Tag Archive for: Pilates Iowa City

Pilates is Chronic Disease Friendly Exercise

I’m guessing if you’re reading this post either you or someone you know has a chronic disease.  If this is the case then you probably are aware of all of the wonderful benefits that exercise can have in dealing with your disease.  You’ve heard about how exercise can enhance your mood, make your body feel better and help you deal with the day to day stress of dealing with whatever craziness is going on in your body.   But you may not believe any of this.

You may think that just getting out of bed in the mornings is sometimes the most exercise you can handle.  You may be terrified of walking into a group setting where you are not sure of what you were doing or if you are even capable of doing what is asked.  What if I told you there was a type of exercise available that would make you feel better, that could be tailored specifically to how your body was feeling on any given day and could be practiced in a one on one setting, in a small group setting or even on your own at home?

The Pilates method of exercise is truly adaptable to any body and can be an amazing health tool in your life.  The best way to get started is to set up a time to talk and work with a Pilates teacher one on one.  Many  Pilates teachers offer a complimentary first session so that they can introduce you to the method and have a chance to show you how it can be adapted to whatever is going on in your body.

 

 

 

Could an exercise studio really become one of your favorite places?

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As a Pilates teacher and movement nut I can tell you I love to talk about mindful movement and the benefits of Pilates in your life.  But I can tell you as a studio owner the reason so many clients tell me they love our studio has nothing to do with the quality of our teaching (and our teachers are fabulous!… I have some of the best trained, most amazing movement teachers around on staff.) The number one compliment I get from clients is about the amazing community that exists within our studio walls.  That’s right…the community, the tribe of people who consider Rivercity Pilates one of their home away from home places.

You see, very few people actually enjoy exercising (surprise right?).  But most of us know how important regular movement and exercise is to living a long, happy life and so we try to incorporate it into our life.  So even though I know our clients appreciate our highly trained, knowledgeable instructors, I truly think the the reason they keep coming back and the reason they are so successful at consistently adding movement into their life is because of their RCP tribe.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe gives them support, connects them to others, and makes them laugh every time they are here.  Their Rivercity Pilates tribe makes exercising fun!! 

We all need a tribe or two in our life.  We need people outside of our immediate family and friends who share similar interests, are going through similar things and who are just fun to hang out with.  And what could be better than a tribe who is just like you…just trying to live your best life by balancing out healthy habits like exercise while  juggling families, juggling careers and just trying to enjoy life.  

Personally, our tribe, our community at Rivercity Pilates is probably the thing I’m most proud of when it comes to my business.  I absolutely love to come to work and get to check in with clients and see how their week is going, I love that I get a chance to really know clients which in turn helps me to better help them reach their health and fitness goals.  I love how friendly everyone is to each other and how supportive everyone is.  I love that clients chat and laugh with each other throughout class.  I love to see class participants catching up with each other before and after class.  

Are you looking for a tribe? Are you one of those people that knows they need to exercise and move more but sometimes just can’t motivate yourself to do it? We would love to introduce you to the Rivercity Pilates tribe!!  Get started by scheduling a one on one session with one of our amazing teachers or start with a complimentary group class.  We would love to meet you!!

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.

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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.

Strength without strain..why you need to try the Pilates reformer!!

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Have you seen the Pilates reformer machine and said,” I wonder what is so great about that piece of fitness equipment that everybody raves about it?”

My simple answer: strength without strain!  The Pilates reformer is designed to help you move better without strain.  So many fitness fads involve pushing yourself to the extreme, seeing how quick you can be, how fast can you go, how much weight can you lift, often times before your body has progressed properly to that level.  The Pilates reformer will strengthen and balance your body more efficiently than any of these fads and you’ll do it without strain, without being miserable!!  It works for elite athletes and it works for couch potatoes who just want to feel a little less achy in their body.  It’s kind of amazing!    The reformer was designed to work with your body so that you can do movements that build strength in a very balanced way.  This means not only do you strengthen your muscles uniformly, you stretch muscles that need lengthened and you create balance in your body.

One of the first exercises we teach on the reformer is called footwork.  I often describe the movement to newbies as a fancy version of a leg press.  And by fancy I mean well designed to help you become aware of your alignment and whole body movement from your feet to the crown of your head.  Every “leg press variation” you do doesn’t just strengthen your legs in ideal alignment, it strengthens your core muscles, teaches your muscles how to activate to decompress and lengthen your spine and gives you a whole body movement experience.

Another of my favorite examples of strength without strain on the reformer is the exercise called long spine.  Most people could not possibly do this particular movement on their own without throwing their body up and possibly straining something in the process.  But when we put someones feet into the feet straps attached to the reformer, most clients are able to use the support from the equipment to figure out how to roll up through their back and back down again with control and precision and use the muscles they are supposed to use!!

This particular exercise is a client favorite because:

  1. It feels really amazing on your back and
  2. I think most people are just so proud of themselves that they can do it well and really feel their body getting stronger and more flexible every time they do it!!  Take a peak of this exercise in the video below:

Want to see the reformer in action?  Check out this video of some of our Rivercity Pilates staff working out on the reformer to get a birds eye view of the type of exercises you might do on the Pilates reformer!

 

Try out the reformer yourself by scheduling a complimentary private session or trying a complimentary Reformer group class!!

 

 

 

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!!