Pilates has Put Me Back on Track!

My name is Meg, and I have been taking the Beginner/Intermediate reformer class with my mom since June. My mother was theinspiration to finally make the financial commitment and start taking weekly classes. She has had amazing results in her posture and strength not to mention a boost in self-confidence. I have always been a very active person from taking dance classes since I was 3 to competing in running and field hockey at the collegiate level. I was blessed in not experiencing any major injuries during my lifetime and believe this was due to the strength training I received in dance. When I moved to Portland three years ago, I didn’t run consistently and stopped taking dance classes. This resulted in losing a great deal of the strength and flexibility that helped keep me injury free.

It was a wake up call for me back in March when I broke my ankle while playing an indoor soccer game. I had never broken a bone before or had to use crutches, and I realized that I had been taking my physical health for granted. The healing process has been long and painful, but I took the necessary steps to get things back on track. The reformer classes have been a huge part of my rehabilitation and I feel that my ankles are now stronger than they ever were. I have also finally gotten back into running again and due to my injury have a entire new appreciate for my ability to do so. I am running faster and stronger than I did during the years in was in the best shape of my life and I truly believe that pilates has made the difference. I had a very successful relay race performance about a month ago and will run my first 10K road race at the end of October. I have a feeling I will perform well due to my increased strength and flexibility.
I look forward to going to my reformer class each week and can’t thank Pacific Northwest Pilates enough for bringing about this personal transformation.

Thanks, Meg

Figuring how to work with a fractured figure skater

Hello Melanie! It’s Safia from Toronto.

I have a new regular client who is a figure skater. She primarily does pairs but is currently skating solo while searching for a new partner. She is 17 and has sustained a fractured ischial tuberosity on her right side and severe tendinitis in both ankles (now healed). She lands her jumps on her right leg. We’ve worked together 3 times so far and the last time I worked with her she strained her lower right back near her SI joint during the short spine on the reformer. I asked Sally to look at her quickly and she was the one who said it felt like her SI joint and the soft tissues that were aggravated. However, she has only ever experienced strain on her left SI joint – never her right before.
I did hip release with the mini stability (flex) ball and the mermaid for the rest of the session to help relieve the pain a bit. She took a break from figure skating that day but danced that evening since she had recitals on Friday and Saturday night (she does ballet).
I know I have to strengthen all the little muscles around her joints to help her learn to stabilize. I’m just wondering if you have any advice in terms of exercises to emphasize and also exercises to avoid (besides the short spine of course!!).
I hope you have a chance to come back to Toronto soon. It’s wonderful to have you in the studio!!
Take care and best wishes,

Safia

Response from Melanie:

Hi Safia!
Thank you for writing. With your permission, we will post this on the blog so that others can also learn from your great question.
 
What comes to mind immediately is the strength and control of your clients hip extensors, particularly the relationship of the deep hip rotators, the glutes and the hamstrings. I suspect that she does not have adequate eccentric control of her glutes, which would result in less control of her SIJ/ low back, more strain on her ankles and poor landing mechanics. For this, you would do exercises including (as able): shoulder bridge (prep and full)- progressing to single legged, and with feet on an unstable surface; side lying one leg pull on reformer- straight and bent leg; supine and side lying feet in springs on the cadillac; the step up and step down series on the chair; and of course plyometrics focusing on the landing. Other balance challenges such as fencers lunges on the cadillac would be beneficial.
 
For her ankles, make sure that you do a lot of ankle lower and lift on reformer and chair. Make sure you do a variety of positions (parallel, laterally and medially rotated in second), and at a variety of paces. Also do unilateral and weight shifting. Lower and lift in the sleeper position will help with lateral stability of the ankle and hip. Other things like standing on one leg while doing side arm series at the cadillac will help with balance and the tendonitis.
 
Other great exercises for a skater include arabesque, front and back splits, knees off knee stretches, and anything for the abs in extension.
 
I have not given you specifics for her SIJ so let me know if that did not resolve immediately and needs help.
 
I hope this helps. Let us know how you progress.
sincerely
Melanie Byford-Young

Job shadowing a pilates instructor

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

My name is Hannah Walker and I’m a high school Junior interested in talking with you about teaching, your training, and your experiences owning a studio, to find out a little more about working as a Pilates instructor.

I am planning on coming to your studio for my Pilates certification and would like to learn more about your instructors as well as your thoughts on the STOTT PILATES method versus other teaching styles.

A little background about myself. I was a serious ballet dancer from age 4 until 15 and discovered Pilates through my dance studios. I stopped dancing ballet but have enjoyed taking some modern classes since then and I still continue with Pilates at Pilates Plus Northwest as well as Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis at Center Gyrotonic. My objective is to obtain my Pilates certification before I graduate high school, and eventually obtain my Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis certifications as well.

I know you are very busy, and don’t always have the time to meet with people. I thought that perhaps it would be more convenient if I emailed you some of my questions, and you can get back to me at your leisure.

Hi Hannah:

Actually, I didn’t choose STOTT PILATES, it chose me, and I am feel very fortunate about that. I decided to begin taking pilates classes after acquiring a dance injury (a stress fracture to my left tibia) that wouldn’t heal. It is a long story, but, in essence, I ended up missing nearly a year of my dance career while I was at Oregon Ballet Theatre. During that time, one of my co-workers (another dancer) suggested that I go with her to do pilates. The instructor had also been a dancer and she was a certified STOTT PILATES Instructor Trainer. Well, I had studied pilates in New York City many years before, so this particular style was unfamiliar to me, but as soon as we started going to classes, I fell in love it. I especially liked how anatomically- based it was. My teacher had been educated to work with injuries, and she worked very specifically with me on my imbalances and weaknesses; I began to realize that many of which may have instigated my injury. After I finally returned to dancing after being off for months, I was shocked at the amount of strength and over-all control I had gained. Even my co-workers were amazed.

It is difficult to find positions available that offer full-time work and benefits for pilates teaching only. Typically, in the United States, pilates instructors are self-employed. Nevertheless, those jobs do exist. At large gyms, clubs or resorts, you can find salaried or set hourly positions like this. Sometimes workers have multiple roles to acquire this employee status. For example, you may be a pilates instructor at a large gym and also do personal training or administrative work. At any rate, I think one of the benefits of pilates is that it can be taught in your own home. Because the equipment and initial investment is relatively low, compared to many start up businesses, a certified instructor can do really well. Also, many studios rent space and equipment to certified pilates instructors to run their own business within.

Depending on where you live, pilates can be very competitive or relatively unknown. Certainly, it is more popular than ten years ago, but that can also work to a new instructors advantage; the public does not need to be educated about what pilates is or its benefits like teachers had to do a decade ago. I think an instructor that is considering a career in pilates should do some homework about the region that they intend to work in prior to acquiring their certification. He or she should look seriously that the region’s demographics and if it can support a teacher. Also, I have seen excellent pilates teachers thrive in areas that are not typically supportive of a business like pilates, but because of the individual’s personality, talents and skills as a teacher he or she excels anyway.

Income varies widely depending on the region in which you live. An instructor that I know in Los Angeles makes over $80,000 per year. She doesn’t work at a studio but instead has built a business catering to the affluent people in that region. She requires her students to purchase STOTT PILATES equipment, and she teaches them in their homes. She is an excellent instructor and uses word-of-mouth referrals to gain new students.

I am not sure that this same kind of business could thrive in a city the size of Portland. There are people in this city with this same level of affluence, but compared to population there are fewer. Also, the Portland mind-set is completely different than L.A.

In a city like Portland, an excellent, hard-working, full time teacher (30-35 hours per week) can probably earn about $45,000-$60,000 per year, depending on their circumstances (if they are a business owner and how many hours they work.)

I think an Exercise Science Degree could be helpful to someone interested in pursuing a career in pilates. In fact, I have met many college students getting a degree in Exercise Science or Physical Therapy pursue the pilates training as a means to be employed while in school. Because of the ability to have a flexible schedule and be self-employed as a pilates instructor, it is a great job option that is complementary to their academic pursuits.
Business courses are definitely helpful to individuals considering opening a studio.

Yes, word-of-mouth referrals are the primary way that we acquire new students. Initially, when we opened our studio, we had to invest money into print advertising, conventions, and offer ongoing specials and discounts etc. After about four years in business, we found that most of our clients were finding us through referrals and on the internet. After seven years, we discontinued all of our print advertising. Having excellent instructors and keeping our clientele happy has been the best way to build loyalty and a consistently positive reputation in our area.

Thanks, again, Hannah, for contacting us. I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to meeting you one day.

Thanks much,
Leslie

Pilates can condition your body and mind like a dancer’s

I started doing pilates while dancing as a student in New York City at the School of American Ballet during the summer of 1988, and it is still the only kind of cross training I do. I’ve tried yoga, I’ve tried running, I’ve tried weight lifting, but none of them have stuck.

Pilates has been used by dancers as a method of improving technique and helping to rehabilitate injuries for decades. In fact, famous clients of Joseph Pilates include Martha Graham and George Balanchine, two of the most influential people in American dance history. Because of this, generations of dancers have studied pilates since the 1940’s.

So, what makes Pilates so useful to dancers? And can these concepts be applied to others?

Tracey Carboneau of Bouand DanceCompany

When Joseph Pilates worked with students, it is said, that he worked with everyone as an individual and, in fact, he had many of his students that were dancers work in a parallel position versus in a turned-out (externally rotated) position. His logic, likely, was to try to counter the work that dancers normally do (often in an externally rotated position) and provide more balance to the muscles fibers of the legs that get overworked by always being shortened in one way. So, while it may be assumed that the idea of turning out the legs is what makes pilates useful to dancers, on the contrary, it seems it is the idea of balance that is more important.

I remember when I first started doing Pilates it felt strange and awkward, to try to keep my legs in a parallel position. In fact, I had to look down at my feet sometimes in order to see if my feet really were in that position. I started to feel new muscles working- my adductors felt sore in a new way, and my quadriceps were really weak in parallel positions, especially when asked to jump or balance in a deep lunge. And strangely, my turn-out improved, and I felt stronger while dancing then ever before! I remember thinking, at the time, how odd it was that my legs would get stronger, be able to go up higher and externally rotate more easily by working on the opposing muscle groups.

Today, I find this is true with clients. If I focus on creating balance in their overall movement, they find improvement happens in their other activities. For example, if I work with someone that is a golfer, I try to provide them with a workout that balances their body. In other words, if he or she always hits the ball from one direction, I make sure they do a lot of spinal rotation in the other direction when they do pilates, and, inevitably, their golf swing improves!

Another reason, I believe, that pilates is such a useful training system for dancers, is that it asks the dancer to do movement that is efficient and full of ease. Just as with dancing, one must condition him or herself in a way that does not create the look of strain. This is untrue in other training systems, like weight lifting, where, often, the focus is on how much weight can be lifted and power, versus the quality of the movement that is being created. Even a male dancer that has to lift his partner has to be able to do this with ease and grace. This means that the power he has in his body must be gained using technique that is, simultaneously, coordinated, rhythmic and expressive. For a dancer, having power exclusive of these other factors is meaningless.

Scott Trumbo and Cate Powers of Bouand DanceCompany

Consider this same concept for other athletes, and the same is true. The greatest basketball players, golfers, skaters, swimmers and runners, all share this same quality. Their movement looks utterly effortless, coordinated and beautiful when done well. Granted Michael Jordan isn’t paying attention to the same kinds of details on the basketball court that Mikhail Baryshnikov is paying attention to in a ballet, but I would bet that the level of concentration, attention to detail and skill is equivalent. If a dancer is unable to execute his or her pirouettes well, he or she is going to think about changing any number of things to correct the problem. Perhaps the way he or she is taking his foot of the floor is effecting the direction of the turn, the dancer will have to consider this change and then work to integrate it into the mechanics of the turn until it becomes natural to do. The same way that a basketball player may need to alter the timing of his throw or how he or she releases the ball from his hands in order to consistently throw the ball in an accurate direction.

What I realize as a pilates teacher is that the idea of training your body to be able to do things with precision and ease is a skill that everyone can use. I believe, human beings were designed to use their body that way. In a pilates class, I ask my students to do the same thing I would ask of myself as a dancer: to pay attention to the quality of the movement, the rhythm, dynamic and genesis of it.

With this point of view, an exercise like “Footwork” on the reformer becomes quite demanding. A student not only has to think about the placement of his or her feet, but the timing of the movement, the alignment of the knees while they bend and straighten, the position of their back and the recruitment pattern and quality of the muscles that are at work to either stabilize some parts of the body or create effortless, coordinated movement with others. Finally, can all these things be integrated so that the movement is done as efficiently and easily as possible.

Pilates, for me, will always be a remarkable conditioning method, because it conditions me like a dancer. It incorporates all the subtle distinctions of training my body as an artist that must take care with the placement of my hands, feet, eyes and head while incorporating the power and control of an athlete that must jump, turn and have fluid, exquisite control.