Tag Archive for: Pilates Coralville iowa

The world did not blow up, and I did not feel like a failure!

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I’ve been practicing Pilates for a little over 3 years.   When I started, I took a combination of privates and small group classes, but since I retired, I take mostly private sessions – and a few semi-privates.    When Carey encouraged me to come to a Pilates class offered by a visiting instructor, I was terrified.  My comfort zone is now in private sessions with a teacher I know very well!

You have to understand, for the last 15 years of my work life (before retirement) I traveled between 20-30 weeks per year.    I watched a lot of reality tv in hotel rooms.    I have anxiety when I think of personal trainers and fitness instructors from watching the Biggest Loser on TV. I’m pretty sure I’d have a heart attack, or a total body collapse if I was in a gym with a trainer yelling at me to run on the treadmill!   So in my head, I pick the safest route, and generally that does not include taking a fitness class with a new instructor.   I did join a gym locally 4 years ago.   I went for maybe 2-3 months to a couple of classes a week – but the classes involved lifting weights without much personal attention (or detailed instruction) – so I was terrified that I would hurt myself and I quit going.

The class I was invited to was called Restorative Pilates.   Ok — that’s a pretty non threatening title, so I’m not sure why it frightened me.   I had no idea what to expect.    I knew I had met the instructor before, and I was pretty sure that he was not the yelling and screaming type!

On that Saturday morning, I decided to put on my Pilates pants and go to class.   The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t the only one that was nervous.     There were other students in the class going up to Carey and asking her to tell the visiting instructor that they had this or that going on – so they would be modifying some exercises.     Another student was really nervous that she wouldn’t be able to do some of the exercises.     Uh Oh.   It was time to start class.

What was class like?   It was terrific.    The guest instructor (Len) started teaching.   We started with the most basic of Pilates fundamentals – breathing.   Len’s cueing was amazing and after practicing breathing for a few minutes – we started at our toes – and flexed and stretched most every muscle in our bodies.   When he asked us to do hundreds – he gave so many modifications that everyone could feel good about doing their best hundreds – and after class, I felt great!     I went, I completed the class, the world did not blow up and I felt really good about class!    Here’s a tiny sample!

The moral of the story? Don’t be afraid of taking a class from a different instructor!  I learned things from that class that I use every day to make my body feel better!   Len’s ability to paint a picture that compared Pilates movements to everyday tasks gave me new ways to visualize the exercises that I was doing and I had a great time!     Of course, I took some pictures and a few videos so I would have them for this blog, and it seemed like after the class — everyone was feeling the same way!

Quit looking at your neighbor in Pilates class!!

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cheatingMost of us are naturally visual learners when it comes to movement.  In many ways this can be very helpful.  When our body is trying to figure out how to do a new skill or movement it needs all the input it can get to try to figure out what it is trying to accomplish and how to do it.  Visually seeing something is one of the many ways that your brain processes what it is trying to do.  The problem with visually watching something and trying to repeat it is that when we don’t do the movement exactly like what we  saw we get frustrated and sometimes overwhelmed!  We start to feel like we are failing or not getting something out of the movement because it does not look a certain way.

As Pilates teachers we know that the goal of an exercise is not to “look a certain way”.  The goal of an exercise involves gaining strength and flexibility in a balanced way as you do a skill like articulating through your spine or moving your leg in space while supported from your core muscles.  Accomplishing the goals of an exercise can look very different in different bodies.  This is why as teachers we often try to use our words to describe an exercise instead of just demonstrating an exercise.  We also try to give options in a multi level class on how you can do the movement best in your body.

At our studio we have a variety of clients, with a variety of different body shapes, sizes and different injuries or ailments.  You can often peek at a Pilates class and see many different bodies doing what looks like very different things even though they are all doing the same exercise. If you are new to the Pilates method of exercise and just starting to take classes this can be super confusing.  Because we are not accustom to taking verbal cues to learn new movements, the first thing new clients often do in class when learning something new is look at their neighbor and try to repeat what they are doing. But what happens when your neighbors in class are doing what looks like two completely different things?  Your brain and your body get overloaded with confusion!!!

So my best advice for new clients is to try to avoid just watching other clients to learn exercises.  Do your best to listen to the explanations of the movements and the goals of the exercise that your teacher is saying.  If this is hard for you…you are not alone!  Know that this way of learning often takes some practice- so don’t be too hard on yourself! Try not to worry what the movement looks like but instead focus on how it feels.  If you have specific questions about how you could get the most out of an exercise in your body definitely ask your teacher.  If you are not comfortable doing this in class or before or after class, maybe try a one on one session where your teacher can give you individual attention on each exercise.

Are you nervous about falling?

falls2Are you nervous about falling? Besides the dangers of injury when you fall, maybe even a bigger concern is your loss of mobility and even independence in your body that makes you more susceptible to falls.

There is a lot of talk about the dangers of falling as we age and how important it is to work on things like balance, strength and flexibility to prevent falls…but what does this really mean? When we see an elderly person who is not moving very well it is easy to spot how falling would be a hazard…but how do we prevent ourselves from getting to that “not moving very well” place in life.

falls

In simple terms,” Move it or lose it!”

When our bodies quit doing movements they get stiff, our muscles get weaker and our brain/body connections that help us react to balancing our bodies in space…get slower. One of the best things we can do to practice staying mobile and active is to practice in a controlled, safe environment movements that challenge our strength, balance and flexibility so that we are better prepared to react and adjust to whatever movements and obstacles day to day life throws at us.

One of the things I love about the Pilates Method of exercise is how is teaches bodies of any age to move better. It teaches people to move with control and precision while practicing movements that strengthen their core muscles, keeps their spine flexible and healthy, strengthens the whole body while maintaining and improving range of movement, and makes your brain and body work together.

I would call any of our Pilates classes, fall prevention classes but our new Live Strong Pilates class is geared toward an age range (65 years young and older) where fall prevention becomes more and more important. We’ll be incorporating the Pilates Method into a total body workout designed to help you move better and stay away from the “not moving very well” place in your body. Classes are limited to 6 participants to ensure a safe, small group atmosphere.

Do you know your T-Score?

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trent1Sharing this blog today written by Trent McEntire of McEntire Pilates.  Trent has been sharing his discoveries and method with those seeking to overcome their own movement limitations for 20 years.  As someone that became a professional dancer after rehabilitating his own severe movement restrictions established at birth due to Cerebral Palsy, Trent McEntire understands how the quality of life is affected by how well you can (or can’t) move your body. 

The 44 million people with either osteoporosis or low bone mass represent 55 percent of the people aged 50 and older in the United States, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Pilates exercises can help to reverse the effects, but how do you really know it’s working?

The best way to measure risk of Osteoporosis is through a bone density test. A bone density test uses X-rays to measure how many grams of calcium and other bone minerals are packed into a segment of bone. Areas of the bone typically tested are in the spine, hip and forearm.

How to Read a T-score?

tscoreResults of a bone density test provide a T-score, which indicates how your Bone Mass Density (BMD) compares to that of a healthy 20- 35 year-old. By age 30, a person’s bone density is at its peak and should ideally be maintained at this level throughout their life. As BMD decreases from this peak density, the risk of fracture increases.

The T-score is in units of standard deviations (SD) and determines whether your bones are more dense (+) or less dense (-) than those of a 20-35 year-old adult. A score of -2.0 can indicate that the person has Osteopenia, a precursor to Osteoporosis. At a level of -2.5, the diagnosis based on the T-score is Osteoporosis.

When I work with my clients, I encourage them to know their T-score, so that I can use the results as part of my assessment. The T-score also serves as a measurement tool to identify how a person is improving throughout the program. When a client that I have been working with brings in a doctor report that states their bone density is increasing, it’s an amazing experience!

If you’d like more information about Bone Density testing, click here.   If you know your T-score, or if you have a bone density test scheduled in the near future – please bring in your scores so we can add them to your file!   

Adults need recess too!!

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playRecess in school is something that most of us would not question.  We know that kids need to move and wear off some energy in able to sit still and get their learning time in.  Can you imagine trying to make a 7 year old sit at a desk for 3 hours or 4 hours at a time without being able to get up?  Do you think they would learn very much or get very much study time in?

Why does this theory of needing movement time and even fresh air and outside time change as we get older and enter adulthood?  Who made the rule that you should be able to sit for long periods of time and get all kinds of work done when you reach a certain age?

There are some adults who have careers and jobs with built in movement time and that is amazing.  I’m guessing many of these people don’t even realize how helpful it is as far as their body’s health to be able to naturally move throughout their day and not have to sit in one spot. They probably don’t realize how movement and even outdoor time can help them be more productive, happy and healthy.

deskIf you are one of those people who has a career that involves sitting anywhere for long periods of time I’m guessing you know how hard it can be on your body. You probably have felt the achy back, sore neck and shoulders and just sluggishness we feel when we don’t move on a regular basis.  So what do you do about it?  How about some planned recess time?  Recess time as an adult could be just about anything like:

  • Walking down the hall to get a drink of water
  • 2 or 3 minutes of stretching or movement at your desk
  • Desk Push Ups
  • a walk outside on your break or lunch time

Need some more ideas on how to add movement time into your life?  Check out our Office Pilates Series designed to give you ideas on how you can incorporate more movement into your daily life even if you are sitting at a desk!!

Pilates is not only an exercise method, it’s a language!

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Book-15There are days when I’m teaching a new client, I say something and they just look at me as if I were speaking a different language.  And then I realize…I am speaking a different language.  As a Pilates instructor, the language and phrases I use to describe movement and to get people to do and feel what I want in their body, are not typical phrases you hear in day to day conversation.  If you are new to the Pilates language I thought I would create a list of some of the most common types of phrases I use  and explain them in normal English!

pilatescuesArticulate
Pilates is very spine focused and we often are trying to “articulate through our spine”.  What does this mean?  Instead of just landing on the mat in one big chunk, you are going to slowly roll down bending through your spine and between each vertabrae in your spine.

Belly to Spine
This cue is often used to remind a student to engage their transverse abdominus.  A common cue in Pilates is to imagine pulling your belly button toward your spine to find the engagement of our deepest layer of abdominal muscles.

Melt through your spine
This is another imagery cue.  When you are rolling down I often use this cue to encourage clients to slowly and with control articulate their back to the mat (instead of just quickly crashing down).

Tuck your tail
Maybe you didn’t know you had a tail?  I often talk about tucking your tail or sticking your tail out behind you in attempts to get clients to move their pelvis into either a posterior or anterior tilt.  Of course you have to pretend like you have a tail to make this one effective!

Big expansive inhale
 This one is pretty descriptive and is kind of what is sounds like. I’m usually asking you to slowly inhale so much that you can feel your rib cage expands in all directions.

Create length in your low back
I often make statements like create length in your back, or your leg, or even your neck.  The Pilates method focuses on learning to use your muscles to decompress your spine and even your limbs so that can move with more ease and efficiency. These cues are used to encourage you to think about what you are trying to create in your body and figure out what muscles you need to engage to do it.

Are there other terms that you have heard in Pilates that you think are part of the Pilates language?