Meet the Instructor Monday: Kimberly

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Kimberly and her buddy Ivey!

Kimberly and her buddy Ivey!

It’s Monday, and we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Burke.   Kimberly is currently teaching Mat Small Group Sessions and Private Lessons.    Her calming voice and encouraging attitude during class gives everyone confidence.    Click the schedule button and sign up for one of Kimberly’s classes!

Where are you from?    I was born in Iowa City.   I’ve lived in Manhattan and in Glasgow, Scotland.   I’ve traveled to Egypt, Moldova and Turkey; still, I like it here.

How did you end up teaching Pilates in North Liberty?   When I first looked into taking Pilates I checked out a number of studios. With the exception of Rivercity, they were all yoga studios that just happened to teach a Pilates class too. The class sizes in these places were large, and when I asked about the teachers’ training, people got nervous. All of which made me nervous. THEN I found Rivercity, with its controlled class size, and uber-trained instructors, and gave it a try! Instant addiction!

The more I did, the better I felt, and the more I discovered about how my own body works. Eventually, I decided to take the Teacher Training for Mat — I wanted to deepen my understanding of the exercises. About two-thirds of the way through that, I decided I’d like to teach, and that I’d like to do the full line of courses, learning equipment additionally to mat. It can be difficult to accomplish everything, what with a full time job and a part time one going at the same time. But it is totally intriguing!

Favorite food to prepare?   I seldom have the opportunity to really cook anymore, but when I did I loved to bake bread. It was my weekend *thing* do to in winter. The smells, the textures — I found it soothing.

Hobbies?   Jack-of-all-Crafts, Master-of-None! I can do, or rather dabble in: crochet, tatting, knitting, beading, jewelry making, drawing, origami, cooking, reading, writing, and sewing.

Why did you choose to practice pilates?   I needed a workout. But I was raised to be paranoid about injury, and I am easily bored by physical routines. Prior to Pilates, the only exercise that had held my attention was martial arts. I had practiced Hatha Yoga for 3 years, and loved the feeling of it, but kept losing my focus, and couldn’t seem to advance. Pilates seemed very complimentary to yoga, but with a different dynamic. I can’t do Pilates on autopilot, and the attention to specific muscle areas and individualized adaption means that there is always something doable to focus on — always some area to see progress occur.

Is there something about you that would surprise the students that have attended your classes?  I once was pulled off a train in Moldova by a Russian-speaking soldier with a very big gun…

What is your favorite song / favorite group or favorite genre of music?   My musical tastes are a total hodge-podge! Chopin, Beatles, Journey, Beethoven, Near Eastern dance music, Beach Boys, Celtic, Musicals….bit of everything, so long as there is a melody line of some sort.

Social Media?  My twitter handle is @kimberlyriverc1.   I love following Mayo Clinic and other science sites to see how their research supports what we learn in Pilates!

Your Pilates instructor training starts the first day you start learning Pilates!

IMG_4202“How do you remember all of this?” is a question I often get from clients.  My simple answer is years of repetition.

Joseph Pilates created a system of exercises that have a specific order.  There is a specific sequence of exercises in the Mat and Reformer work.  These sequences truly provide the framework for the practitioner to learn the method and for instructors to teach from.  It’s part of the genius of the system. Having a sequence and an order is important for many reasons.

  1. It allows your body to learn quicker.  The best way to learn anything is to practice, practice, practice.  Not just once or twice, not just 10 times,but hundreds and hundreds and thousands of times.
  2. Every time you practice a movement you are able to master another piece of it.  There is A LOT that goes into every single exercise and even with daily practice it may take you years to work toward perfection!  Note that I said towards perfection ….I truly believe that your movement goals should not have an ending spot….we can always fine tune and move better wherever we are in our practice.
  3. By learning a movement and sequence so deeply that you can repeat it automatically you take your movement to a different level.  You can focus on smaller details and continue to progress in strengthening and balancing the body.

IMG_3026From day 1 of your learning process you are teaching your body a sequence of exercises.  It doesn’t matter if you only get to 2 exercises that day( maybe you do your hundreds and a version of a roll up).  Every time you practice it is all a process of learning a sequence of exercises so intimately that you eventually can do those exercise on your own without your instructor.  Once you’ve learned the exercises in your own body the next logical step is often diving into learning how to teach the movements to others.

Once you know the exercises in your body teaching others is merely the act of stepping into your students body and figuring out where they are, what type of movements they are ready for, and being their guide.  ( Ok well there’s a little more to it….like knowing safety issues, modifications,etc.)

Just like it took lots and lots of practice to learn the exercises in your body – learning to be a good teacher takes lots and lots of practice.  Every time you teach something you learn from your experience.  Every student is different and unique and you get to use your own personal experience in your own body and teaching others to guide your next student along their path.

For those wanting to take the next step in your Pilates journey, Rivercity Pilates offers a fully Comprehensive Classical Pilates Instructor training program that is broken into modules for ease of learning.  Want to learn more?  Click here to learn about our programs or schedule a complimentary consultation to talk to us in person.  We’d love to take you on the next step of your Pilates journey!!

 

Do I have time to become a Pilates instructor?

When prospective students start looking at our Pilates instructor training programs the amount of time the program takes is one of the first things they look at.  Most of our trainees are coming into our program with full time jobs and family commitments and it is important for them to feel comfortable with the time needed to complete the program.  This is one of the major reasons we have broken our comprehensive training program into modules that can be completed in your own time and schedule.  We are very passionate about teaching Pilates and want to share the method with as many people as possible.

The learning process that takes place in our programs is truly a combination of workshop time, individual practice, taking classes,private session time, practice teaching, and observation time.  If you are thinking about joining our programs we want you to be confident that you will be able to schedule time in your life for all of the programs components so you can get the most out the experience!

Here’s an example of the time commitment for our Mat Training Module:

P1020756Mat Levels I-III

  • 30 hours of workshops
  • 50 practice teaching hours
  • 40 observation hours
  • 25 lessons (10 privates/15 classes)
  • 5 miscellaneous hours
  • 2 written tests – Level I- III and anatomy
  • 1 teaching test – (Level II, private client)
  • 1 performance test – Level III

Total Apprentice Hours: 120
Total Workshop Hours: 30
Total Hours for Completion: 150

 

To complete the program in 6 months(the minimum time we would suggest)  you would need to log in about 5 hours a week doing a combination of personal sessions and workouts, observation hours and practice teaching.  You will also need to attend 6 workshops that are 6 hours total.  These workshops are usually held on a Sunday.

Of course not everyone completes the program in 6 months and we allow trainees to take up to a year to finish this particular module.

Interested in learning more about our Pilates instructor training programs?  Contact us today and set up a complimentary consultation with Carey to get all your questions answered!!

 

 

 

How did she come up with these exercises?

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Ever wonder how our instructors get ready for or class or how they decide what they are going to teach for each class you attend? Here’s a quick behind the scenes look at what goes into each class you take.

1. The instructor checks to see who is signed up for class and grabs each client chart ( yes -if you are a client at the studio you have a detailed personal chart that each instructor writes in after each session!!)  to read about:

  • what each client has been doing in previous sessions
  • any injuries or past injuries that effect the clients workout( for example: client has a past knee injury that makes kneeling uncomfortable)     IMG_8514
  • the settings the client is using on the equipment, this includes spring settings and basic equipment set up

2.  The instructor will set up the studio room and personalize a space for each client.  This means getting out any props such as balls, pads, magic circles or whatever they might want to teach with.  This also includes setting up equipment for each client.

3.  As class time gets near, instructors try to greet clients as they arrive and check in with them before class.  This is a time where instructors often check in to see how clients felt after their last session as well as checking in to see how everyone is feeling in their bodies on that particular day.  This may seem like small talk to you but our instructors use this information to tailor each class to the individuals in each class.

A great example of this would be something like this:  It’s the middle of winter and we just had a a few inches of snow fall the night before.   As the instructor is greeting incoming clients she noticed a trend that two or three clients mention how stiff they are feeling in their low backs probably due to shoveling the day before.  During class the instructor is able to add in some specific exercises and movements designed to lengthen and stretch the back.

IMG_00404.  Now the fun begins- it’s class time!  During each class the instructor is guiding a diverse group of people through a workout while constantly adjusting and cuing for each individual client(not always an easy task!) Safety is always a number one concern and you’ll notice our instructors using their words and actions to make each class safe and appropriate for everyone.  During class the instructor is constantly adjusting their teaching to find a perfect balance of challenging even the most seasoned Pilates veteran while making a beginner client feel welcome, comfortable and safe.

5. As class wraps up, instructors try to check in again with clients to see how they felt throughout class and get any feedback that might help them make their teaching more effective in the future.

6. After class, the instructor makes notes in each clients chart about the level of workout they did, any new exercises they learned, any modifications or specific adjustments they made to the client and a note about what they want to focus on next time they see that client.

Interested in learning more about our small group classes?  Sign up for a complimentary private session or class to get introduced to the studio and our instructors.  P.S.  We love it when clients take advantage of our complimentary private session first as it gives us a chance to better know you and your body AND tailor your class experience to you!!

Interested in teaching the Pilates method of exercise and how to become the most professional, caring inspired instructor ever?  Learn more about our Pilates Teacher Training Programs here.

 

 

 

Pilates Roll Over

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The classic Pilates Roll Over exercise is part of the original 34 exercise sequence created by Joseph Pilates in his book Return to Life.  This exercise embodies the Pilates principles of control, centering and flowing movement.

 

 

Starting to teach Pilates!!

Hello everyone!73759_1522883310332_2105133_n(1)

It has been a very busy couple of weeks and I’ve finally found some time to update you on everything that’s been going on!

It is finally Fall! And of course that means there is chocolate around every corner, the allergies are worse than ever, and it’s midterms! As you all know, I am in a graduate program to be a High School Social Studies teacher and am really enjoying my program so far. Of course the next two weeks include a paper, two exams, and two presentations, so maybe that will change as I start preparing for everything. =P

Even though it’s been busy, I have had the time to start with my practice teaching client! She is a good family friend of mine and has never done Pilates before.  I have been pleasantly surprised with how well it has been going so far. The first day I realized that even though I had taken Pilates mat classes a ton of times, I was completely and horribly unprepared to actually teach it.  Thankfully, being new to Pilates, my practice teaching client had no idea.

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I’ve also had the awesome opportunity to help Carey teach Pilates to the kids at Hillside Christian School (where her kids go).  This is pretty much the perfect combination of two things I love; working with kids and doing Pilates. Their seal noises rival those of actual seals, and I haven’t seen a group of people get that excited about plank contests in… ever.

 

Since the beginning of the program, we have had two sets of workshops. A workshop entails 16 hours of pulling apart and analyzing each of the movements so we can teach and do them safely and effectively. We just finished the second one at the beginning of this month and learned a ton. The focus was Mat, Reformer, and Cadillac/Tower through Level 3, but we also spent a lot of time on Anatomy. Although this definitely was a struggle to stay focused during, the plus side is that when it comes time to study for the test, I can color in my Anatomy book! Brand new box of crayons are already bought!

 

 

I have a long ways to go, but the totals so far are:

 Observations = 4/200 hours

Practice teaching = 9/250 hours

Lessons = 8.5/100 hours

Workshops = 31/124 hours

Misc. = 1/44 hours

 To do list for the next month:

  1. Keep plugging away at teaching (maybe even try some stuff on the reformer!)

  2. Get better at making time for my own Pilates practice!

  3. Survive midterms!

Stay tuned for more updates next month! – Abby