Teaching in Bangalore, India

I arrived in Bangalore on December 1st, after finishing an Intensive Reformer training in Mumbai. I was scheduled to start teaching an Intensive Mat Plus course at the Zone Mind and Body Studio in Bangalore the next day. It was a long drive in from the airport to the hotel and the traffic was intense! This city has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade, but the roads have yet to catch up with the increased traffic! I was staying in a very nice condo hotel that was an easy walk to the studio. My hosts, Anjali and Sharat Sareen picked me up the next day and took me to their beautiful studio. This was an oasis of calm and beauty after the noisy atmosphere of the Gold’s Gym in Mumbai. I enjoyed hanging out in the lounge or on one of the open air balconies before and after the training.

Most of the students in the IMP course had been training with Anjali and Sharat for a couple of years. It really helped to have some experienced students in the group and of course to have Anjali co-teaching with me. That was a first for me and it took me a while to get used to having someone else there to teach. Anjali made it very easy though and we had a great time together.
They were also extremely generous in taking me out to dinner several times and of course on our whirlwind shopping extravaganza! I had such a great time that day and really found some gorgeous things to take home with me! I only wish there had been more time for seeing some of the area around Bangalore. This was a whirlwind trip in more ways than one! The course went by so quickly that in no time we were at the end of the course, practicing those difficult intermediate exercises!

Fortunately, this was not on the day when we went out to eat the giant paper dosas! What a delicious food this is, but as you can see, it is not small in size!

I had such fun working with this group. I hope they continue to practice and improve their teaching skills. It is fortunate that most of them have Anjali and Sharat to observe and work with while they prepare for their exams.

How Pilates Changed My Life

My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Nelson, sternly warned me that I was going to be sorry if I didn’t learn to stand up straight. This was both confusing and horrifying. I didn’t have the faintest idea of how to stand up straight, but I understood the dire necessity of doing so. A deep dread of a doubtlessly benighted future filled me.  I’d already thrown a fit and refused to go to the physical therapist a few years earlier. The mats smelled funny, and it was all so creepy.
Decades later, I can proudly say that Pilates has enabled me to finally stand up straight. Even my mother said she’d never seen me look so straight, and she’s been watching the whole time. Dance and yoga gave me strength and flexibility, but my body evolved its own quirky ways of working with its dysfunctional spine. I’m here to say that Pilates has straightened me out, Mrs. Nelson.
Pilates has helped me find and use essential supportive muscles that I had never really located before. Pilates has shown me how to push the marble with my nose and that’s been the beginning of it all for me. The upward extension of a spine trained from childhood to curve down down down is a glorious and difficult movement. Upward is not natural for a myopic bookworm. As I’ve struggled to feel wide across collarbone, I’ve moved into an unknown dimension. And Pilates has given me the abdominal muscles that save my poor back from doing all the work. And I’m grateful. If I’m away too long, my back complains, but now there’s a way to fix it. Pilates is forever.

Sherry Charles

Pilates Positive Impact!

As you know, Pilates has certainly made a difference to me.

A masseuse told me several years ago about one of her clients saying that Pilates had transformed her body.  I went to that Pilates studio because I had been having trouble sleeping from pain in my shoulders, hips and legs and when gardening I would end up with hobbling lower back and hip pain.  I was also having pain from yoga postures even though I had practiced for years.  The Pilates studio helped me understand how my posture and walking were causing me problems.  My sleep improved and I no longer had pain when gardening.  But they were unable to answer many of my questions, I still had many physical issues, and I felt more was possible.

A chiropractor referred me to the Pacific Northwest Pilates studio and I found my answers.  Now I am stronger, feel better, and understand more about my overall body structure, alignment and posture, and how those affect how I feel.  I also know what exercises will help my particular problems and what to avoid.  At first I had great difficulty even comprehending how certain body movements could be made and Leslie would not only have to demonstrate them to me, but also she would have to move my body as apparently my mind and body had lost all awareness of how to do it.  Fortunately, it would usually take only a few weeks of practice for my body to remember.

I came to realize that the root of my problems were the results of major surgery in 2000-2001, along with chemotherapy, radiation, and a PIC line in the right arm for 6 months, and probably also from birth trauma, childhood habits, and major surgery in 1976.  My body had found ways to compensate but I had never realized exactly what was happening and what were the lingering effects.  Pilates is giving me that awareness and the means to work on changing how my body functions.  I have a long way to go, I still have some pains, and some of my structural restrictions limit how much strength I can gain yet, but I now have the tools and the help I need to improve.  I am more able to feel how my body should move and I get results when I do my home exercises.  I take a reformer class that helps me practice using my body correctly.  The class also brings to my attention any restrictions I have not yet dealt with and when that happens, I have found that a private session focused on that issue always provides me with the answers for the problem.  I no longer feel at the mercy of the unknown, I have some control over how my body feels.  To me, it’s a miracle.  One that would not be possible without the guidance of the Pacific Northwest Pilates studio.

Thanks You.

SHARE PILATES is a NEW community forum for pilates instructors.

SHARE PILATES is what we are calling our “in-house” educational workshops. Now we are opening them up to other instructors in the community! Come join us for a one-hour exploration about different pilates topics or issues related to movement.

Only $10 for each workshop!

These workshops range from a fun and innovative workout to an anatomy based review. Check out our upcoming listings below:

Ideokinesiology & Laban Movement Analysis with Jean Leavenworth
Aug. 15th 2:15pm-3:15pm

Dancing Without the Stars with Leslie Braverman
Sep 26th 12:15pm-1:15pm

Gyrokinesis with Melissa Framiglio
Nov. 7, 2:15pm-3:15pm

Foot Mechanics with Melanie Byford-Young
TBA, Winter 2010

Call or email the studio today to register or for more information!

(503) 292-4409 or info@pacificnwpilates.com

Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back? Comments about The New York Times Article

There has been alot of “talk” about an article written for The New York Times by Gretchen Reynolds entitled “Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back?”

We thought others might want to join in on the conversation! We welcome your thoughts.

Here’s the original article:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/core-myths/?emc=eta1

Comment #1:

That’s kind of confusing. What is he saying exactly? No transversus/no scoop? Yet, some of the exercises are like what we do. What’s your take?

My take on it is that having a stable trunk is far more complex and integrated then just asking someone merely to pull in their abs and do thousands of crunches a day.

He is not saying that we shouldn’t do them at all but says, “(i)nstead…a core exercise program should emphasize all of the major muscles that girdle the spine, including but not concentrating on the abs.” He points out doing exercises as plank and swimming prep (bird dog)- again exercises that require integrated stability in neutral positions. This supports everything that we already teach at our studio, and our mentors (Melanie, Greta and others) have been expounding for years. As we know, “the core” is comprised of not only the abs, but the deep psoas, multifidis and pelvic floor. The article does not go into these specifics, but instead, points out that “if you concentrate on strengthening only one set of muscles within the core, you can destabilize your spine by pulling it out of alignment.” This idea of balance in fitness is something that I think all of our teaching supports.

The only thing about this that could be bad is that it is not specific enough and some people will now believe that doing ALL pilates and personal training is bad for the them; those people that actually read it, with some knowledge base, that have done work with someone that doesn’t just give thousands of crunches, roll ups and imprinted back exercises sees that good exercise requires balance from all the muscles groups, will see the validity of the article. My take on the “pulling the belly button in” is the fact that most people can’t do this without flattening their back and putting undue stress on their discs.

That’s what I think anyway.

Comment #3

Thank you – this is very interesting. I hope we will have a “Share Pilates” about this and possibly other research and experiences that we are learning about that inform how we exercise.

Comment #4

Thanks, Leslie, for forwarding this article. It was interesting and, for me,affirming that the work we are doing with people is actually focusing on the whole of the body and the whole of the core muscles thruout. Pilates is helping their “abs”, their spines, their joints and their overall body alignment, symmetry, strength and flexibility.

On a positive note, I think there is always a place for modern movement applications and advancements in the understanding of functional anatomy to be incorporated and applied to health and fitness instruction. I would also agree with this author that the oversimplification of the Pilates Method (or others that attempt to address “core support” and functional movement) to simply telling people to do crunches and suck in their abs is one that has the potential to endanger people’s overall posture and make them injury-prone. I would also say too that it reduces and impoverishes the benefits/contributions that Pilates and others attempted to make to overall fitness and wellness.

However, I can’t help but respond to what seems to still be a good bit of nebulous understanding about “the core” that even the writers of this article seem to have….
Here’s a few i.e.’s from the article:

1. Transverse Abdominus is the only/primary core mucsle (leaving out the PF, rest of the deep abs and all the deep spinal muscles)

2. People who are working their core(per article TA) are getting 6-pack abs…that’s Rectus’ domain not the deep abs and, of course, they may hurt their backs that way.

3. Working the core in Pilates-type classes focuses only on the abs (I would agree this is probably the case in the gym format classes and people can get hurt). However, Joseph Pilates says several times that the uniform development of the muscles of the whole body and its balance is primary to his work and to moving well in the world.

There’s my off-the-cuff response to the article. Thanks for contributing to my brain working a bit today,

Comment #5

I had similar feelings…I thought the article was great in some respects, but the fact that some of it was vague would make a less-informed individual assume that all pilates could be bad. I think that the writer or person interviewed could have been more specific about what is considered “the core” too.

Comment #6

I agree with your take as well. Posting the conversations on the blog could be good. Makes me want to respond to the NY Times too.

The Pilates “V”: Vital Exercise Tool or Pilates Dogma?

This question was emailed to us, but we thought others might be interested!

Hi Leslie,
I recently had an instructor teach me as part of an interview process & i try to be open to other schools but in every exercise that was open chain i had to be in the Pilates v,so i asked why?The response was stated with attitude that inner thighs help activate the corset,& it was  said as if a scientific fact.I know partly this is true,but parrallel add & abd with a ball between the legs helps activate adductors & inner thighs,but they kept repeating on & on about Pilates v as if it was the most effective or the only way that worked.
I did not want to get into a battle or even sound as if i was correcting them,but could you let me know how you would have responded as i would be interested in your thoughts!
Best regards

Lucy Garcia

Response from Leslie Braverman:

Leslie

Pilates Poem

From one of our lovely students, Lois Brooks. Thanks, Lois!

Thank you for the cards on my birthday

They helped me have a very special day

Thanks for all the help over the years

You all deserve big rousing cheers

My first Pilates teacher was our own Miss Jean

It’s a nasty rumour that she is the queen of mean

Jean taught me the power of breath

While waiting for me to learn she could have read Macbeth

Leslie had me in group classes for a long time

Because of her, my abs are fine

Ms  Melanie is from my province of birth

When we get together there is lots of mirth

Carole helps me any time any way

About her assistance I could write an essay

Lisa is a bright morning glory

The fun in her class is a lengthy story

So this little poem is for my favorite Pilates team

You all definitely reign supreme

Pilates and Obesity; How can I be an effective instructor?

This question was sent as an email, but we thought others might be interested!

Hi Leslie/Melanie,

I love your Pilates Blog, and I have learned lots from it. I have attended Melanie’s workshop in Toronto; she is a great and skillful instructor trainer.
I have a few obese clients that come to take Pilates. What kind of cues or images would you give to them for engaging their Pelvic Floor muscles & Tranversus Abdominis? For clients with soft tissues around the waistline, would you be using imprint position most of the times for them to engage abdominal muscles?
I would like to hear your advice & comments.

Thanks
Jeff

Response from Melanie and Leslie

Hi Jeff:

Thanks for your great question. Melanie sent me some of her best cues, and I have added a few of my own. Here it goes:

When working with obese clients, it is important (as with all students) to give them lots of visual and sensory feedback. They can visualize drawing their abs and pelvic floor muscles in to a point in the center of their pelvic bowl or a couple of inches in front of the sacrum (S2). Advise your client that they should not feel any gripping or rigidity when they recruit their abs properly.

When first teaching them how to find and recruit the pelvic floor, try having the student sit on a stability ball. This way they may be able to feel the muscles of their pelvic floor in contact with something. In this position, they can lean slightly forward or back to feel either the anterior or poster muscles of the pelvic floor working more. This may be a good place to start them out. If the ball is too unstable, have them just sit on a chair and do the same thing.

In addition, you may be more successful sensing if they are, indeed, finding their pelvic floor and transversus abdominis by having them work in a four point (cat stretch, starting position). If you are able (and the client is comfortable), you can place your hands just on the inside of their hip bones (ASIS) to see if they are drawing those muscles inwards and flat. Because gravity is helping you to see if they are drawing up their abdominals when they are in a four point, cat stretch position, this may be a more successful way for you to help give them feedback and “see” what they are doing. They may put their elbows on a box if this is better for their wrists. Because of their own weight, often finding pelvic floor and transversus abdominis in supine is too difficult; the cat (four point) position will help you see (and feel) what their back is doing and help you determine if their muscles are working (i.e. if you see them lift toward their spine, away from the pull of gravity.)

The timing of recruitment is important. You may wish for them to completely relax (allowing their abdominals to “let go”). Then, cue them gently lift their pelvic floor (teach them how to do this sitting on the ball first, as mentioned before). You should see no change in their spine, pelvis or sacrum when they engage their pelvic floor. In addition, you should not feel their back get rigid. Also, when they engage their pelvic floor, ideally, you should see or feel (if you are able to palpate) that the lower abs gently lift in and flatten in the direction of the fibers. If they are very weak, you may, in fact, have to cue them to also think about gently using their tranversus abdominis– often it will fire properly if their pelvic floor is working. Check to make sure that they are not recruiting their obliques prior to their transversus abdomins by noticing if their back gets rigid or if you see them “cinch in” at the waist prior to flattening their lower abs.

Also, keep in mind that doing things in a closed chain position may really help. Give your student more feedback by having them do abdominal work while their arms are pulling down against resistance (i.e. midback work on the cadillac with their legs over an arc). This will do two things; help close the chain, and pre-tension their transversus abdominis to fire. Because the latissimus dorsi, obliques and tranversus abdominis all feed into the thoracolumbar fascia, this can be a great way to “trick” the abdominals into working. You can either have them pull the arm springs down as they do ab prep, for example, or just have them hold tension on the strap (hover arms above the mat with tension) while doing ab work. It is even a great way to have them pick one foot off the mat at a time with their head down, do hip release, do hip rolls etc. If the arm springs are too heavy, you can also tie the flexband around the cadillic upright bars instead.

As always, keep in mind that you will need to be very encouraging to these clients. Refer to the alignment of their bones when correcting them and try to give them a mental image of what by showing them pictures of the muscles and bones or showing them a skeleton. We find that students that are overweight often appreciate being educated about what is happening at an anatomical level. You will have to be aware certain cues may make them feel uncomfortable or seem insulting. For example, constantly telling them to just “pull their abdominals in” when they really don’t feel what you are talking about at a muscular level and, perhaps, already have a complex about their weight, will be very discouraging to them. I expect you are already keen to this, since you are working to find other ways to cue.

We hope these few ideas will be helpful! Thanks for reading our blog; we love the great questions and look forward to hearing if others have any great ideas too!

Thanks, Leslie and Mel

Success: Initial reflections

If you had told me 6 months ago I would be writing a blog about Pilates I’d say you had the wrong guy. If you had also told me I would be getting up a 5:15am twice a week to go to Pilates classes, I would have said that guy was crazy. How times change, here I am fulfilling both. Now I’ve been working out for two months at the studio, I thought I’d share my experience to date.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised my male friends have absolutely no clue what Pilates is about. They are worried about me though, one of them asked me what’s next, Jazzercize? All I can say to them is come on down and try it, I’d love to see what they can do! I did expect my female friends to be a bit more up on the topic and one of my coworkers made me laugh when she said “doesn’t that have a piece of equipment called the punisher? Not quite but it certainly feels like it at times.

I started Pilates to improve my flexibility and a good indication of my improvement is the fact that Leslie doesn’t have to work so hard getting my limbs to move in our sessions. I liken my starting point as similar to the Tin Man in the Wizard of OZ, and since then I can already feel a huge improvement, I had forgotten what it is like to have some level of flexibility. I did get a glimpse of the long road ahead when I happened to look in on an advanced mat class on a Saturday morning and saw them lying chest down with one leg bent under them to their shoulders. This still brings tears to my eyes and I’m not convinced my leg will ever do that.

I have benefited from two other things I didn’t expect; increased strength and improved biomechanics. On the strength front, like a typical male I couldn’t see the exercises making me stronger. Boy was I wrong, I found out early in one of Leslie’s sessions it didn’t take much to get me into an exercise that set my arms on fire. Lisa Rulis is now keeping me honest and I can hear her saying during an exercise “what are you feeling?” when I’m working so hard it’s difficult to breathe let alone respond! I had no clue how much of a work out you can get from only a mat.

The biomechanics really surprised me. I assumed my body simply wasn’t supposed to do some things and I’ve since learned it’s just the way I am using it. I wish I had started Pilates 20 years ago and I bet I wouldn’t have had to have four instances of knee surgery. I am simply amazed this isn’t pushed more in professional sports and I now I understand the brilliance of the Blazers including Pilates in Greg Oden’s recovery schedule. I hope the rest of the team are using it.

I’m going to wrap up with a few things I’ve learned in the studio:
1. Long shorts – In my first reformer session, Lisa mentioned men don’t like having to open their legs. I can share the reason, without wearing long shorts there is a definite risk of a wardrobe malfunction. Not pretty for anyone.
2. It’s not the equipment – whenever I find myself on the reformer and the ropes won’t go taught, I have to remind myself it’s probably not an equipment malfunction. That said, it is a great excuse if you are well and truly stuck during a specific exercise.
3. Laugh at myself – I have to do this every time I go and it is good to have a regular humbling experience. Despite the 5:45am group being labeled intro/beginner, I now understand this group isn’t really made up of newbies like me (isn’t that right Lois). Still, it is good to have some very experienced people to copy, seeing is so much easier than listening.
4. Do something out of the ordinary – For me, starting Pilates has been like living in another country. Having to understand something completely different is a great way to get me thinking outside of the box.

Pilates and Posture: Kyphosis-Lordisis

One of the classic postural types is called Kyphosis-Lordosis. Characteristically, Kyphosis-Lordosis is a posture in which all the natural curves of the spine are exaggerated.

As seen above, the figure on the left side has increased the curve in the neck (hyper-extension), displacing his head into a forward position; notice the figure’s chin on the left is forward of his sternum, unlike the figure on the right where the head is erect and the chin is in-line with the sternum. In addition, the curve of the upper back (thoracic spine) on the left is more pronounced (increased kyphosis) and the shoulders are rounded forward. Likewise, the curve of the lower back (lumbar spine) is also exaggerated (hyper-lordodic). The exaggerated curve of the lumbar spine is accompanied by a tipped pelvis (anteriorly tipped).

In this set of pictures below, you can see the shape of the bones more clearly. Although the figures are facing the other direction from the figures above, you can compare the curves of the spine and position of the head and pelvis more clearly here. The figure on the right displays the ideal curves while the figure on the left displays Kyphois-Lordosis

So, what can be done in pilates to help offset this particular postural alignment?

First, you must understand what muscular imbalances are associated with this posture.

Because of the position of the head and neck, a small pad or other prop may need to be place behind his or her head during all exercises that are conducted on their back (supine). This will help to keep the head and neck in a more ideal posture. In addition, the individual may need to work in an imprinted position more frequently than in neutral. He or she may be able to eventually work in a neutral position as they become stronger.

Take a look, again, at the curve in the lower back. Notice how the muscles of the lower spine are shortened and the muscles on the front side (the abdominals are lengthened.) This individual will need exercises that encourage he or she to lengthen the tight lower back muscles and recruit the weak abdominals.

It is imperative that a student with lordosis of the lumbar spine, learn to use their abdominals to support their back instead of their hip flexors or hip extensors. In other words, often new students with a lordodic tendency (hyper-extension of the lumbar spine) try to use gluts (bum) or muscles in the front the hip to control their back. Because of this tendency to recruit the wrong muscles, they tend to remain unable to control their back even after years of trying to do “abdominal specific” work.

Here are a few exercises you can do to promote good balance of the abdominals, hip flexors and gluts and lengthen the lumbar spine.

First, Practice lengthening the lumbar spine correctly. Here the student is lying on their back with her legs relaxed over a pillow. She is gently elongating her back into the mat (you can slightly see how the purple waist band is tipped toward her belly button in the second photo), so that the curve in her lower back diminishes (i.e more of her low back touches the mat) . It is important to make sure that your abdominals are moving your back instead of your legs. Any gripping in your back muscles or legs indicates that you may not be finding your core muscles correctly.

sit-up:

Now, try to go into a sit-up position without gripping your legs and back. You are trying to keep your back from moving into a bigger curve (i.e. arch away from the floor.) Your movement may be very small. It is important that you train you abdominal muscles to bring your upper body off the floor instead of changing your lower back or using your legs.

Dead Bug:

Finally, see if you can keep your lower back lengthened on the mat (using your abdominals, like you did in the first exercise) and pick one foot of the ground without arching your back away from the floor. If this is too hard, imprint. Alternate legs.

It is also important to teach the upper back muscles (erector spinae) to learn how to extend the upper back. Take a look at the picture of the skeleton above. Notice how the upper back is rounded, this prolonged posture makes the upper back muscles very weak and the muscles on the front side of the chest very tight (the pecs). So, it is important that this individual learns how to move their back out of this curve, open their chest and work the weak upper back muscles.

Here are a few exercises you can do to promote extension of the upper back without creating unwanted hyperextension of lumbar spine:

Turtle:

Finally, because of the way the pelvis tips, the muscles in the front of the hip can become really short and tight. Conversely, the muscles on the opposite side (the bum and hamstrings) are really weak. Take a look at the little girl’s stance below. Because of the angle of her pelvis, you can see the distance between the front of her hip bone and thigh is very short.

Here is a good exercise to open the hip and, simultaneously, use the gluts and hamstrings:

Bridge

All of these exercises are best done under the supervision of a certified pilates expert.

Pilates for Equestrians

Happy hamstrings: What is the best way to stretch?

Having good hamstring length is important for all athletic endeavors and to comfortably do regular every day activities; to bend over to tie your shoes you will need elongated hamstrings. Without lengthened hamstrings, undue stress and strain may occur in the back, hips and knees.

Commonly, people know static stretches to build passive hamstring length. An example of static hamstring stretching would include lying your back while your instructor holds your leg in the air.

 

This photo illustrates a static stretch for the hamstrings using a wall to support the leg rather than a person

 

Static stretching will encourage the muscles to relax in order to create elongation, however, because the stretch is done passively, it may create an imbalance with the opposing muscle groups, make the muscle less sensitive to neural messages sent to the it by the brain, which diminishes its’ ability to generate force, and reduce blood flow in the stretched muscle. Therefore, static stretching is not considered a wise way to stretch prior to strenuous activity; a static stretch should only be held for 6-30 seconds, and should be done only preceding a gentle activity.

 

A dynamic hamstring stretch, conversely, involves actively taking the muscle in and out of a stretch. Since good flexibility is specific to body position and speed, a dynamic hamstring stretch will lengthen the muscle, but also prepare it for quick, ballistic and/or explosive activity. Consider when a soccer player kicks a ball or a martial artist kicks an opponent, he or she requires long muscles that can respond quickly in a variety of positions. In addition, since dynamic stretching increases blood flow to the muscles, it is an ideal way of stretching to prepare the muscles to be able to lengthen during a variety of situations- from playing sports and to doing other daily activities as gardening or picking up heavy objects. Training your hamstrings to stretch dynamically can greatly diminish the risk of tears and other injuries.

There are numerous exercises on the pilates reformer that can be used to dynamically lengthen the hamstrings. Here are three great exercises that can help you create long, strong and responsive hamstrings.

Feet in straps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back is stable against the carriage using the abdominal muscles, and all the muscles of the legs are active (gluts, hamstrings and quadriceps) to maintain the extension of the knees and to create resistance against the straps. When the legs are brought towards the body, the hamstrings are elongated, but the opposing muscle groups are active and the spine and pelvis are stable. This exercise begins slowly and can progress to a faster pace (still with control), 8-10 times.

Elephant:

During elephant, the gluts and hamstrings actively work to press the carriage out, simultaneously, the spine is supported in a neutral position. Then, the carriage is pulled in by using the hip flexor muscles. Notice that the upper body remains completely stable while the movement occurs at the hip joint, as if it were a hinge. This exercise begins slowly and may progress to a quicker pace (still with control), 8-10 times.

Front Splits standing on the floor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this exercise, the front leg is straightening to push the carriage out and bending to pull the carriage back in. The quadriceps are working to straighten the knee creating a hamstring stretch, then the hamstrings are working to pull the carriage back in. This exercise begins slowly and can progress to a quicker pace (still with control), 5-8 times.

All of these pilates exercises should be executed under the guidance of a certified pilates instructor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anatomy of the Pilates Reformer

The pilates reformer is an amazing piece of equipment. The design is simple and, yet, it is extremely versatile, enabling one one to do hundreds of different exercises that strengthen and/or stretch the arms, legs and trunk.

There is a carriage in which one can sit, kneel or stand on and which glides back and forth. On the underneath side of the carriage or wheels which allow it to glide and 5 different springs which create resistance to work against.

Resistance can be created for the arms or legs in various positions by either placing the hands or feet on the footbar (the bar at the front) or by putting the hands or feet into the straps. Depending on the exercise, all parts of the body can be used to either move the carriage or to stabilize the body against resistance that is very light or very heavy.

 In this particular exercise, the student is rotating her spine against resistance when she turns to the left, using her obliques, to create the rotation.

 

 The focus of an exercise, muscularly, can change depending on the amount of resistance (number of springs). For example, In this next exercise (pictured below), the student is pushing the carriage in and out with her arms. If the weight is lighter, then it takes more effort to control the position of her back to maintain a plank position, if it is heavier than it becomes more challenging for her upper body.

    This remarkable piece of equipment also allows you to use the straps to work the upper body and legs while, simultaneously, working the abdominals to create length of the spine. Seen here, the arms are working but also the spine is rounding into a deep curve.

The reformer also allows you to build strength and flexiblity by controlling the carriage in a standing postion. Imagine trying to keep the carriage pressed out and bending forward (as seen below) on very light spring weight! This exercise is a great workout for the muscles on the inside of our legs and challenges flexibility of the hamstrings, coordination and balance!

Do abdominal exercises hurt your back?

Do abdominal exercises make your back hurt? They shouldn’t. If you find that your back is sore after doing a series of abdominal exercises (either immediately after or a day or two later), you may want to check to see if you back is gripping while you are doing them.

Here are several tips for helping you learn how to use your abdominals (instead of other muscles) while doing ab exercises (sometimes called crunches or sit ups)

Step One:

Re-educate your body to learn how to find your abdominals without recruiting other, more dominant, muscle groups.

Often when one has weak abdominal muscles, the hip flexor muscles (the muscles at the front of your hip) and back muscles will overwork. Remove the additional challenge of holding your legs in the air, and instead, cue your hips and back to relax.

To do this, place a thick pillow on the ground in front of you and drape your legs over the pillow (or arc). Then actively tell your back and hip muscles to “let go.” You may notice that your back falls into a slight curve so that there is a space between your back and the floor. See if you can maintain this curve during your sit-up and still keep your back and hips quiet! When you do this correctly, you should feel that your abdominals are working more effectively.

Step Two:

The second step is to see if you can do the same thing with your legs up in the air in a supported position. You could do this by placing your legs over a ball (this will be harder since it is an unstable surface). If you need a surface that provides more stability, put your legs over a coffee table or other surface.

Step Three:

The last step is to see if you apply this to having your legs in the air without support. In this position, your hip flexors will have to work in order to hold your legs up against gravity, and your back may need to be placed firmly on the floor (instead of having a curve in it), but your back should still not be working and, overall, you should feel that there is more balance between your abdominals and hip flexors.

Once you have this skill, you should be able to apply it to other abdominal exercises that require more complex movement with your arms and legs.

Good luck.

 

Creating the 12 Days of Pilates Video!

Much thanks to all our Pilates Angels that helped us with the production of this video project. They all came in (or stayed) late last Friday night until 8:30pm learning the choreography and the music. What a crazy and fun project; I hope everyone enjoyed themselves!

A special thanks to everyone who helped:

Choreography by Leslie Braverman
Music production by Carri Bugbee
Lyrics by Leslie Braverman, Carri Bugbee, Melanie Byford-Young and Jean Leavenworth
Videography by Ash Leavenworth
Social Coordinator and champagne provider: Melanie Byford-Young
Morale Booster and Cheat Sheet Designer: Patricia Broome
12 Pilates Elves/the talent (in Teaser order)-
Lynda Schnarr
Kay Stepp
Daphna Kadim
Cheryl Ramette
Virginia Henry
Jill Prevender
Jerai Laird
Sue Thornburg
Kate Manning
Jean Leavenworth
Tracey Hutzenbiler
Lisa Mathews

Special Guest Appearance by Seemore the Santa Skeleton

YOU TOO CAN DO THE 12 DAYS OF PILATES WORKOUT!!

Come and celebrate the end of 2008, and welcome in the new year!
Join us for a FREE, FUN workout followed by champagne and treats.
Learn Pacific NW Pilates’ 12 Days of Pilates Workout! You will receive a special prize for attending, so bring your friends!

The workout is appropriate for any fitness level and is great way to get ready for a happy and healthy new year.

Date: December 31, 2008
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Location: Pacific NW Pilates
Sign up online or call us at 503-292-4409

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