It has been a little more than 4 years since I've entered a blog post. I thought maybe it was time to get back into blogging again. I have a hard time believing that 4 years have passed...I mean, wasn't I just opening the doors to CBP a few years ago?
In that time, we grew from a small 650 sq. ft studio in Madison Valley with 2 reformers and a Cadillac, to a much larger 1500 sq. foot space in Madrona with many clients and a team of 6 instructors. Life has been busy....but very rewarding. I hope to pick up blogging again and make this a fun and informative place to learn more lessons about Pilates and life. :)
Showing posts with label pilates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pilates. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Can Pilates Really Strengthen, Stretch, and Balance Your Body?
I wrote an article on Pilates for the Madison Park Times which should be published in their next issue. Here's a preview of the article...
Eighty years ago, a German-born immigrant named Joseph Pilates came to this country and brought a revolutionary new form of exercise he called “The Pilates Method.” He believed so strongly in this method that when he was 86, he proclaimed “the whole country, the whole world should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.” While the whole world isn’t doing his exercises, they’re definitely starting to take more of an interest in Pilates. But few people really understand what it is. So as a Pilates Instructor, I’d like to offer a brief summary and hopefully shed some light on this not-very-well-understood method of health and fitness.
History
Born in Germany in 1880, Pilates was a boxer, skier, and gymnast. A sickly child who worked hard to overcome his physical limitations, he studied everything from yoga to circus performance. He developed his own system over 20 years, drawing from both Eastern disciplines like yoga and Western traditions such as ancient Greek regimens.
During WWI, Pilates was placed in an internment camp in England where he developed the system now known as “matwork” which he then called “Contrology.” He later took the springs from a bed to invent his first piece of equipment to rehabilitate wounded and bedridden soldiers. This was the first Pilates “Reformer”, still used today. Today, his contraptions, with names like the “Universal Reformer”, “Cadillac”, and “Wunda Chair” still haven’t changed very much from his original designs. The ingeniously designed equipment provides support and resistance to the body as it learns to move with greater efficiency and ease.
Many years later in 1926, Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara came to this country and settled in New York City. He opened a studio and it was there that he taught students the method that has been passed down by his original students, known as “the Pilates elders” since then.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a system of movement and exercise designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the entire body. It combines slow, controlled movements, coordinated with precise breathing patterns. The breath and movement together focus the mind, relax the body, and develops greater mental and physical coordination.
Core Strength
A key principle in Pilates is learning how to properly engage and strengthen the core. The “core” consists of deep postural muscles that include the Transversus Abdominis and Internal Obliques, as well as the deep spinal stabilizers called Multifidus and the pelvic floor muscles. When all of these muscles are engaged, they act as a kind of girdle, forming a cylinder from the base of your trunk to your lower ribcage. From this starting point, you learn to move the rest of your body with greater control and awareness. Pilates does not isolate muscle groups – instead it trains the whole body, starting from the core and integrating the movement of the arms and legs while maintaining this core stability. Another key Pilates principle is the concept of “neutral pelvis” or “neutral spine”, which is the ideal spinal alignment maintained by engaging the core muscles to hold the pelvis and lumbar spine in proper alignment while moving the rest of the body.
Stretching
Pilates exercise also increases flexibility and supports a healthy back by using gentle stretching and slow, articulated movements of the spine. A balanced Pilates workout incoporates stretching and movement of the spine in all planes of movement: flexion (bending forward), extension (bending back), rotation (twisting), and lateral sidebending (bending sideways). Many Chiropractors and Physical Therapists recommend Pilates programs for their patients for this reason.
Balancing the Body
Another major benefit of Pilates exercise is improving posture by correcting muscle imbalances.This re-balancing is achieved by lengthening muscles that have shortened and strengthening weak and elongated muscles. Think of a person who sits at a computer for long periods (like you for instance!) Sitting in a bent knee position day after day, year after year, you develop shortened hamstrings and elongated and weak quadriceps. Your Pilates program would include stretches for the hamstrings, and strengthening exercises for the quadriceps – all while maintaining core stability.
Now, if someone ever asks you “What is Pilates?” just remember these three things – strengthen, stretch, and balance.
To find out more about Pilates, visit the Pilates Method Alliance web site.
Eighty years ago, a German-born immigrant named Joseph Pilates came to this country and brought a revolutionary new form of exercise he called “The Pilates Method.” He believed so strongly in this method that when he was 86, he proclaimed “the whole country, the whole world should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.” While the whole world isn’t doing his exercises, they’re definitely starting to take more of an interest in Pilates. But few people really understand what it is. So as a Pilates Instructor, I’d like to offer a brief summary and hopefully shed some light on this not-very-well-understood method of health and fitness.
History
Born in Germany in 1880, Pilates was a boxer, skier, and gymnast. A sickly child who worked hard to overcome his physical limitations, he studied everything from yoga to circus performance. He developed his own system over 20 years, drawing from both Eastern disciplines like yoga and Western traditions such as ancient Greek regimens.
During WWI, Pilates was placed in an internment camp in England where he developed the system now known as “matwork” which he then called “Contrology.” He later took the springs from a bed to invent his first piece of equipment to rehabilitate wounded and bedridden soldiers. This was the first Pilates “Reformer”, still used today. Today, his contraptions, with names like the “Universal Reformer”, “Cadillac”, and “Wunda Chair” still haven’t changed very much from his original designs. The ingeniously designed equipment provides support and resistance to the body as it learns to move with greater efficiency and ease.
Many years later in 1926, Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara came to this country and settled in New York City. He opened a studio and it was there that he taught students the method that has been passed down by his original students, known as “the Pilates elders” since then.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a system of movement and exercise designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the entire body. It combines slow, controlled movements, coordinated with precise breathing patterns. The breath and movement together focus the mind, relax the body, and develops greater mental and physical coordination.
Core Strength
A key principle in Pilates is learning how to properly engage and strengthen the core. The “core” consists of deep postural muscles that include the Transversus Abdominis and Internal Obliques, as well as the deep spinal stabilizers called Multifidus and the pelvic floor muscles. When all of these muscles are engaged, they act as a kind of girdle, forming a cylinder from the base of your trunk to your lower ribcage. From this starting point, you learn to move the rest of your body with greater control and awareness. Pilates does not isolate muscle groups – instead it trains the whole body, starting from the core and integrating the movement of the arms and legs while maintaining this core stability. Another key Pilates principle is the concept of “neutral pelvis” or “neutral spine”, which is the ideal spinal alignment maintained by engaging the core muscles to hold the pelvis and lumbar spine in proper alignment while moving the rest of the body.
Stretching
Pilates exercise also increases flexibility and supports a healthy back by using gentle stretching and slow, articulated movements of the spine. A balanced Pilates workout incoporates stretching and movement of the spine in all planes of movement: flexion (bending forward), extension (bending back), rotation (twisting), and lateral sidebending (bending sideways). Many Chiropractors and Physical Therapists recommend Pilates programs for their patients for this reason.
Balancing the Body
Another major benefit of Pilates exercise is improving posture by correcting muscle imbalances.This re-balancing is achieved by lengthening muscles that have shortened and strengthening weak and elongated muscles. Think of a person who sits at a computer for long periods (like you for instance!) Sitting in a bent knee position day after day, year after year, you develop shortened hamstrings and elongated and weak quadriceps. Your Pilates program would include stretches for the hamstrings, and strengthening exercises for the quadriceps – all while maintaining core stability.
Now, if someone ever asks you “What is Pilates?” just remember these three things – strengthen, stretch, and balance.
To find out more about Pilates, visit the Pilates Method Alliance web site.
Monday, August 13, 2007
New Move - Rolling Like a Ball
Jana Broecking demonstrates Rolling Like a Ball
This week's new move is another classic Pilates exercise: Rolling Like a Ball.
Imagine a group of wounded WWI soldiers doing this exercise in a prison camp. These are the first students of Joseph Pilates while he was a prisoner of war held in an internment camp in England. Instead of marching in unison, I imagine them all rolling in unison and sitting up poised on their sits bones. Now THAT I would like to have seen.
btw, if you've never heard of "Sits bones" they are the two bones at the bottom of your pelvis that you sit on. :)
Starting Position:
Start sitting tall on your sits bones with feet on the floor, hip distance apart, hands on your shins or behind your knees.
Inhale to prepare, Exhale go into Imprint (slightly tucked in your pelvis, and pulling your hips closer to your ribcage). Roll slightly behind your sits bones and onto your tailbone and bring one foot off the floor. Inhale stay. Exhale and bring your other foot off the floor. You should now be balanced on your sits bones in a ball shape, with your hands on your shins or behind your knees, and your elbows wide, shoulders wide, upper body relaxed.
Exercise:
Inhale and roll back as far as your shoulder blades.
(Try not to let your head touch the floor.)
Exhale and pull your belly button to spine as you roll back onto your sit bones.
(Try not to let your feet touch the floor.)
Repeat 8 to 10 times.
Rolling Like a Ball Explained:
Rolling Like a Ball is like an abdominal workout along with a massage for your spine and your back. When you do it correctly, you'll hear a nice smooth rolling sound with no "bumps." When you stay in a tucked, rounded "C curve" position by pulling your belly button to your spine, engaging your core, and keeping it engaged, it's surprisingly easy to keep rolling -- and it's fun.
I always enjoy seeing people learn Rolling like a ball for the first time. The look on their faces as they come up to balance on their sit bones is "Wow - did I just do that?" It provides comic relief to an otherwise serious workout.
If you use your legs to give yourself some extra momentum by kicking up in the air - you're cheating! The correct (and, of course, harder) way is to keep the legs in close and use your core to roll forward and back.
If you have a flat area on your spine, you will also hear and feel bumps in your roll. A flat lumbar spine makes this exercise more challenging. If you continue to do this exercise and keep your lumbar spine flexed so that you maintain a "C curve" shape, you can eventually encourage more curve in that area.
Key Benefits:
Teaches you to keep the core engaged while maintaining lumbar flexion (a curve in your lower back).
Teaches you to move from your center rather than from your periphery (your arms and legs).
Improves balance.
Fun when you master it.
A good exercise leading up to Teaser - the hardest of all Pilates mat exercises.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
New Move - Roll Up!
I've decided to start posting a "New Move" so I can talk about the Pilates exercises that I love - each week.
This week it's the "Roll Up." This is one of the classic Pilates exercises that Joe Pilates taught in his original matwork routine, and it has not changed much since he first taught it. There are modifications now with the help of flexbands and fitness circles, but overall the exercise remains the same.
Roll Up
Sit up tall on your sits bones, with your pelvis in neutral, your legs straight out in front of you, toes either pointed or flexed. Your arms are reaching straight in frot of you with hands at shoulder height, palms facing down. (You may choose to bend your knees or you can use a flexband around your feet for more support as you build up to the full Roll Up.)
Exercise:
Inhhale to prepare (breath into your ribcage)
To Roll Down:
Exhale contract your abdominals, pulling your belly button to your spine.
Begin rolling off your sit bones, curling your tailbone under you. Continue
rolling back slowly, one vertebra at a time until you are laying flat on your back.
Keep pulling your belly button to spine and thinking of forming a big "C curve" with your body. As you roll down, your arms should still be reaching out in front of you, then above you as your upper back rolls, down, and then reaching over your head when you finish.
To Roll Up:
Inhale and nod your chin to prepare, reach your arms up to the ceiling.
Exhale and contract your abdominals, pulling belly button to spine. Stabilize your shoulders (using your serratus anterior muscle - the one that wraps under your armpit and behind your shoulder blades) and start to roll up slowly one vertebrae at a time. Try to imagine yourself as something sticky peeling yourself off the mat (i.e., a fruit roll up or a piece of taffy) Return to a sitting position with your legs straight out in front of you.
Roll Up - Explained
The Roll Up is all about spinal articulation. Spinal articulation is used a lot in Pilates. It is the motion of rolling one vertebrae at a time through your spine. Think of a slinky, a caterpillar, or one of those long articulated buses. As you roll back, you feel your hip flexors working like crazy - especially the Psoas Iliacus muscle. This is because the muscle is working "eccentrically" or during the lengthening phase of the muscle contraction. Most of us concentrate our work on the "concentric" phase of a muscle contraction - the shortening phase. The reason Pilates gives you long, lean muscles rather than short bulky ones is because it focuses equally on both the concentric and the eccentric muscle contraction phase.
When To Do this Exercise
This is a great exercise to do when you first get up in the morning or before you go to bed at night because it stretches out your spine and relaxes your entire body!
I tend to be stiff when I wake up in the morning, so this helps loosen up my back before I start my day.
This week it's the "Roll Up." This is one of the classic Pilates exercises that Joe Pilates taught in his original matwork routine, and it has not changed much since he first taught it. There are modifications now with the help of flexbands and fitness circles, but overall the exercise remains the same.
Roll Up
Sit up tall on your sits bones, with your pelvis in neutral, your legs straight out in front of you, toes either pointed or flexed. Your arms are reaching straight in frot of you with hands at shoulder height, palms facing down. (You may choose to bend your knees or you can use a flexband around your feet for more support as you build up to the full Roll Up.)
Exercise:
Inhhale to prepare (breath into your ribcage)
To Roll Down:
Exhale contract your abdominals, pulling your belly button to your spine.
Begin rolling off your sit bones, curling your tailbone under you. Continue
rolling back slowly, one vertebra at a time until you are laying flat on your back.
Keep pulling your belly button to spine and thinking of forming a big "C curve" with your body. As you roll down, your arms should still be reaching out in front of you, then above you as your upper back rolls, down, and then reaching over your head when you finish.
To Roll Up:
Inhale and nod your chin to prepare, reach your arms up to the ceiling.
Exhale and contract your abdominals, pulling belly button to spine. Stabilize your shoulders (using your serratus anterior muscle - the one that wraps under your armpit and behind your shoulder blades) and start to roll up slowly one vertebrae at a time. Try to imagine yourself as something sticky peeling yourself off the mat (i.e., a fruit roll up or a piece of taffy) Return to a sitting position with your legs straight out in front of you.
Roll Up - Explained
The Roll Up is all about spinal articulation. Spinal articulation is used a lot in Pilates. It is the motion of rolling one vertebrae at a time through your spine. Think of a slinky, a caterpillar, or one of those long articulated buses. As you roll back, you feel your hip flexors working like crazy - especially the Psoas Iliacus muscle. This is because the muscle is working "eccentrically" or during the lengthening phase of the muscle contraction. Most of us concentrate our work on the "concentric" phase of a muscle contraction - the shortening phase. The reason Pilates gives you long, lean muscles rather than short bulky ones is because it focuses equally on both the concentric and the eccentric muscle contraction phase.
When To Do this Exercise
This is a great exercise to do when you first get up in the morning or before you go to bed at night because it stretches out your spine and relaxes your entire body!
I tend to be stiff when I wake up in the morning, so this helps loosen up my back before I start my day.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Thoughts on a Tagline - "Strength For Life"
My challenge for the last few months has been trying to come up with a tagline for my business. How could I, in a few short words within a catchy phrase, communicate the essence of what I'm trying to do at Conscious Body Pilates? After months of thinking and obssessing, I finally came up with this:
"Strength for Life"
It seems to fit. I like it because it's short and gets to the point. What "Strength for Life" means to me is this: Pilates gives me a method to strengthen my core, which provides the strength and support I need to face my daily physical challenges. Since my car accidents in 1993 and 1996, I have always dealt with some level of back pain. In the beginning, it was so debilitating I couldn't sit, stand, or walk for more than a few minutes without pain. It wasn't until I discovered the Pilates Method (because of a wonderful Hellerwork practitioner and physical therapist named Linda Knickerbocker who was working with a Pilates studio called Erskine Fitness in Queen Anne) that I was able to overcome my back pain through Pilates exercise. After that, a new world of possibility opened up to me again. By gaining strength and control over my body, I also regained my confidence and my ability to enjoy life.
"Strength for Life" has a very personal meaning for me, but will it resonate with others? I'm testing it out this week. My focus group is a group of about 21 entrepeneurs in my BNI networking group. We meet at the Madison Park Starbucks each week. BNI (Business Networking International) is the largest business networking organization in the world and their motto is "Givers Gain." We give and receive referrals each week with the idea that the more we give, the more we get. Each week we stand up to give our 60 second commercials. Everyone ends their commercial with the name of their business and tagline. Some of the taglines are pretty catchy. Barbie Hull, a portrait and wedding photographer who captures the details of special moments in life says, "Barbie Hull Photography. Capturing the moments that matter." Another BNI member, Sarah Gaspar, who runs Gaspar's Handyman, ends her commercials by saying,"Gaspar's Handyman. We do your homework." Somehow my tagline had to live up to this level of catchiness.
For me and many others, "Strength for Life" means having the strength to to live a daily life free of pain. Through regular practice, Pilates provides the strength to literally "hold up" in our daily lives. We have endless To do lists, doctor appts, shuttling kids to school, doing the dishes/laundry/picking up messes/getting dinner ready, keeping in touch with friends & family, going to community meetings, keeping current on the news, reading the must-read novel, seeing the must-see movie, oh - and don't forget preparing your presentation for the mtg on Wed. People think I spend all my time exercising, but much of the time, when I am not teaching, I am at my computer sending emails. Now that I'm a busy mom-of-a-toddler-and-business-owner, I look forward to my Pilates workouts - it's my time for myself to connect with my body. And now that I teach Pilates - to connect with others. I cherish that time more than ever.
Pilates gives me strength for my busy life. I hope that I can help my clients discover the same strength for their lives.
"Conscious Body Pilates. Strength for Life." Sounds pretty good. I think it's a keeper.
"Strength for Life"
It seems to fit. I like it because it's short and gets to the point. What "Strength for Life" means to me is this: Pilates gives me a method to strengthen my core, which provides the strength and support I need to face my daily physical challenges. Since my car accidents in 1993 and 1996, I have always dealt with some level of back pain. In the beginning, it was so debilitating I couldn't sit, stand, or walk for more than a few minutes without pain. It wasn't until I discovered the Pilates Method (because of a wonderful Hellerwork practitioner and physical therapist named Linda Knickerbocker who was working with a Pilates studio called Erskine Fitness in Queen Anne) that I was able to overcome my back pain through Pilates exercise. After that, a new world of possibility opened up to me again. By gaining strength and control over my body, I also regained my confidence and my ability to enjoy life.
"Strength for Life" has a very personal meaning for me, but will it resonate with others? I'm testing it out this week. My focus group is a group of about 21 entrepeneurs in my BNI networking group. We meet at the Madison Park Starbucks each week. BNI (Business Networking International) is the largest business networking organization in the world and their motto is "Givers Gain." We give and receive referrals each week with the idea that the more we give, the more we get. Each week we stand up to give our 60 second commercials. Everyone ends their commercial with the name of their business and tagline. Some of the taglines are pretty catchy. Barbie Hull, a portrait and wedding photographer who captures the details of special moments in life says, "Barbie Hull Photography. Capturing the moments that matter." Another BNI member, Sarah Gaspar, who runs Gaspar's Handyman, ends her commercials by saying,"Gaspar's Handyman. We do your homework." Somehow my tagline had to live up to this level of catchiness.
For me and many others, "Strength for Life" means having the strength to to live a daily life free of pain. Through regular practice, Pilates provides the strength to literally "hold up" in our daily lives. We have endless To do lists, doctor appts, shuttling kids to school, doing the dishes/laundry/picking up messes/getting dinner ready, keeping in touch with friends & family, going to community meetings, keeping current on the news, reading the must-read novel, seeing the must-see movie, oh - and don't forget preparing your presentation for the mtg on Wed. People think I spend all my time exercising, but much of the time, when I am not teaching, I am at my computer sending emails. Now that I'm a busy mom-of-a-toddler-and-business-owner, I look forward to my Pilates workouts - it's my time for myself to connect with my body. And now that I teach Pilates - to connect with others. I cherish that time more than ever.
Pilates gives me strength for my busy life. I hope that I can help my clients discover the same strength for their lives.
"Conscious Body Pilates. Strength for Life." Sounds pretty good. I think it's a keeper.
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