in my legs and hips and imbalances between the two sides.  I know my right side is my tighter side and when I am thinking of it or focusing on it I do try to find ways to balance it out (but maybe I need to do that more often?).

Soo what’s a Pilates instructor to do?  I have a new goal for 2016….. lengthen, stretch and balance so that maybe I can touch my right toe to my forehead.  Helping others create balance in their bodies through movement is what I do on a daily basis, so how fun and fitting that one of my own goals is to balance out my body!!  I snapped a picture of my toe touching forehead attempts, again not because I want to impress you or want you to try this, but because I want to use this as a small marker of how I’m doing at creating balance in my body as the year progresses.

Why you should learn Pilates so you never have to go to a studio!

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One of the things I love most about my own Pilates practice is that I can do it anywhere (and I do)!  I love that whether I have 40 minutes or 5 minutes I can find some movement sequence to do that makes me feel better and energizes me.  I don’t need to rely on going to class, watching a video or anybody else.  Of course I also love to go to class and get instruction but I don’t need to.

I always love it when I see this phenomena happening in my clients because I feel like it means I’m doing my job well.  I get excited when I hear things like,” I didn’t make it to class this week but I did my Hundreds at home everyday.  OK…not a lot of people tell me this one….but I can pretend!  More likely is, “I did my rolling like a ball and shoulder bridge in the living room during the Big Bang Theory!

To me, this is what having a movement practice is all about! The reason to take sessions with a knowledgable instructor is so that you can learn about your body and learn how to create a movement practice not just in the studio but in your life.  There will always be times in your life when you can’t make it to a studio to take a class or get your private session in but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some movement in!

As you progress in your Pilates practice you’ll find yourself thinking about movement in a whole different way! You’ll start seeing movement as a way to feel better in your body and you’ll probably crave it!  You’ll start paying attention to your posture at work and maybe sneaking in some of your favorite exercises during the commercials of your favorite TV shows!  As a bonus, you won’t feel bad when you can’t make it into the studio for your session or class!  You’ll feel comfortable knowing that you can practice your favorite Pilates exercises on your own and still get a great work out!

Practice what you teach: Breath and concentration can do wonders..

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Our Pilates Instuctor-Trainees in Pilates Principles Tees!

Our Pilates Instructor-Trainees in Pilates Principles Tees! Available in our online store

Breath and concentration (two of our Pilates principles) can do amazing things!  I woke up on New Years day with a pesky pain in the muscles between my shoulder blade and spine.  It was nothing horrible, just a “I must have slept wrong” kind of pain.

My usual routine in the morning is to start my day with my Pilates Mat work and even though I was feeling a little tight and twingey by my shoulder blade, I wanted to start the year off right and get my day started with some movement.  I grabbed my foam roller as that spot in my upper back really just felt like it needed a good massage.  I spent a few moments just lying on the foam roller in different positions and massaging near the spot- which helped although it was still there.

I decided to go through my mat routine and make my focus breath and specifically breathing into the area that was bothering me.  Throughout my routine whenever I felt that spot I took a deeper breath and really envisioned my breath expanding into that area.  Even though I tell people all the time to try techniques like this I am always re-amazed when I use them on myself and they work!  I love to be reminded of how amazing our thoughts, our bodies and our ability to create change in our body is!!

#PracticeWhatYouTeach (1)Needless to say I felt soo much better after getting my Pilates Mat work in.  The spot by my shoulder blade had not completely disappeared but it was so much better AND what happened the rest of the day was even better.  When I found myself feeling that tightness I went back to my practice of breathing into that space and it was better.  By the time the Hawkeyes were headed onto the field for the Rose Bowl I wasn’t feeling the pain at all!

[tweetthis]Movement is healing! #breath #concentrate #Pilates #practicewhatyouteach[/tweetthis]

What does a Pilates practice really look like?

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2016Happy New Year!! I don’t know about you but there is something about a new year that I love! I love to take a little time and just see where I am in life, be grateful for what I have and set some goals and focus for the year ahead.  This year as I was taking a little time to think about what I wanted 2016 to look like I decided that I wanted to continue to do more of what I love in life.  Like most people I have a tendency to get caught up in my to do lists, the day to day stuff that needs to be done and the little things that quite frankly don’t matter so much.

On the top of my lists of what I love to do are Pilates (and movement in general) and writing.  So I decided to commit myself to writing a weekly blog about my own daily Pilates practice.  Here’s a few reasons why I’ve decided to share this journey with you:

  1. Personal growth.  I’m not going to lie, this is a pretty selfish endeavor!  Committing myself to writing about my daily Pilates practice over an entire year is going to commit me do digging deep and exploring what I am practicing, why I am doing what I’m doing and will without a doubt make myself a better instructor in my professional life and a better person overall! Pilates is an integral part of my health and my career but I’ve never taken the time to look so closely at my own practice and share it with others!
  2. Realism.  (is that a word??)  I want to share what a Pilates practice looks like with the world.  Every time I turn around there is a barely dressed, super-model-looking-woman doing super advanced Pilates exercises on Instagram, Facebook and  everywhere online.  I want people to know those pictures are not what having a Pilates practice is about. I’m super passionate about the Pilates method of exercise being able to change lives for the better and I want people to have a realistic view of what it’s like to incorporate the method in their life! I’m pretty lucky to be able to teach Pilates as a career but just like everyone else I still have to find time to fit in my own Pilates practice throughout my days.  There are days when I get a full mat or equipment workout in and there are days when I sneak in various exercises in between clients, and taking kids to activities and folding laundry!  A Pilates practice doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective!!
  3. Inspiration.  We all need to be inspired some days and I’m hoping that sharing my Pilates journey over the year might encourage someone to start their own practice, have the courage to walk into a Pilates studio and try something new or maybe just restart something they used to do.  I’m hoping it will encourage everyone to not be so hard on themselves when they don’t do something perfect in their own movement practice and realize the amazing benefits to creating a Pilates practice in their life wherever they are!

#PracticeWhatYouTeach (1)Be sure to check in with me each week as I give you some highlights of what my Pilates practice looked like, how my body was feeling, and how it affected the rest of my life!  I’ll be using the hashtag #pilates #practicewhatyouteach throughout the year!

 

The First Steps are the Hardest!

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Diane (left) and me!

Diane (left) and me! Friends for Life!

I’m a student at Rivercity Pilates, and I’ve been practicing Pilates for almost two years.   I had no idea that my Pilates practice would turn me into Pilates evangelist. Pilates has changed the way my over 55 year old body feels! So when one of my oldest friends (old being the time we’ve been friends, not how old she is) stopped here on her way to visit family for Christmas, I seized the opportunity to share some Pilates.

I have to admit, I guilted her into saying she’d try Pilates.   I asked her to do one thing for me, without telling her what it was, I just said it was important to me.   Of course she said yes.  Then she asked me what to wear!     I made an appointment for her with Carey at Rivercity Pilates, knowing that Carey would not push her to do things that her body wasn’t ready for.

Diane is a band director in Ohio.  Her days are active introducing students to instruments, teaching, conducting, and her job requires her to travel between school buildings in her district.  When she gets home after school, she’s tired, and I totally get that.    What I’m saying is that she’s not the type of person who stops at the gym and walks on the treadmill on the way home from school.  Like me, Diane has struggled with her weight, and like me and many Americans, being overweight contributes to some health issues for her.

Imagine how hard it is for Diane to know that I had scheduled a private Pilates session for her.   What she knows of Pilates is what she’s heard from me, and the pictures she might have seen on the internet.   Those pictures often have people showing their flexibility and strength by getting into very advanced positions on the Pilates equipment.   There should be a caption saying “don’t try these exercises at home!” or “this was not this person’s first Pilates session”.

The first Pilates session at Rivercity Pilates is filled with information.  Carey goes over the Pilates principles while introducing you to some Pilates exercises, and she is very conscious of your working level.  The first exercise was learning the Pilates “breath” and the second exercise was doing some arm circles.    I could feel Diane get more comfortable with every move.  Carey was not asking her body to do things that it wasn’t ready for.  Carey was giving her exercises that she could do every day, and help her body be able to move better.   Like many of us, when Diane’s arm went above her head, her shoulder went right with it, so the instruction turned to shoulder stability.   Remember, Diane is a band director, so shoulder stability is something that will help her every day as she conducts the band.

Check Diane’s reaction at the end of this video when she was learning Arm Circles!

http://https://youtu.be/Zo1ZL_EQt50

In Diane’s case, she is fighting some arthritis in her knees, so a good part of Diane’s first Pilates session was spent in stretching the muscles in her legs.  Carey asked Diane after nearly every movement how that movement felt in her body, and adjusted when Diane felt that the movement wasn’t working for her.

I admire Diane for so many things, but today I admire her for having the courage to take that first step and go to a Pilates session.   She was able to see the value of taking private Pilates sessions while she is learning, and she will know what to expect when she signs up for Pilates private sessions in Columbus.  Carey researched and found a studio for her after her session since she lives in another state!

This is NOT an exercise you would do in your first Pilates visit!

This is NOT an exercise you would do in your first Pilates visit!

Yes, I asked Diane for her permission to share the story, and to take pictures and videos during her session.  The first steps are the hardest. Making a commitment to move, and going into the studio that first time is difficult, especially if you don’t have a friend who guilts you into saying you will go and drives you there to make sure you will show up!  We shared this story to let everyone know that those pictures you see when you google Pilates images, are not the types of exercises that you go on your first visit.

Being scared about starting an exercise program is normal and expected.   I hope our story has helped you realize that making that first appointment, and walking in the door of the Pilates studio will be more difficult than your first Pilates session.   Learn from Diane, and make it your New Year’s Resolution to schedule your complimentary session at Rivercity Pilates today!

 

Office Pilates Day 20 : You can be healthier in 5 minute chunks!

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Have you seen some of our short Office Pilates videos and thought,”Sure I can do these things, but if I’m not practicing Pilates 2 or 3 times a week is this really doing me any good?  Or maybe you’ve thought,” These things are way to simple and basic to be effective!”. Maybe you’ve said to yourself, “I’ve seen pictures of people doing Pilates and it looks nothing like Office Pilates!”.

Our Office Pilates series was really designed to open your eyes to the possibilities of a mindful movement practice.  It’s true that what we’re calling Office Pilates may look very different from a traditional Pilates workout and that’s on purpose.  We want everyone to know that you don’t have to be super fit, skinny, flexible and have hours each week to workout to benefit from adding mindful movement into your life!! Wherever you are in life, your health and happiness can be improved by learning about mindful movement techniques and starting to incorporate mindful movement into your daily life!!

A lot people are hesitant to start a mindful movement practice like Pilates because they can’t figure out how they can do it 2 or 3 times a week( or maybe even once a week) and they figure if they can’t do it religiously it would be pointless.   Their life is packed with work, family, travel, and countless commitments and so the idea of squeezing one more thing in seems… well… impossible.  If you are one of those people I have some exciting news for you!

There are no rules about having a mindful movement practice and every time you practice (even if it’s taking a class once a month or watching a short video and trying a new movement)  you will get benefits.  The benefits of a mindful movement practice go far beyond the physical movement.  Every time you practice you learn new things about your body, your alignment, the way you are thinking and how you move throughout your life.  You are practicing being mindful through movement and science is proving that mindfulness can reduce stress, increase overall happiness and have some pretty big effects on your overall health!! (Isn’t that exciting!!)

Wikepedia says this and more about mindfulness:

The practice of mindfulness involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one’s subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective.  (i.e.- notice what you are doing and how you are doing it)

Clinical studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in general, and MBSR (Mindful Based Stress Reduction) in particular.  Programs based on MBSR and similar models have been widely adapted in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and other environments. 

When you practice mindful movement you train yourself to take that mindfulness into your daily life and daily movements.  And whether your are practicing mindfulness in 5 minute chunks at your office desk or a 50 minute Pilates or Yoga class it all adds up!!   So what are you waiting for?  We encourage you to start small and maybe just pick one exercise or movement to add in on a regular basis.  Once that becomes part of your daily routine try something else.  Maybe when you see what a difference those little chunks of mindful movement have made you’ll decide that you want to keep learning and keep adding it into your life.

Have questions or want to learn more about mindful movement at Rivercity Pilates?  We would love to talk to you and share our passion for mindful movement!  Give us a call (319.665.2499) or schedule a complimentary private session today!!