Tag Archive for: Pilates Iowa City

Meet the Instructor: Shelley M!

IMG_6248Where are you from, how did you end up in the corridor?
I was born in Grinnell and grew up in Marengo, Iowa. I first moved to Iowa City to attend graduate school. A few years later, I moved back to the area to take a position at the University of Iowa.
What is your favorite food to prepare or eat? 
I love pizza. And I rarely pass up the chance to try fish tacos at a new restaurant or food truck.
What is your favorite sport to participate in or watch?    DO you have a favorite sports team?
I enjoy watching football. I’m partial to the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Why did you choose to practice Pilates?    When/Where do you start?  Why do you keep doing it?
I started Pilates to help me regain fitness after I fell out of a consistent exercise routine. I started practicing Pilates at Rivercity in 2013. I have continued practicing Pilates because I like the way my body and mind feel when I complete a session.
Why did you become a Pilates teacher?   Where did you complete the program, and what did you like about it?   
I started the teacher training program at Rivercity Pilates because I wanted to learn more about the Pilates method and deepen my personal practice. The more I learn about Pilates the more I enjoy sharing the method with other people.   I am completing the teacher training program at Rivercity Pilates. I have enjoyed this program because Carey is readily available for mentorship, the training groups are small, and I can do all of my training, observation, and practice teaching locally.
IMG_6945Is there something about you that would surprise students in your classes?   
I like TV show marathons. My current bing-watching guilty pleasures are Diners, Drive-in, and Drives, and Crimal Minds.
What is your favorite song / favorite artist / favorite genre of music?   
I like a wide range of music, from classical to rap.
What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?   
I love teaser! I have a sense of accomplishment when I think about how far I have progressed with teaser, and also a sense of challenge when I think about how much further I have to go.

#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!

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Happy Pilates Exercises

mindfulnessThis week has been slightly busier than normal for me with my kiddos heading back to school, our new fall class schedule starting, a new class of teacher trainees starting and just general first of the month busyness at the studio. As I reflect back on my Pilates movement time this week I’ve realized that I did lots of Short Spine on the reformer, and two or three mini reformer workouts in between clients throughout my days. If you were wondering why Short Spine, why reformer…I was thinking the same thing.  Here’s what I came up with!

Generally on busy weeks I don’t think much about my workouts and tend to just do what fits in my schedule and what my body feels like it needs. This theory easily explains me doing lots of Short Spine on the reformer.  Short Spine on the reformer is one of my “happy Pilates exercises”.  I love how Short Spine makes my body feel long and stretched out but also makes me work and concentrate on what I’m doing.  If I’m feeling tired or tight throughout my day I can jump on a reformer and do 5 or 6 Short Spine repetitions and I feel happy and energized.  So I’ve decided clearly I used Short Spine this week as my happy pill as I was navigating a busy, chaotic week!

pilates happy hourAs for my mini reformer workouts, I’ve decided that my decision to do these workouts was subconsciously from my need to use my movement time to de-stress and reconnect to myself.  There is something absolutely genius about the design of the reformer and the sequence of exercises that helps me not only get a work out in but also refocus my brain! Even when I have 50 other things on my mind, I can lay on the reformer, start doing my footwork, and before long I am focused, concentrating on my movement and working my way through the sequence of exercises.  I almost always end up doing more than I had thought I would when I got on and I always feel better and more focused afterwards!  Much more than a workout this week my reformer time definitely was my refocus, reconnect to myself health tool!

Do you have exercises, or movements that you use not only to create strength, flexibility and balance in your body but to help you and your body deal with the stress of daily life? I would love to hear about your “happy Pilates exercises” or favorite workouts when life is busy!!