Tag Archive for: Pilates Coralville iowa

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Getting Down and Back up

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Can you sit on the floor and stand back up without touching your hand or knee on the floor?  Last week when I took Benjamin Degenhardt’s Upright Pilates workshop he started by talking about this ability. There has been some interesting studies done on life expectancy in older adults being directly correlated to this ability.  The first thing that popped into my head when this discussion started was….Can I do it?    When I got to try it during workshop time I was a little embarrassed at how hard it was for me (I am a Pilates teacher after all….). ..and I have to tell you I had to use a hand on the floor.  This bothered me and I made a pact with myself to practice and master this!

Have I mastered it yet? Nope. Have I been practicing…you bet.  Almost every time I practice Pilates I take a little time to try out my ability to get down and stand back up. Somewhere in that practice I learned a lot about my teaching and about what I can do to help others move better in their life. Here’s a quick video of my 8 year old daughter and I practicing!

I had been practicing the crossed leg sit and stand which is often shown as the example of getting down and back up. I found myself getting creative and exploring what was so hard about the movement and what I needed to do to be successful at it.   I discovered if I added a little rolling like a ball in once I sat down I could use my momentum to help get me back up.  I learned that the position of my feet and ankles made a big difference in my success of standing back up.  And then at some point as I practiced I had an aha moment.  It went a little something like this in my head:

Most of my clients are probably not going to be able to do this. Is there any benefit to training them to get up and down exactly like this? Does it really matter if one hand or a knee touches the floor?  Probably not.   Is there benefit in helping them strengthen and balance their bodies in a way that allows them to safely get down and up from the floor? Yes of course!! Do we do this type of work in our sessions?…ALL THE TIME!!   What can I do as a teacher that would benefit my clients the most when it comes to getting up and down?

My conclusion:  Talk about the benefits of Pilates more! The Pilates exercises are so well designed to help us live life and do little things like get up and get down to the floor. Sometimes I need to be reminded as a teacher that my job is not just to teach the correct way to do an exercise or movement but to motivate, inspire and educate clients on why this work will help them live life better. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more motivated to do the detailed work of an exercise when I know why I’m doing it and what it will help me do in the rest of my life.

As a quick example, we often have specific foot and ankle positions that we use in Pilates exercises.  Sometimes I feel like these adjustments seem small or insignificant in the big picture of the exercise to clients.  I have found though that when I talk about how important it is to have flexible, strong feet when you want to get up off the floor or at that moment you need to catch your balance….clients seem to connect to that more, something clicks and they make the effort to work on that detail of the exercise.

Don’t be surprised if you hear me teaching a little bit more about not just how to do an exercise but why we do it! I would love to know from you: is this type of teaching helpful for you as a student? Are there any particular exercises or pieces of the Pilates exercises that standout for you because of what they help you do in your day to day life?

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: What I learned from noisy seals!

img_0193Let me tell you about some of my favorite students. They are loud, giggly and sometimes don’t listen to anything I say.  They often interrupt me when I’m teaching to ask questions like, “Can we do mermaid today, can I pick what we are pretending to sit against during Spine Stretch, or Mom did you check on the dog today (from my son of course!)” When I first started teaching them movement this really drove me a little (ok a LOT) crazy as a teacher.  I often felt like a failure if all of them weren’t breathing properly, paying attention perfectly and doing exactly what I wanted them to do.

My favorite students also love to make up their own exercises, show me what new thing they did in dance or karate practice, and I often get hugs from them when they thank me for class afterwards.  When they want to, these students can lay on a mat and practically perfectly execute the Pilates exercises that Joe created with amazing coordinating breath! During the school year I have been teaching the students of Hillside Christian School a Pilates class once a week for 6 years now. It’s always a highlight of my week.  Every week I learn things that make me a better teacher and make be a better practitioner of the Pilates work.

When I started teaching at Hillside I  learned pretty quickly that teaching Pilates and movement to kids is completely different from teaching adults.  I am constantly bringing the lessons I learn from them into my own practice and into my teaching.  After my weekly session with the kids this week I was reflecting on the many, many things that the kids have taught me and made a quick list:

  1.  Having fun and moving is more important than perfect movement! Do you ever watch kids play and move? They don’t overthink things, they move with ease and most importantly enjoy what they are doing!  They trust their bodies! I’m all for safe movement, but sometimes Pilates instructors overcorrect!  Most adults just need to move more!
  2. It’s OK to demonstrate exercises or start to do them with a student!  It has been ingrained in my head that my job is not to be getting a workout in while I am teaching…but I have to tell you I get a great workout in on the days I teach the kids! Why?  Because they are visual learners and I’ve found the best way to get them moving is to get down on my mat and do the exercises with them while I teach.  It took me a long time to be OK with this but let me tell you it has helped them learn 110% quicker than me trying to teach them simply with my words!
  3. Go with the flow.  As a teacher I have learned to tailor each session to the energy of the class. If it’s the week before Christmas and nobody can sit still because they are way to antsy…I have to get a little more creative to keep the class under control.  I have to mix it up with random bouts of running in place, jumping jacks and silly variations of exercises.  Yes…you guessed it…I’m not afraid to use this creative teaching tactic on adults either (you never know what I might throw into your regular mat routine on any given night!)
  4. Sometimes all you need is a little motivation to try your best.  You wouldn’t believe how a simple little”surprise” prize for the best behaved student encourages everyone to show up and do their best.  (Yes I use this for adults at the studio all the time…. get a free Tshirt for getting your classes in, play studio Bingo and earn a free pair of Toesox!)
  5. One of my favorite lessons…Animal noises while you are doing an exercise make it much more fun. I’ve tested this with adults too…it’s true!  Some of the best form I’ve seen of the Seal is in a room overflowing with the noise of barking seals.  And the swan exercise is much more fun if you pretend you are a snake hissing and slowing slithering up to look at your prey!

Hope you enjoy this little clip from 2015 when some of the kids came to the studio for our annual Pilates Day celebration!!

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Meet me at the Bar, I mean Barre!

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img_6583This week I got a call from one of my instructors that something came up and she needed someone to sub her Barre & Pilates class in the evening and couldn’t find anyone else to do it. I said I could cover it for her.  Normally subbing a Pilates class is no big deal and I’m pretty comfortable just jumping in and teaching whatever class it is. I have to tell you barre work is a little different though.  If you know me at all you know that I am not a dancer, my hips are tight,my turnout is horrible and coordinating movement to music takes me hours of practice!  I like the barre work as it’s really good for me but it’s not necessarily my thing when it comes to teaching.

It turn out one of my favorite workouts this week ended up being prepping for Barre & Mat class.  I threw some music on and played, and once I got over my “I’m not good at teaching barre attitude” it was pretty fun. I practiced some barre work so I would be familiar enough to teach it and got a great workout in along the way.

My students in class that night were wonderful (they were great sports about trying my barre variations!) and we had fun playing with the barre work and of course doing some of our Pilates Mat work.  It was a great reminder to me of how good it can be to get outside of your comfort zone and do something you don’t normally do.  I may have to Meet You at the Barre more often!

 

 

What is a Pilates Figure?

Like any fitness method or routine Pilates enthusiasts love to tote the “eye appealing” benefits of a Pilates practice such as longer, leaner muscles and abs of steel to try to entice others to try out the practice.  Commonly heard are things like,”You’ll change your shape, or your clothes will fit better no matter what the scale says”. But what does a Pilates figure look like in real life?

To me a Pilates figure looks happy, healthy, strong, full of life, full of energy and moves with ease.  I can tell you from a Pilates teacher standpoint that a Pilates body has nothing to do with your age, your weight or your God given natural body size or shape.

Pilates figures are good movers.  They have figured out how to use the amazing bodies that they have in an efficient, controlled way and it shows in all of their movements.  You don’t need to be able to do a crazy split or hang upside down to have a Pilates figure!  Someone with a Pilates figure has become proficient at listening to their body, adjusting movements to maintain balance, coordinating their breath with movement, engaging their core and they know how to move through their spine.

Every month at Rivercity Pilates we highlight a client and their Pilates story.  Every month I am inspired to hear about how someone has used the Pilates Method to improve their health and their life.  If you want to know what a Pilates figure is take some time to read through some of our Inspiration of the Month Blogs.  I think you’ll find a whole new appreciation of a Pilates Figure!!

If you listen to your body when it whispers…..

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There is a quote that says,” If you listen to your body when it whispers….you won’t have to hear it scream.” As a Pilates teacher this is a lesson that I often find myself trying to teach clients.  Often times I think people think I’m a little crazy at first when I suggest that maybe they try the “easier version” of an exercise so that they can do it properly and not injure themselves.  For some reason we have this belief that just because we have done something at a harder level we are failing if we don’t do that all the time.

First of all let me say, “There is no failing in Pilates! If you have showed up, are doing the work and are paying attention to your body as you are moving- you are succeeding!”.  Second, one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself in your Pilates practice is learning how to pay attention to your body and adjust your movements to what your body needs and can handle on any given day.  As a teacher I can tell you it is always one of my goals to teach clients how to listen to their own body as this is such an amazing health tool in your life!

So the next time your Pilates teacher suggests you try a different or maybe easier version of an exercise, don’t let yourself go down that negative road of saying to yourself, “I am not strong enough, I’ve gone backwards, I can’t believe I can’t do that…..

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More than likely your instructor (who spends a lot of time helping people find the best movement for each body) is trying to give you a version that is best for your body that day and one that will help you continue to create balanced strength and flexibility in your body.  Be nice to yourself, listen to your body (and probably your instructor too!) and see what happens!

Pilates Travel Tips and our best travel workouts!

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hotel PilatesWhether you travel on a regular basis or are just taking a summer vacation, you can take your Pilates with you easily!  There are so many exercises you can do just about anywhere with just your body or a small prop that you can keep up your core strengthening, body lengthening, strengthening and balancing Pilates workouts just about anywhere.  Here’s some simple tips to remember when traveling and some links to our favorite exercises for the road!

1. Pack a few small,lightweight props like a Theraband, a small 4 inch ball, or a magic circle so you have plenty of exercise options!

2. Remind yourself that doing something is always better than nothing!  You are probably not going to do a full hour Pilates session in your hotel room and that’s OK!  Just doing a small sequence of exercises or even some of your favorite stretches will keep your body feeling happy and healthy!

stretch3. Get creative!! Workouts don’t just have to happen on a mat in your room or at the fitness center. Go for a walk and enjoy some new scenery and add some off your favorite exercises in along the way!  Use a park bench to do some tricep dips or take a towel and lay in the grass and do some of your favorite Pilates exercises!   Try some Pilates in the pool!

4. Mix in mindful movement throughout your day.  Vacations and trips are often disruptive of our regular schedule and that’s to be expected.  Try to add little bits of movement in throughout your day and pay attention to how your body feels.  Stretch when you need to stretch, walk when you’ve been sitting too long and pay attention to your posture!

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite travel mini workouts and exercises:

My Favorite Things Pilates Mat Workout (no props)

Resistance Band Pilates Mat Workout

Intermediate Pilates Mat Workout

Wedding Arm Magic Circle Workout

All Levels Mat Workout

Magic Circle Workout for Home

Side Leg Kick Workout

If you have a favorite travel workout, let us know!    We’d love to add it to our list.