March Matness 2016: Swimming

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Swimming is one of the Pilates exercises I have a love/hate relationship for..maybe you can relate?  Because it is a challenge for me to lift my body off the mat into an extension from this prone position this exercise is really difficult for me and I feel like I’m not doing it very well because I don’t have a big range of motion with my arms and legs.  This is why I don’t like it…it’s hard for me!  At the same time I know that it is exactly what my body needs and so I am trying to love the challenge of doing it well and not be so critical of myself as I do it! I’m focusing on strengthening my muscles uniformly while practicing at a working level for my body.

If you, like me and much of the rest of the world live in a world of flexion( slouching at the computer, forward head staring at a screen) you can easily see how strengthening the muscles that help reverse all that slouching and poor posture would help:

  • maintain better posture and alignment in your body
  • and hopefully help you avoid problems like an achy sore low back and tight overworked muscles in your shoulders and neck

The Pilates Swimming exercise will help you do just these things!! These are the things I try to remind myself of every time I do this exercise(and every time I think about skipping it in my workout!!)

In today’s video I’m showing you my favorite version of swimming that I try to do on a regular basis.  I’m using a small padded barrel under my hips because it allows me to lift away from the mat and get just a little more range of movement in my arms and legs.  I like to start with just lifting into the swimming position and lowering from it.  Then I lift into position and hold as I swim- alternating legs and arms lifting.

Practice What You teach: March Matness and Rolling Like a Ball (what could be better?)

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It’s March and besides getting excited about spring time weather and more sunshine I love getting to celebrate an entire month of Pilates Mat work with fellow Pilates geeks all over the world!  I made a commitment to participate daily in March MATness and even though it makes life a little hectic, it also reminds me of how much I love the Pilates Mat work and the method itself.  My commitment to post videos and blogs about the Pilates Mat work all month long really forces me to schedule play time into each day( rough huh?).  I love the playful, creative side of the Pilates work and nothing could be better than “having to” spend time each day playing with movements and trying to decide how I want to share them with others!

Needless to say my “workouts” this week have been very playful and I’ve been getting a lot of mat work in! Today’s March MATness exercise is probably my favorite Pilates exercise ever!  I have a lot of favorites but Rolling Like a Ball(also known as Rolling Back) tops my list as I love how it feels, I love how playful it can be and I love how super challenging it can be no matter how many times you do it!!  I of course include Rolling Like a Ball in my formal Pilates workouts but it’s also my favorite “sitting” position if I’m watching a movie, running a staff meeting or just playing with the kids on the floor!

 

Practice What you Teach: Getting to be the student

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My Pilates practice started off great this week with a private lesson with Cassie at Northwoods Pilates and Wellness in Ankeny.  Cassie is a PMA certified instructor who trained with me and now has her own studio in the Ankeny, Iowa.   Cassie is an amazing teacher and nothing could be better than getting to sneak in an entire session just devoted to my movement practice. I’ve taken many of lessons with Cassie over the years but it’s probably been almost a year since I’ve taken a private with her since she’s relocated so it was especially a treat!

As a teacher of teachers I always find it fun to take lessons from my students.   It’s fun to hear your own influence in their teaching but also to see how they have created their own style of teaching.

There were some moments during our session where I often just laughed inside because I found myself doing things I see my clients doing all the time or I found Cassie saying things that I would often say, or I was just reflecting on what it might be like to teach me! Here’s just a few that might make you laugh too.

  1. During the Hundreds I couldn’t help thinking,” Are we done yet? Isn’t that a hundred? I obviously am not doing this many during my daily Pilates practice!!”
  2. Sometimes I need help concentrating!  More than once I found myself not following Cassie’s directions!!  I would be one or two reps into an exercise and realize I was not doing what she was asking me to!  She was very sweet and would just gently remind me until I realized and got it.
  3. Tensing my shoulders!(yes teachers do it too!)  When Cassie was teaching me something new or I was paying attention to other details of an exercise she would have to remind me (often by a simple touch of the hand) or verbal cue to soften my shoulders or connect them!
  4. Since Cassie is 32 weeks pregnant she often said things like,” you get to do this exercise that my body is sooo craving to do!”.  I can totally relate to that place in pregnancy where you are missing being able to move like you are used to!!
  5. At least a couple of times I heard Cassie say, ” Let’s try this “fun” version of an exercise!”. {my favorite phrase when it comes to movement! I’m not sure where she get’s that from!}
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Finn stretching his spine!!

As always my session left me feeling refreshed and energized and wondering why I don’t make a commitment to get over to see her and take more lessons!! I also got to hang out with Cassie’s son Finn and watch him play in the Pilates studio!  I absolutely love to watch as kids naturally move and play and do things that us adults are trying to recreate in our movement practice!  The picture of Finn just laying down and stretching his spine over the Spine Corrector barrel is a great example! (and he totally did that without prompting from anyone!)

 

 

 

Practice What You Teach: Pilates in the Chaos!!

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My favorite Pilates workout this week happened in complete chaos!  In our basement living room area my husband was running on the treadmill, my daughter was playing with her American Girl doll horses and my boys were kind of sitting on the couch and their favorite gaming chair.  And by kind of sitting I mean when Big Bang was on they paused where they were and watched and then when a commercial came on they grabbed their Nerf guns and tried to pelt each other.  And the dog was running around “herding” the kids (she’s a Collie), carrying around one of my foam rollers in her mouth, and licking me whenever she could!IMG_6175

I don’t watch a ton of television but I do have a few shows I like to watch and Big Bang is one we often watch as a family so I try not to miss it! Since I hadn’t snuck in any dedicated movement time for myself that day I decided I would multi task and get some mat work in while I watched!  I know what you are thinking……”How can you possibly get any good mindbody exercise in among all that chaos?”

While it’s true that my Pilates mat workout was not taking place in a serene environment where I could wholly focus on me, my body and my breath…. I found that having a little bit(OK a lot) of chaos almost made me fine tune my concentration and focus skills even more than usual and I got a great workout!  As a bonus my kiddos often tried exercises with me or made up their own version of an exercise and I got lots of dog kisses!

Workouts in the chaos make me really appreciate my Pilates practice!  I love that I can essentially be anywhere and be able to do a safe, super effective workout that keeps me healthy and strong.  I love that I can fit my workouts into my life whenever and wherever I need!

Practice what you teach: I need to take more classes!!

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I got to start off my week taking a Pilates Mat class this week and it reminded me of all the reasons I should take more classes with other instructors even though I practice Pilates on my own on a regular basis!!

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Side Leg Kicks….my favorite!

1. 50 minutes of me time!  It’s pretty rare that I take a full 50 minutes to do my Pilates workouts!  Often I flow through a workout in 20 or 30 minutes tops and sometimes I do smaller 10 or 15 minutes workouts when I can fit them in.  There is something very therapeutic about knowing for the next 50 minutes the only thing I get to do is pay attention to my body, breathe and move the best I can!

2. New cues and fine tuning.  Listening to someone else explain an exercise or give alignment cues helps me fine tune more and work deeper.  It makes me think differently about how I’m doing each exercise and I really get more out of each exercise.

3. Energy of the class.  I love being in a room full of people who are doing mindful movement.  It’s kind of hard to describe, but it definitely motivates me, keeps me focused and is just fun!!

4. Client perspective.   From a teaching standpoint being a client and taking a class reminds me what it’s like to be the student!!

5.  I do more than if it were just me working out!  Like most people I’ll admit that when I’m working out by myself I’m less likely to push myself or I occasionally skip things I don’t love!  (Which as I tell all my clients…the things we don’t love are often the things we need most!!) Case in point….side leg kicks.   The side leg kick series is sooo good for my body but they are also really challenging for me to do well!  So….. I often don’t do as many of them or I skip them.   In a class though, the energy of the class and my competetive nature kicks in and I do way more than I would on my own!!!

That all being said I’m going to try to take more classes this year!  Maybe I’ll see you in class this week!

 

Practice what you teach: A walk in the snow

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One of the highlights of my Pilates practice this week was a beautiful walk in freshly fallen snow.  Yes I consider a walk in the snow part of my Pilates practice!

Many years ago,  I would joke about the old pictures Joe standing in the snow in nothing but his white briefs but the older I get and the more my Pilates practice matures I really get it!  When I read Return to Life and read Joe words about the importance of plenty of sunshine and fresh air,  I realize that Joe’s method isn’t just about the exercises he teaches, it’s about a way of living and moving that keeps you healthy and strong inside and out.

Footprints in the snow on the sidewalk.

Footprints in the snow on the sidewalk.

 

I’ve come to the realization that I need to move outside (running or walking on the treadmill doesn’t quite do it for me), and my body is so much happier when I do it on a regular basis!  No worries though – I dress for the weather and my walks in the snow involve my long down coat!!  For me it’s more than just the movement..it’s the fresh air, the time to myself, the time to just soak in my surroundings and be in the present moment (like watching the snow fall on my walk this week!)

 

 

I’ve been keepingjoseph-pilates-82-anos a journal to track my Pilates practice and I’ve realized that I do a lot of Pilates Mat work, which probably shouldn’t surprise me. The Pilates Mat work is so easy to do anywhere, anytime so it is often easiest to incorporate into my days.  Noticing this trend I have been making a point this week to get more Reformer workouts in and just play time on the equipment in when I have a chance. I’ve re-realized what a great tool the equipment can be in my movement practice. There is something about the springs and the feedback system created by the equipment that always helps me to create more balance, fine tune more and really work deeper.  My focus has really been how can I use the equipment to get more out of the exercise……more length, more decompression, more balance.

Hope to see you at the studio this week so I can help you explore your Pilates and movement practice!!