Inside the Pilates Studio: Karen Frischmann

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Inside the Pilates Studio: Karen Frischmann Karen Frischmann is co-owner of Vintage Pilates in Los Angeles.

Along with Sandy Shimoda, she has created a fantastic post-graduate Pilates Education program with Jay Grimes at the helm. Vintage Pilates does an excellent job of weeding through imbalance, wonkiness and trickiness in an ongoing search for true connection and balance in the body.

Karen has a calm energy and definitely gives off the vibe that we’re gonna do some serious work here. I have a weekly lesson with Sandy Shimoda – which I dearly love – but every once in a while for scheduling reasons I get to see Karen. Notwithstanding the love I have for Sandy, I have to say Karen always manages to come up with a game changer for me that is fun to write down and use as a mantra.

Some recent favorites

  • “There’s no squishing in Pilates.” in regard to the upper back position in the 2nd Stomach Massage Series
  • “When do we ever do that?”  in regard to a random Pilates-esque exercise that was probably not part of Joe’s original system as it differs wildly from all the other exercises

Karen has a wicked eye for the work and also a great compassion for when you’ve found a super-challenging element in one exercise only to discover that, my God, you need that same thing in just about every other exercise. Whew. Where are the towels?

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?  

Karen Frischmann: Hands down – the roll up. It has so many of the principles of the method rolled up in it. The two way stretch, the use of the seat, the back connection… the powerhouse of course. It is also the first exercise in which I started seeing all the connections within the work.

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

KF: Knees off, but just because after all these years it is still so difficult for me. I know I need it, it is a really good exercise, but seriously, it just doesn’t get any easier. Ha, and if it ever does I know I will hear Jay say “OK, now….”

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

KF: Wow, you know I have been doing Pilates for 18 years and teaching for 16 and every day I come to a new connection or conclusion. The depth of this work is astonishing. I get to work with amazing people, – clients, teachers and each one teaches me and stretches me in different ways. Where else can you get that?

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

KF: BALANCE. It is something that I’m not very good at it and work towards every day.  

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

KF: A world without balance, movement, beauty or joy.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

KF: Reach.

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

KF: Core, or maybe sit bones.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

KF: Architect

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

KF: “Ya done good kid.”

10. What did you learn today?

KF: How to connect better on both sides in my side bends.

The Entire Mat is in the Short Box

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“The Entire Mat is in the Short Box.”

Imagine my delight at hearing Jay Grimes utter this phrase. In any of his workshops, often less than 10 minutes in, a pearl of this caliber is unleashed and I am just so happy to be in the room. I’m not entirely sure I didn’t whoop out loud.

Plus – OMG – it’s about the Short Box and – double OMG – the Mat as well. Two delectable apparatuses totally deserving of my favorite new word:

*Nerdgasm*

Now to get my geek on and figure out what the hell he’s talking about

That’s half the fun really. I get it, but it’s one of those where I wanna write it down and chew on it for a while…and it’s a great exercise in “Let’s see how this whole method all hangs together…”

Let’s go for the literal first.

  1. The Roll Up is easy to see in the Round (Hug) exercise, you’ve just got to deal with that box underneath you…Pilatesology-Roll-Up-Round
  2. Single Leg Circles is the ultimate version of the Tree when you’ve got your hands on the floor pushing up into your High Bridge. Okay, yes, but I’ll wager the Tree is helping you with Single Leg Circles way before you even get to the circling leg part…Pilatesology---Single-Leg-Circle-tree
  3. The Side Bend is really the same shape as Side to Side on the Short BoxSide-bend-2

But now to the element of skill-building on the Reformer. All the apparatuses exist simply to serve us and our Mat Exercises, right?

What a perfect job for the mighty Short Box.

Here you sit with a veritable motherload of skills available to you.

  1. Sit up tall in your Tree and reach all the way from your low back to hold the ankle. Lift yourself up here to hold the ankles a la Open Leg Rocker.Pilatesology---OLR
  2. Learn to use the straps in the Short Box effectively to help the lower body connection of The Roll Up and The Neck Pull.Pilatesology-Use-of-Straps
  3. Every exercise is the Double Leg Pull, so there’s that…
    Pilatesology-Double-Leg-Pull

When you look at it this way, the Short Box is indispensable to the Method (quel suprise). Oh, and Brilliant! Every skill you need for every exercise in the system is right here on display.

How many Mat exercises can you find? Leave a comment below and share your favorites, especially the ones you love to hate :)

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Inside the Pilates Studio: Ernesto Reynoso (Spanish Translation)

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Click here for English translation.

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Ernesto Reynoso

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Ernesto Reynoso (Spanish Translation)

Ernesto Reynoso dancing.

1. ¿Cuál es tu ejercicio favorito de Pilates y por qué?
 
Ernesto Reynoso: El Cien (Hundred), porque abarca todo lo que Pilates es: resistencia, fuerza, core/“powerhouse” (ver más abajo), la respiración y la concentración. Ejercita todo: los abdominales, los glúteos, los brazos. Se trata del control: el control de la respiración, el control de los movimientos. Al principio, cuando empecé el programa de certificación, se me dijo que El Cien era un ejercicio de calentamiento. Pero a medida que avancé y sobre todo después de tomar clases con Kathi Ross-Nash, El Cien se ha convertido en el ejercicio más desafiante y desarrolla todo de una manera que nunca había sentido ni alcanzado antes. Al finalizar El Cien, ya estoy sudando y me duele todo, pero veo (¡y siento!) que todo se resume en este único ejercicio.
 
2. ¿Qué ejercicio es el que menos te gusta? Escoge sólo uno.
 
ER: El Árbol (The Tree). Soy bailarín de ballet, y, de forma muy simplificada, El Árbol requiere que uno estire la pierna y la acerque a su nariz; para los bailarines, esto es muy fácil. El Árbol, sin embargo, es el ejercicio que menos me gusta, porque cuanto más lo practicas, más desafíos encuentras. Cuanto mejor lo haces, más te das cuenta de que no se trata sólo de acercar la nariz a la rodilla. Se trata de elongar la columna vertebral y abrir la espalda, además de estirar los músculos isquiotibiales. Así, al final, no se trata de hacer más, sino de hacerlo mejor. En un nivel básico, se puede sentir muy bien, pero, a medida que uno avanza, se vuelve muy complicado. A menudo perdemos eso de vista.
 
3. ¿Qué te atrae de forma creativa, mental o física sobre el método Pilates?
 
ER: Las infinitas posibilidades de Pilates, siempre impulsadas por su intuición. Los instructores capacitados por Romana utilizan el método más puro y eficaz. Cuando uno se acerca a Pilates con una mente abierta, dispuesto a aprender de los grandes instructores, es impresionante cómo, en los más altos niveles, el enfoque es puro, pero las perspectivas son fascinantemente diferentes. En el caso de Pilates, siendo fiel a la forma clásica, se puede ser y hacer lo que uno quiera y necesite, y uno se puede volver inmensamente creativo, aprovechando la intuición. Nosotros, por supuesto, debemos seguir los parámetros del método brillante de Joseph, pero implícito en su enfoque se encuentra el elemento de la creatividad: desglosar los ejercicios, según sea necesario para un cliente determinado; hacer llegar a un cliente a lo más alto; llevar nuestros propios límites más allá de nuestra mejor marca personal y buscar la ejecución más elegante y hermosa.
 
4. ¿Cuál es tu idea de la felicidad terrenal?
 
ER: Hmmm ¿Cuál es el propósito de la vida? ¿Por qué estamos haciendo esto? ¿Por qué nos subimos al Reformer todos los días? Creo que trata de trascender los límites y salir de la caja, donde uno encuentra una motivación aún mayor. No se encuentra en el logro de algo específico necesariamente; sino, más bien, se trata de saber que siempre hay algo más, algo más grande que uno puede lograr, que hay un escalón más alto sobre el que nos podemos parar. Llegar a más en todo: eso es lo que se trata, para mí. Lo que hoy es la felicidad, en concreto, puede no ser la felicidad mañana, pero todo está en el proceso de ir hacia adelante. No se trata de lo que uno logra, sino que se trata de aquello a lo que aspiramos, y la actitud y el enfoque que se utilizan. La búsqueda de la felicidad es una idea utópica y quizá no existe realmente, pero la felicidad es en sí misma una actitud y un enfoque.
 
5. ¿Cuál sería la mayor desgracia, en tu opinión?
 
ER: Sólo seguir la manada, con la mente cerrada a todas las posibilidades que están fuera de la caja y convencerse a uno mismo que esto, ahora mismo, es suficientemente bueno. “Si esto es suficientemente bueno, entonces no hay nada más que aprender”.
 
6. ¿Cuál es tu palabra favorita de Pilates? “Más”
 
ER: En Pilates, siempre tienes gente diciéndote: “Puedes hacer más”. Es posible que odies esa frase en algún momento, cuando estás bañado en sudor y quieres dejarte caer, pero al final es lo que te empuja a todas las grandes posibilidades.
 
7. ¿Cuál es tu palabra de Pilates menos favorita?
 
ER: “Powerhouse”. Yo soy de México y el español es mi lengua materna. Powerhouse, traducido literalmente es “la casa del poder”, que no tiene ningún sentido para mí y suena tonto. Del mismo modo, “core” (núcleo) carece prácticamente de significado. CENTER (CENTRO) tiene mucho más sentido y es, además, más poderoso. Nos enfocamos en el centro del cuerpo, el centro de equilibrio y de gravedad. He oído de Jay Grimes que Joseph nunca usó la palabra “powerhouse”. Es un término que surge de una descripción sucinta, fácil pero vaga. Joseph habría dicho: “Hazlo desde las entrañas”, que significa mucho más para mí. Por supuesto, yo no estaba allí para comprobarlo. Sólo tengo 35 años.
 
8. ¿Qué otra profesión que no sea la que tienes en la actualidad te gustaría probar?
 
ER: Médico: Porque la prevención es mejor que tratar de curar. Si yo fuera médico, me centraría en temas de bienestar general y le diría a mis pacientes: “¿Qué se ajusta mejor a sus horarios tan ocupados: una hora de ejercicio al día o estar muerto las 24 horas?” (¿De quién es esta cita? No sé. La leí en Facebook.)
 
9. Si el Paraíso existe y, por casualidad, al llegar a sus puertas Joseph Pilates también está allí, ¿qué te gustaría que te dijese?
 
ER: “Bienvenido al cielo, vamos a fumar un cigarro y tomar una copa para que podamos conversar. Lo has hecho muy bien, pero vuelve y hazlo mejor. De lo contrario, vete al infierno”.
 
10. ¿Qué has aprendido hoy?
 
ER: Cuanto más aprendo, más me doy cuenta de lo poco que sé.

Inside the Pilates Studio: Ernesto Reynoso

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Ernesto Reynoso

 

Haga clic aquí para la traducción en Español.

 

Ah what fun was had at Kathi’s Pillow Summer 2012. Ernesto Reynoso was one of the new Pilates faces I had the pleasure of meeting, although his name had been familiar to me for some time via mutual Pilates colleagues and social media. I must confess a bit of a weakness for male ballet dancers… just jealous of the vertical hops they possess…It looks so fun to be up that high. Scroll down for another “action shot” of Ernesto and see him hanging out up near the ceiling!

You can catch up with Ernesto and his Pilates Powerhouse at Re:AB or find him both teaching and working out right here on Pilatesology.

Inside the Pilates Studio: Ernesto Reynoso

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?
 
Ernesto Reynoso: The Hundred, because it encompasses everything that Pilates is about: stamina, strength, core/”powerhouse” (see below), breathing, and focus. It works everything:  the abdominals, the glutes, the arms. It is about control:  controlling your breathing, controlling your movement. In the beginning, when I started the certification program, I was told that The Hundred was a warm-up exercise. But as I progress and especially after taking lessons with Kathi Ross-Nash, The Hundred has become the most challenging exercise, and it develops everything in a way I have never felt or achieved before. By the end of The Hundred, I am already sweating and everything hurts, but I see (and feel!) it all come together in this one exercise.
 
2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.
 
ER: The Tree. I am a ballet dancer, and, in an overly simplified manner, The Tree requires you to stretch your leg and pull it to your nose; for dancers, this is very easy. The Tree, however, becomes my least favorite exercise because the more you get into it, the more you have to look for the challenge. The better you perform it, the more you realize that it is not just about nose-to-knee. It is about lengthening the spine and opening the back, besides just stretching the hamstrings. Thus, in the end, it is not about how far you go but how you do it. At a basic level, it can feel great, but, as you advance, it becomes very complicated. We often lose sight of that.
 
3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?
 
ER: The endless possibilities of Pilates, always driven by your intuition. Romana-trained instructors use the purest and most effective method. When one approaches Pilates with an open mind, willing to learn from the great instructors, it is stunning how, at the highest levels, the approach is pure but the perspectives are fascinatingly different. In Pilates, while being true to the classical form, you still can be and do whatever you want and need, and you can be immensely creative, tapping into your intuition. We of course must follow the parameters of Joseph’s brilliant method, but implicit in his approach is the element of creativity: to break down the exercises as needed for any given client, to push a client to the ultimate, to push your own limits to go beyond your personal best, and to seek more elegant and beautiful execution. 
 
4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?
 
ER: Hmmm — what is the purpose of life? Why are we doing this? Why are we getting on the Reformer every day? I think about pushing the edge and getting outside of the box, where you find even greater motivation. It is not in achieving something specific, necessarily, but, rather, it is about knowing that there is always something else, something greater that you can achieve, that there is a bigger box into which you can step. Reaching further in everything: that’s what it is all about, for me. What today is happiness, specifically, may not be happiness tomorrow, but it is all in the process of pushing forward. It is not about what you achieve, but instead it is about that to which you aspire, and the attitude and approach you use. The pursuit of happiness is a Utopian idea and perhaps does not really exist, but happiness itself is an attitude and an approach.
 
5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?
 
ER: To just follow the pack, with the mind closed to all the possibilities that are outside the box and convincing oneself that this, right now, is good enough. “If this is good enough, then there is nothing left to learn.”
 
6. What is your favorite Pilates word?
 
ER: ‘More’. In Pilates, you always have people telling you, “You can do more.” You may hate it at that moment, when you are dripping with sweat and want to fall over, but in the end it is what pushes you into all of the great possibilities.
 
7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?
 
ER: ‘Powerhouse’. I am from Mexico, and Spanish is my mother tongue. ‘Powerhouse’, translated directly, is ‘the house of power’, which means nothing to me and sounds silly.  Similarly, ‘core’ is pretty meaningless. CENTER makes much more sense and is, well, more powerful. We focus on the center of the body, the center of balance and gravity. I have heard from Jay Grimes that Joseph never used the word ‘powerhouse’. It was a term that arose as an easy but vague shorthand. Joseph reportedly said, ‘Do it from your guts’, which means so much more to me. Of course, I was not there to verify this.  Hey, I am only 34.
 
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
 
ER: Physician. Because preventing is better than fixing. If I were a physician, I would focus on general wellness issues and would tell patients, “What fits better into your busy schedule: one hour of exercise a day or 24 hours of being dead?” (Whose quote is this? I don’t know. I read it on Facebook.)
 
9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?
 
ER: “Welcome to heaven, let’s smoke a cigar and have a drink so we can talk. You did pretty well, but go back and do it better. Otherwise, go to hell.”
 
10. What did you learn today?
 
ER: The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
 

One Pilates Exercise that will make all the other ones BETTER.

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Joe Pilates said if you can do only one exercise a day, it should be the Double Leg Pull (sometimes called Double Leg Stretch). This exercise captures the very essence of the Pilates Method: the strong center, the 2-way stretch out of it, and the breath. Perform this exercise well and it will make all your other exercises better. Consider it your personal Pilates Mantra.

We only have one exercise:

The Double Leg Pull.

Double Leg StretchThe Double Leg Pull can be an excellent window through which to view every other Pilates exercise.

If an exercise is indeed a Pilates exercise you will find the Double Leg Pull within it. Now you might end up upside-down and backwards with one arm and a twist, but the Double Leg Pull is still in there. (Which twisty one-armed, upside down exercise am I referring to here? Find out the answer at the end of this post.)

Conversely, if Double Leg Pull is nowhere to be found, perhaps the exercise in question is not really a Pilates exercise…

Awww… frownie face…

If I can find the Double Leg Pull how will it help my Pilates workout?

Marian Diamond, a neuroscientist and professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California at Berkeley maintains “The important thing that we’ve learned is that repetition helps memory. Teachers should know that it’s all right to say something once and then turn it around and say the same thing in another way, to use repetition.”

This is exactly what is happening in your workout. The Pilates Method (the teacher) is presenting your body and your brain with repetition: with the same set of circumstances (the Double Leg Pull) in an endless variety of different scenarios (all the other exercises).

And then you will do it all over again the next day, and the day after that. Et cetera. I know, Latin is so sexy. Let’s run with it.

Repetitio Est Mater Studiorum: Repetition is the mother of all learning (Study).

An example of learning by repetition is a child learning to ride a bike.

“The more attempts a child makes, the more the brain reinforces the particular skills necessary to stay balanced and in motion. After some time, the child doesn’t have to stop and think about each part of the procedure to stay upright, balanced, and in motion, or how to stop without falling off. 

Every time the child rides, the skill is reinforced. Even years later, with no additional riding experience, it is possible for a person to get on a bike and ride because it was so firmly encoded in the brain. This is the power of learning by repetition.” from Professional Learning Board

The same holds true for encoding the Pilates Method on the body. Just like riding a bike, the more intrinsic Pilates is to your body, it then begins to inform all of your various daily activities and sports. All the exercises are really just exaggerated versions of everyday natural movements.

The ultimate result of the method is to have the skills cultivated in your body to such a degree that your every movement becomes a Pilates exercise.

So did you guess?

My choice for the upside-down-and-backwards-with-one-arm-and-a-twist version of the Double Leg Pull is the Twist on the Wunda Chair. Yup, it’s even got the breathing aspect, lookie there!

Twist on the Wunda Chair

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Pilatesology 30 Session Challenge!

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“In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference,
in 20 sessions you’ll see the difference, 
and in 30 sessions you will have a whole new body.”
  
Joe Pilates’ famous quote is super motivating, even though everyone always leaves off the best part: “or I’ll give you your money back.” That’s how confident Joe was that you were going to completely transform with consistent sessions. Did you catch the key word there? Consistency is the key to transformation. Well, with Joe’s plans for your body in mind, we’d like to introduce the…
 

Pilatesology 30 Session Challenge

Print out this handy Training Log to get started.

Rules:

  • Complete 30 sessions in 8 weeks or less.
  • Sessions as short as 10 min count but for best results aim for 60 min.
  • Work out every other day for a max of 7x per week.
  • Schedule your workouts in your calendar & track your progress with our Training Log (print it out)!

Any Pilates session counts, whether it’s booked with your favorite instructor or at your convenience with Pilatesology. Here’s a Sample Mat Program but feel free to create your own 30 Session Program (apparatus classes count if you have access to apparatus). 

Sample Program – Choose a class and do it for 1 week. Choose a new class the following week. If you need more variety or find a class is too easy or too hard, make a note and try another class.

Explore and have fun, here’s some suggestions to get you started!

Advanced Level Mat Classes:

Intermediate Level Mat Classes:
 

Beginner Level Mat Classes (if you’re new to Pilates, start with Fundamentals classes for Week 1 or as long as you need):

Fundamentals classes:

When you’re finished, send in your completed Training Log. If we turn your classes into a Pilatesology Program, we’ll feature you on the site!
 
HOW TO SEND US YOUR TRAINING LOG:
  • Email it to alisa@pilatesology.com. 
 
 

Do It Yourself! How to make your own Pilates Folding High Mat

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We’d like to thank Lauren Hammerle and her amazing husband Dave for sharing his instructions for building your very own Folding High Mat for only $210. Lauren happens to be a Pilates Instructor herself, as well as the mother of 4 and truly, one of the nicest people we’ve ever met. Visit her at: Precision Pilates Studio in Ridgewood, NJ, and check out her killer form in two of our most popular classes led by Kathi Ross Nash: Leg (Springs) To Die For and Designer Magic Circle (Lauren’s wearing a headband).

We want to hear about your own Pilates projects! Please send us your stories, comments and questions via our Contact page.

The finished Pilates High Mat is easily stored under a bed or in a closet because it folds in half!

Dave & Lauren Hammerle’s Homemade Pilates Folding High Mat 

While it’s hard to beat an authentic Gratz Pilates mat, you can make your own folding high mat and foot boxes pretty close to the original. We based our measurements on Gratz finished dimensions and tried to keep as close as possible along the way.

Notes:

  • We opted to make our handles in two pieces rather than one dowel that runs all the way through (like Gratz). This was for our storage purposes. We also aesthetically left off the silver ring that Gratz uses to cover the vinyl where the wood dowel inserts.
  • We used a high piece of foam with 3”. This makes the mat really soft, cushiony and makes the exercises challenging. It also adds a great chest opener when you are holding on to the handles! You may want a smaller inch of foam.
  • The size of the foot boxes are smaller than Gratz. This is because of the one full size piece of foam that I purchased. The small discrepancy in foot box size is not notable.

Cost: $210

Time: One full dayʼs work

Materials:

From Joanne Fabrics:

  • 3” foam – 1 full piece measuring 90”x24”, cut into 4 pieces. Sizes 40”x24” times 2 and 10”x12” times 2. Cut the 40” pieces first and you will be left with your one piece to cut in half for your 10”x12” (the foot boxes).
  • Marine Grade Vinyl – 2 pieces measuring 54”x38” and 2 pieces measuring 24”x26”. If you buy the vinyl from Joanne Fabrics, make sure it is Marine Grade and the store will only cut the fabric in one direction. You may have to cut some pieces yourself. These measurements leave enough room to pull the vinyl taught over the foam and wood.
  • Foot Strap – 1 piece of belting 24” long. I chose a strap that was 1 ⅛” wide and soft to the touch.
  • Velcro, stickyback

From Home Depot:

  • 3 x 24”x48”, ⅜” plywood precut. (If you are not making Foot Boxes, you need 2 pieces of plywood.)
  • 2 x 1”x8” by 8ʼ No. 2 pine
  • 1 x 3ʻx1 1/4” dowel
  • 1 x small box 1”x5/8” drywall screw
  • 2 x ¼” hanger bolts, one side is wood and one side is machine screw
  • 2 x washers that fit ¼”
  • 2 x hex nuts to fit ¼” hanger bolt (you may need to buy a full bag of 20 hex nuts)
  • 2 x ¼”x ⅝” eyebolts and nuts
  • 1 x 2 pack of 2 ½” non-removable pin hinge in zinc
  • Double point staples, 9/16”
  • 1x 2 pack ¼” white rubber leg tips
  • 2x 8 packs of 1 ½” Anti-Skid pad circles
  • 2 x 3” carabiners
  • 1x small Elmerʼs Wood Glue, exterior
  • Pushpins 
  • 1 small box 1¼” Brad Nails
  • Silicone

Tools Needed:

  • Table Saw
  • Skill Saw
  • Chop Saw
  • Screw Gun
  • Compressor, hose, nail gun
  • Assorted size of Wood Drill bits, up to ⅜”
  • Hammer
  • ¼” ratchet
  • Pliers

Instructions:

Mat: Rip on table saw 1x8x8ʼ pine down to 2 ¾” x 8ʼ. You will get two out of each board, which is 4 pieces. Set your chop saw to 45 degrees, cut 4 pieces 40” long to long. That takes up 2 of the 8ʼ pieces. Save leftovers. Next, cut 4 pieces 24” long to long out of the other two 8ʼ pieces. Cut 2 pieces 22 1/2” square. Cut plywood to 40”. Now take two 24” pieces and two 40” pieces and make a frame of 24”x40”. At each 45 degree joint, put glue, 2 finished nails and one screw in the middle. Glue the top of your frame which is 24”x40”, place plywood on glue. With an ⅛” drill bit, pre-drill pilot holes and screw every 5” or so around the entire frame making sure to put 2 screws on either side of corner an inch in or so. Put this aside and build the second half of the folding mat the same way.

Foot Boxes: With the leftover pine, cut on chop saw four 10” long to long pieces and four 12” long to long pieces. Take two 10” and two 12” pieces and make a 10”x12” frame the same way you did with the mat above. Cut the third piece of plywood to two 12”x10” pieces. Glue and screw plywood to frame in the same manner as above with mat.

Dowels: Cut dowel to 2 pieces measuring 10”. In the center of circle, pre-drill 3/16” hole and screw the point end of hanger bolt into dowel. You may accomplish this by taking ¼” nut and screwing that in completely on the machine side of the screw, all the way to the middle and using an adjustable wrench to screw in the wood part. Pick one of the mat boxes, measure from corner on 40” side –2“, make a mark. From bottom of box up towards plywood, measure 2 ⅜”, which is center of your ⅜” hole. Drill hole through the pine. Do the same thing to the opposite corner of the 24” side.

Eyebolts for Foot Strap: With other mat box on one of the 24” sides, measure 5 ½” from each corner, 2 ¼” up from the bottom. Drill two ⅜” holes.

Foam and Vinyl:

The foot box frames getting their foam padding.

Start with covering a foot box in vinyl. Take 1 foot box, 1 foam and 1 vinyl, put the vinyl good side facing down on a flat surface (table), put foam and then plywood side down onto foam. Center everything. It should be approximately 7” in from each side. 

Covering a foot box with vinyl.

Fold the vinyl (like a present) over the foam and base, tucking it inside and tack it with the pushpins. Be sure to pull taught to round the edges on all 4 sides. Be patient. This process might be the hardest part. Temporarily tack it with pushpins. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Use your preference on what looks good when folding. Flip over and exam to check if you like it. If it looks good, set it aside. Do the same thing to the other foot box. Repeat this for the Mat boxes. If it all looks good, take the 9/16” staples, replace pushpins with staples to the interior of pine wall where the pushpins were. Be sure to nail staple first and then pull pushpin. (Donʼt staple into plywood. Staple in pine frame.) When folding the vinyl try to keep the fold away from the dowel holes.

Dave, attaching the vinyl to the box frame.

Eyebolts: Locate holes for eyebolts. Take the point of a razor knife or scissor and puncture the vinyl. Feed the eyebolt through. Tighten with the nut that comes with it. Repeat for other eyebolt.

Hinge: Take the two mat boxes and fold them bottom side together (or what you may consider the wrong side), so vinyl is on outside (as if you were folding up your finished mat). Making sure the eyebolts and dowel holes are on the same side. On the opposite of that, is where you will put your hinges-the hinge side. On your hinge side, measure 4” in from the end on the two pieces, making 4 marks. Two on one mat and two on the other half of the mat. Separate the mat halves an inch. Take the barrel of the hinge and make it flush with the bottom side of the mat so that when the mat is open, the barrel part of the hinge is not on the ground. Do the same thing for the other hinge on the other side. Screw the two hinges onto eyebolt side first, making sure to keep the barrel part of the hinge flush with the bottom edge of the box. Put the other mat box 90 degrees to the first box, screw hinges in, making sure to keep barrel edge of hinge flush with the bottom edge also.

Anti-Slip pads: Cut anti-slip pads in half. Turn mat over and attach pads to all 8 corners and space throughout bottom, leaving 4 pads to cut in half for the foot boxes.

Dowels: Locate holes for dowel handle. Puncture vinyl, feed screw end of dowel into hole in frame, put washer and ¼” hex nut and tighten. Do the same to the opposite side. Take silicone and squeeze it into the rubber tip and press into the dowel handles. Not too much silicone so that it does not ooze out. Just coat the bottom of the rubber.

Foot Strap: Attach the 2 carabiners to the eyebolts. Take the Foot strap and stickyback velcro. Attach one piece of the velcro to the end of the strap and the other velcro about 2” away. Do this to both ends of the strap. You then have a small ʻloopʼ to attach the strap to the carabiner. This strap can easily come off to be washed. You can also use your sewing machine instead of the velcro. Next time I pull out my sewing machine, I will most likely remove the velcro and sew the strap instead. It will be sturdier than the velcro and is still removable to be washed. But, the velcro also works!

Enjoy making your own Pilates Mat!

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Junghee Won

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On October 7, 2009 I received a very exciting email.  Upon her move to Oceanside, CA Junghee Won wrote to introduce herself with the hope of starting to work at my studio. She included a brief outline of her training and experience and my eyes grew wider and wider as I read on. I felt like the luckiest Pilates instructor alive. You had me at Romana :) Now if only I had a studio…

I thought her name sounded familiar and it was only a few days later that I figured out where I had seen her before. Probably many have seen the DVD series from classicalpilates.net. She along with Peter Fiasca, Jamie Trout and others are featured in this pristine Pilates video series.

We met for coffee and have been friends ever since. I was hungry for weekly private lessons and started training with her in her home shortly thereafter. She thought I was only interested in the occasional lesson, but I felt so good and strong after her lessons that I actually remembered why I became a Pilates instructor in the first place. This exercise feels so good! I remembered when I began taking classes at Excel Movement Studios and the time my duet partner didn’t show, resulting in my very first private Pilates lesson. Oh wow – so much more focus and I learned so much – this is the way to go! It all came flooding back to me when I started my lessons with Junghee. She made me do all the stuff that is very challenging for me and she had such a brilliantly simple way of answering my questions. She introduced me to a wonderful quote from Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
‘Nuff said.

Junghee now lives in the New York area and although I dearly miss having her so close in California, she is happily kicking lots of popos at New Jersey’s Can Do Fitness.

Click here to read Junghee’s Interview in Korean.

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

Junghee Won: Roll Up, Open Leg Rocker, Teaser, Neck Roll on the Mat. The Roll Up makes me strengthen my powerhouse and mobilizes and stretches my spine. This makes me feel so good and then I feel like I’m ready to move on to the next exercise.  Open Leg Rocker reminds me to find the center again and balance in a seated position and gives me the focus that I love to feel.  The Teaser challenges me to lift my center and use the whole body connection from head to toe which I enjoy so much. After all that, the Neck Roll is important to me to strengthen my back and anteriorly stretch my entire body which I can really feel.  Rolling my neck is like a moment of break time while holding in the powerhouse enjoying the feeling of stretching my neck all around.
I love Foot work, Coordination, Pulling straps, Short Box series, Semi Circle, Chest Expansion, Thigh Stretch, Up Stretch, Knees Off.
I can’t stop talking about my favorite exercises on each apparatus. I was thinking about how these exercises are related and why I love them. I found my answer which is simply that these exercises enable the flexion and extension of my entire body. So, I have to say all Pilates exercises are equally so wonderful to me.  But if I have to choose one, it would be Semi Circle or Snake/Twist on the Reformer. Semi Circle is an opening of the hips and chest more aggressively with deep opening of the spinal column. Snake/Twist has even more challenge of strength and control.  I still remember when I learned Snake/Twist the first time, I was so excited to learn it even more than any others.  I guess I love very challenging exercises because of my dance background and because then I feel much stronger and more expressive with my body.   

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

JW: Honestly, none!  But, I hated Rolling Like A Ball in the past.  I know why I hated it. I wasn’t so good at it and I’m still not good at it.  My spine is very flat.  Especially my lumbar spine is not so good in flexion.  When I learned Rolling Like A Ball the first time, I couldn’t do it at all but I got better and better.  It took time to open up my lumbar and I later I could enjoy this exercise.  What a wonderful feeling of massaging the spine on the Mat!  
I have realized there is a limitation in every single body. I’m not talking about injuries. Some people have longer fingers.  My spine has less mobility in flexion which wouldn’t be fixed ever because of structural matter.  But I have gotten better flexion than before.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

 JW: Routine, deep work on my body, flowing movement with many different types of elements, and extremely strong muscle action.  After all these work, I really feel my body / mind is so relaxed and very satisfied.  I was a strong dancer and have tried many other exercises and movement methods.  I had chances to learn other methods in the school I attended.  I wasn’t just a dancer.  I have three Dance Education degrees.   The Pilates method is the only one that is so clear and makes so much sense to me. I feel so good after the practice.  This is the reason I do Pilates.

4.What is your idea of earthly happiness?

JW: Through life lessons and what I have experienced.  I remember a part of the book the Talmud.  Three people A, B and C are traveling together.  One of these three will have two teachers among them.  One is good to learn and the other is not good to learn.  It doesn’t matter good or bad.  One will get always the lesson.  

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

JW: I don’t believe in misfortune.  It is all about your choices.  You have to take responsibility for that and turn it into your purpose.  I understand there is always an exception.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?  

JW: “It is the spirit that builds the body.” Schiller

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

JW: “Now what?”  People have to be more proactive than passive in work, thinking, and even in their workouts.  “Now what?” is very impatient. It is you expecting someone do the work for you.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

JW: SURGEON!!!  Because I like blood and I’m good with that.

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?  

JW: “Well done, Junghee!”

10. What did you learn today?  

JW: It sounds like a question from Romana when I was an apprentice under her.  Romana asked apprentices this question every day before she left the studio.  I was always trying to prepare to answer her question.  Every single day, I learned many different things from teaching, practicing, watching, reading, and communicating with people.  It’s all about observation and interaction.  You will see stuff when you pay a little more attention in daily life.

Inside the Pilates Studio: Junghee Won (Korean translation)

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Click here for English translation.

필라테스올로지 블로그

인 사이드 필라테스 스튜디오: 박사 원정희 선생님 편
(Inside the Pilates Studio: Junghee Won Ph. D.)

저자:    안드레아 마이다(Andrea Maida)  
안드레아 마이다 선생님은 클래식 필라테스 강사이며 미국 캘리포니아 샌디에고 솔라나
비치에 살고 있다. 현재 자신이 살고 있는 집에서 필라테스 홈 스튜디오를 운영하고 있으며 이 곳 필라테스올로지(Pilatesology)의 인 사이드 필라테스 스튜디오 블로그의 저자 이다.  이 글은 안드레아 선생님과 원정희 선생님과의  필라테스 관련 열 가지 질문 인터뷰 내용이다.

2009년 10월 7일, 나는 매우 놀라운 이메일을 받았다. 원정희 선생님이 자기소개와 함께 캘리포니아 샌디에고의 오션사이드로  이사 온다는 내용과 필라테스를 가르칠 스튜디오를 찾고있다고 했다. 놀랍게도 나의 스튜디오에서 말이다. 원정희 선생님은 간략히 자신의 필라테스 트레이닝 내용과 경력을 소개 하였고 그것을 읽는 순간 나의 눈은 점점 커져갔다. 정희와 함께 일 할 수 있을 것이라는 내 자신이 최고의 행운아라고 느껴졌다. 로마나(Romana)라는 단어가 정희, 네가 나를 사로 잡았어.  ^^* 아… 지금 내가 스튜디오를 소유하고 있었다면!!
처음, 그녀의 이름은 어디선가 들어 본 듯 했고 몇 일 후 난 어디서 그녀를 봤는지를 깨달았다. 아마도 많은 사람들이 classicalpilates.net 웹사이트에 나오는 ‘클래식 필라테스 DVD 시리즈’를 봤을 것이다. 원정희 선생님은 피터 피아스카(Peter Fiasca), 제이미 트라우트(Jamie Trout) 그리고 그 외 몇 사람들이 출연했던 오랜 초창기 클래식 필라테스 비디오에 첫 솔로 모델로 나왔던 그 사람이었다.
드디어 우린 처음 카페에서 만났고 그 이후로 지금까지 쭉 친구가 되었다. 난 그 당시 필라테스 개인레슨을 누군가에게 무척 받고 싶어 하는 배고픈 상황이었기 때문에 원정희 선생님의 출현은 나의 기대였고 그녀의 홈 스튜디오에서 레슨 받기 시작 하였다. 원정희 선생님은 내가 어쩌다 한 번씩 레슨 받고 말 것이라고 생각 했나보다. 그러나, 그녀의 레슨 을 받고 나면 몸이 시원해지고 강해지는 것을 느꼈고 이 느낌은 예전에 내가 왜 필라테스 강사가 되고 싶어했는지를 일깨워주는 레슨이었다. 정말 몸이 시원하다! 내가 처음 필라테스를 배울 때 어느날 같이 레슨 받는 내 운동 파트너가 결석을 했고 그로 인해 우연히 처음 개인레슨을 받게 되었을 때를 기억한다. 어머나 개인 레슨이 훨씬 낫구나. – 더 집중되고 훨씬 많이 배우기 때문에 – 바로 이렇게 해야겠구나! 원정희 선생님의 레슨은 예전에 느꼈던 이런 기억들을 다시 되돌리게 했다. 그녀는 내가 할 수 없었던 고 단위 운동들을 하게 끔 만들어 주었고 내가 궁금해왔던 질문들에 대해 간단하고 명쾌하게 늘 답해 주었다.
정희 선생님은 지금 다시 예전에 살던 미동부 뉴욕 지역으로 되돌아 갔고 난 그녀와 함께 했던 이곳 캘리포니아에서의 시간들이 너무나도 그립다. 그녀는 지금 뉴저지 에지워터(Edgewater, New Jersey)에 있는 캔두 피트니스 (CAN DO FITNESS)내의 필라테스 스튜디오서 많은 사람들에게 필라테스 운동으로 호령하며 행복하고 신나게 살고 있다.

1. 원정희 선생님이 제일 좋아하는 필라테스 운동은 어떤 것입니까? 그리고 왜 그 운동을 제일 좋아하시는지요?

원정희: 굴러 일어나기(Roll Up), 다리 벌려서 등으로 구르기(Open Leg Rocker), 티저(Teaser), 매트에서 목 돌리기(Neck Roll on the Mat) 요. Roll Up은 내 파워하우스(Powerhouse)를 고정 그리고 강화시키고 척추를 시원하게 스트레칭시켜 줍니다. 이 느낌이 저는 너무 좋아요. 그리고는 이 후에 다음 운동 단계로 넘가는 준비를 만들어주는 느낌이에요. Open Leg Rocker는 앉은자세로 나의 중심과 밸런스를 다시 일깨워주고 그로 인한 집중력을 줍니다. 전 이 느낌이 너무 좋아요. Teaser는 나의 센터를 한층 더 끌어 올려야 한다는 도전감과 제가 좋아하는 전신의 연결선 즉, 머리 꼭대기부터 발끝까지 쭉 연결하는 밀착감을 줍니다. 앞서의 이 모든 운동 이 후, Neck Roll 자세와 운동 느낌은 제게 중요합니다. 이 운동은 전신 앞부분 그러니까 가슴, 복부 그리고 힙 압부분과 압쪽 허벅지 모두 연결해서 쭉 스트레칭 해주고 어깨아랫부분과 등을 강화 시켜주거든요. 그리고 목을 길게 빼고 오른쪽 왼쪽 한 바퀴씩 돌려주면 아주 시원해 집니다.

전 리포머(Reformer) 운동 중 발 운동(Foot Work), 코디네이션(Coordination), 끈 당기기(Pulling Straps), 숏 박스 시리즈(Short Box series), 세미 써클(Semi Circle), 가슴 열어주기(Chest Expansion), 허벅지 스트레칭(Thigh Stretch), 업 스트레칭(Up Stretch), 무릅 들고 스트레칭(Knees Off)도 좋아 합니다. 이루 다 말 할 수 없을 정도로 수 많은 필라테스 각 운동을 좋아해요. 각 필라테스 운동 기구에서도 말입니다. 정말 시원하고 하고나면 기분이 이루 말 할 수 없을 정도로 상쾌해져요. 전 왜 제가 이 운동들을 좋아하는지를 생각해 봤어요. 간단한 대답을 얻었죠. 그 이유는 전신 앞, 뒤 구석구석을 늘려주고 강화 해주거든요. 각 관절 마디마디 운동 시켜준다는 거죠. 당연히 시원해 지죠. 그러니 모든 필라테스 운동은 정말 놀라울 정도에요. 그래도 한 가지만 좋아하는것을 고른다면 리포머에서 세미 써클(Semi Circle) 혹은 뱀 동작/ 트위스트(Snake/Twist) 일것 같아요. 세미써클은 가슴과 등판 온 척추 마디마디 그리고 압쪽 힙관절을 무지 많이 스트레칭하고 오픈 시키거든요. Snake/Twist는 컨트롤/밸런스 능력과 강화의 힘이 많이 들어가는 고단위 동작인데 도전감을 불러 일으켜서 좋아요. 지금도 생각나요. 처음에 이 운동을 배울 때 전 너무 신나했어요. 제 생각엔 예전에 무용수 였다는 저의 경험때문에 난이한 동작 하는 것을 좋아 하는것 같아요. 해내고 나면 해 냈다는 성취감 때문인것 같아요.

2. 덜 좋아하는 운동이라면? 하나만 골라 보세요.

원정희: 솔찍히 말해서 없어요!  근데, 예전에 공 처럼 구르기(Rolling Like A Ball)를 싫어 했었어요. 제가 왜 싫어 했냐면 그 운동을 잘 못했기 때문이에요. 사실 아직도 아주 잘 되지는 못 해요. 제 척추가 좀 일자식 척추에요. 그리고 남 보다 둥그렇게 말리는 유연성이 덜 하죠. 특히 척추 아랫 부분(Lumbar)요. 그래서 등을 동그랗게 말기가 좀 쉽지 않은 구조적 특징이 있어요. 그러니 이 운동이 잘 안되죠. 처음엔 이 운동이 제겐 너무도 힘들었어요. 점차 좋아지더군요. 척추 마디를 열어주고 그곳에 유연성을 넣기란 쉬운게 아니죠. 시간이 걸리는 일이죠. 지금은 이 운동을 아주 즐깁니다. 하고 나면 등 마사지 받은 느낌이 들어요.
모든 사람들 신체에 따라 이렇게 각각이 구조적 특징을 가지고 있다는 것을 필라테스 하면서 자세히 알게 되었죠. 전 지금 상해에 대해서 말하는 것은 아니구요, 구조에 대해서 말씀 드리는 거에요. 어떤 사람은 길쭉한 손가락이고 어떤 사람은 짧은 손가락 가졌듯이요. 제 척추 아랫부분이 동그랗게 숙이는 것이 조금 덜 유연하거든요. 뒤로 젖히는 것이 더 유연성이 있어요. 이것이 제 척추가 구조적으로 그렇게 생겨서인 것도 있다는 거죠. 지금은 더 훨씬 좋아지긴 했어요.

3. 필라테스 교수법이 신체적, 정신적 그리고 창의력에 있어서 어떤 매력을 주었나요?

원정희: 일정한 고정된 규칙적 프로그램이란 점, 그래서 보다 깊이 이해하고 움직일 수 있다는 점, 여러가지의 각각 다른 움직임의 요소로 끝임없는 동작으로 구성된 점 그리고 모든 근육을 긴장 시켜 움직인다는 점이요. 이렇게 움직이고 나면 뭔가 만족 스럽고 몸과 마음이 일치되는 느낌이 생겨요. 신체과 정신의 통합이요. 전 예전에 발레와 현대무용으로 다져진 무용수였고 여러가지 다양한 운동과 움직임의 교수법을 해봤어요. 제가 뉴욕대를 다닐적엔 무용만 한것이 아니라 여러가지 움직임 교수법을 접할 기회가 많았거든요. 전 세 개의 학위 소유자인데 모두 무용과 전공입니다. 무용만 배우는 것이 아니고 그에 연관된 많은 학문도 접합니다. 제게는 여러가지 중, 이 필라테스 교수법에 가장 감명을 받았고 많이 배우고 느낀점이 많았어요. 매우 선명하고 이해 하기 쉬우면서 신체에 다가오는 느낌이 아주 확실 했어요. 무용수였지만 필라테스 시작 이후로 정말 제 몸에 변화가 많이 왔습니다. 무엇보다 몸으로 느끼는 감각과 자세가 눈에 띄게 달라졌어요. 그 이유로 전 필라테스 운동을 합니다.

4. 선생님의 라이프 타임에 있어서 행복된 관념은 무엇인가요?

원정희: 살아가면서 실제적으로 경험하고 배우는 거요. 그것이 어떤 상황/누구에게로부터를 상관 없이요. 언젠가 오래전에 탈무드 책에서 본건데요, 그런 이야기가 있어요. 길을 가는데 세 사람이 있다. 셋 중에 한 사람은 반드시 두 스승을 만나게 되어 있다. 자신보다 더 훌륭해서 스승이고 자신보다 못해서 또한 스승이다. 보고 옳은 것이라서 배우기도 하지만 그릇된 것을 알게 됨으로 그도 또한 배우는 것이라는 걸 본 기억이 납니다.

5. 최고의 불운은 어떤 것이라고 생각 하시나요?

원정희: 전 그런 부류는 안 믿는 성향이 있어요. 모든건 자기의 선택이라고 생각합니다. 남을 탓하지 않고 본인이 선택한건 본인이 책임져야 한다는 거죠. 그리고 그 선택을 후회없이 자기가 생각 한 바대로 성공적으로 다듬고 만들어 가야 합니다. 물론 세상에는 ‘예외’라는 것이 있다는 것을 압니다.

6. 가장 좋아하는 필라테스 관련 어록은?

원정희: 신체를 만드는 것은 정신이다. 쉴러(Schiller): 이 글은 죠세프 필라테스(Joseph Pilates) 생존 당시  그의 스튜디오에 걸려있던 그림 액자 속의 글이다.

7. 가장 좋아하지 않는 필라테스 관련의 말?

원정희: 간혹 사람들이 가끔 레슨 도중 불성실하게 하는 말, ‘그리고 요.. 어떻게 해요?’ ‘다음은 뭔가요?’ 전 뭔가 능동적인 정신이 좋아요. 수동적인건 의지 하는 거죠. 운동의 순서와 동작을 몰라서 질문이 아닌 다른 것 관련내용. 그러니까 몸을 스스로 찾아 느끼는 자신의 능동적 자세가 정말 중요하거든요. 그리고 수동적 정신은 인내력도 부족합니다. 능동적 정신은 언행도 능동적이고 수동적 사람은 언행도 정말 수동적입니다.

8. 필라테스 말고 다른 일을 하셨다면 어떤 일을 하시고 싶거나 하시고 있을것 같아요?

원정희: 정형외과 의사요! 전 피가 무섭거나 징그럽지 않아요. (웃음…)텔레비젼에서의 수술장면 동영상도 문제 없이 잘 보고 오히려 흥미로와요. 그런 부류에 관심도 있구요.

9. 만약에 천국이 정말 있다면 사 후에 그 입구 앞에서 죠세프 필라테스(Joseph Pilates)를 만났다고 가정하고, 죠세프 필라테스가 선생님께 어떤 말을 던져주길 희망하세요?

원정희: “정희, 훌륭히 잘 해냈다!”

10. 오늘은 무엇을 배웠나…

원정희: 제가 예전에 로마나 선생님밑에서 제자로서 필라테스 배울 당시 선생님이 하루 일 마치고 스튜디오를 떠나기 전에 제자들 앉혀놓고 매일 물었던 똑같은 질문이군요. 전 그때 매번 마음 속에 질문에 답을 할 구상을 하곤 했어요. 저를 지적 할까 봐 늘 떨었거든요. 무엇을 배웠는지 생각은 안나고 그냥 정신없이 하루종일 스튜디오서 바쁘게 배우고 가르치고 연습하고 그랬던 시절이라… 왠지 질문엔 어떤 답이든지 답해야 한다는 의무감이 있었어요. 게다가 워낙 유명하고 죠세프 필라테스 직접 제자였던 로마나 선생님앞이 잖아요. 무섭기도 하고 존경감 넘치는 최고 명성의 수 많은 사람들의 필라테스 대 스승이신데…
전 매일 정말 배웁니다. 가르치면서 배우고, 내 스스로 운동하면서 깨닫고 배우고, 읽고 보면서 배우고, 사람들과 대화하면서 배우고, 다른 선생님들 그리고 동료, 후배 그리고 선배 선생님들에게서도 배웁니다. 이 모든것이 그야말로 주의갖고 관찰함과 그것과 상호작용들인 것 같아요. 매일 일상 생활에서 조금 더 주변을 둘러보고 관심을 갖으면 얻는 것들이 정말 많더라고요… 늘 배움의 끝없는 과정이고 이것을 누릴 수 있음에 감사할 따름입니다.

Last Chance Pilates Stance

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This just in from my favorite Pilates enthusiast in Scotland…you know who you are…

I wanted to ask you if I may, about the use of Pilates Stance…I think I have seen it suggested somewhere that it was a term and position introduced by Romana? Is that your understanding? Seems credible since she was a dancer.
Do you know what Jay says about this?

Boy oh boy, do I know what Jay says about this. Here’s a sneak peek of Inside the Pilates Studio: The Jay Grimes edition:

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?
Jay Grimes: There are so many – can I have more than one? With the certification programs came a whole new language, and I hate most of it: powerhouse, scoop, ugh! But if I have to choose just one word I think it would be “Pilates stance.”

Jay maintains “there is no such thing as ‘Pilates stance’.” It is a made-up word. Joe didn’t make it up or use it. Joe simply looked at the way the bones hang on the skeleton. In the natural position of the bones the feet have a slight splay to them. It is for this reason we use the heels together-toes apart position.

It is the hang of the bones that creates the slight, quite narrow V position that is found in the Pilates method. It is not a ballet first position. It does not come from Romana. Romana was a ballet dancer and had a great love for ballet. In the years just after Joe’s death the Pilates Studio saw a great influx of dancers from both the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. The studio of this era, now under the direction of Romana and located at 56th Street, could perhaps be the origin of the ballet terms that exist today in the Pilates’ repertoire. Joe of course was not a dancer and reputedly disliked teaching most dancers.

Jay Grimes vehemently states that there were no ballet terms in Contrology. “It’s like going to a Japanese restaurant and ordering a steak and a baked potato.”

Personally I feel that the feet/legs/lower body is perfectly organized in this v-shaped position. It is true that there are bodies for which a parallel position of the feet is better. But the pressing together of the heels helps to knit together the entire line of the bottom of the buttocks down along the inner thighs and to the heels. Keeping the legs glued tightly together strengthens all the muscles that run along the insides of the legs and can give balance to the often overly developed outer thighs and hips.

Perhaps the term Pilates Stance emerged as a shorthand. Regardless, I have seen it written just as I have it in the previous sentence. Pilates Stance. This should not be interpreted as Pilates’ Stance. Punctuation matters. This heels together-toes apart position, while employed by Joe Pilates was not an invention of Joe Pilates, but rather an observation, which he did not label with the term ‘pilates stance’.

So. Skeleton Stance anyone? (please, NO.)

Inside the Pilates Studio: Siri Dharma Galliano

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1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

Siri Dharma Galliano: Teasers. Burns the fat around the inner organs.

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

SDG: Twist on the chair. It’s difficult. You can only do it on a proper chair, hard to hold the alignment. If you don’t practice it you cant do it.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

SDG: It feels good and makes sense

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

SDG: A long hot bubble bath.

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

SDG: Another atomic bomb let loose.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

SDG: Pilates.

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

SDG: Elder.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

SDG: Law.

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

SDG: Thank you.

10. What did you learn today?

SDG: The boyfriend can make the bed without asking him.

Click HERE to check out Siri’s classes!

“Blessed are the flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape.”

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Flexible is defined as “capable of bending easily without breaking, and (of a person) ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances.”

The above quote is from Buck, one of my favorite documentary films which isn’t about Pilates at all but still spoke volumes to me about the relationship between Pilates and life. 

Kathy Grant stated that Pilates is “for the unexpected.” As an 84 year-old woman with decades of Pilates under her belt she was able to avoid serious injury after a fall on a New York City subway platform. It was her Pilates training that enabled her to “bend easily without breaking” and “adapt to different circumstances.” Read Kathy’s full answer to the question “What is Pilates for?” here.

Often when one thinks of flexibility it’s hard to think beyond the stretch of the back of the legs, the hamstrings. However, in a broader sense flexibility gives one resilience and recovery. It is flexibility that allows one to be spontaneous and therefore vibrant and alive. Charles Darwin speaks of “survival of the fittest” and “adapt or perish” in his landmark book, The Origin of Species.” In business “adapt or perish” is a tenet for longterm success. In Pilates, while uber-flexibility or hypermobility lies at the far end of the spectrum, balanced and true flexibility equals strength, meaning everything works.

Last week my client Lorin paid me one of the highest compliments I could receive as a teacher – a teacher of anything really. We were working on the Boomerang on the mat. I suggested that she could get more out of the reach of the arms as they make their way around to the feet.

“There is a nice moment there that you are missing.” I said, pointing up how much more reach and therefore range of motion she could mine out of the exercise.

She looked up and told me that this particular correction could speak about the bigger picture: Life. Work. Love.

Wow! Thanks Lorin!

And what is Pilates without those three magic ingredients? So there you have it: Life speaks to Pilates and Pilates returns to life! Oh you saw that one comin’ din’cha?

Inside the Pilates Studio: Kara Wily

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Jay Grimes’ program for teachers “The Work” is giving me the privilege of studying alongside wonderful teachers from all over the world, including the lovely Kara Wily. Recently a client mentioned an evidently famous quote from Brendon Burchard, a frequent speaker on motivation, high performance and leadership: 

“Experts are always students FIRST!” 

Kara Wily clearly falls into this category. I love in Jay’s workshops when Kara demonstrates an exercise that Jay has prefaced with something like “This one was only for the men” or “Joe gave this to his boxers.” Immediately Kara assumes a resolve that sets her jaw and hones her gaze to a laser-focus. It’s a look that says “Oh yeah? Bring it on. I’ve got exercises like that in my back pocket.” She is fierce and takes no prisoners.

Look for Kara in the September/October issue of Pilates Style and soon in the on-line edition of the Huffington Post. See, she is out there and gettin’ it done!

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

Kara Wily: Right now it is the breast stroke on Reformer.  I feel like I am flying.

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

KW: (She says tapping her feet and scanning her studio…)  Okay really?  The sand bag—I know I should do it and I really just get bored—but that is probably even more of a reason why I need to work on it.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

KW: Newtonian laws of motion are so relevant to the Pilates, and exercise in general, but you really see action and reaction when you lose control in Pilates.  I love that all three of those aspects of cognition and experience intersect in Pilates, it is problem solving in motion.

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?  

KW: Moving forward.

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune? 

KW: To stop trying.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word? 

KW: Engage.

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word? 

KW: Tabletop.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  

KW: Photo journalism.

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?  

KW: That he would teach me thirty lessons.

10. What did you learn today?  

KW: Piet Mondrian was an artist, and yet every quote I read from him makes me want to know more about him.

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Sandy Shimoda

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It is the beautiful Sandy at Vintage Pilates that kicks my butt every Monday at 2pm. Sometimes she lets Karen Frischmann do it, but I suspect Sandy must miss it very much and always decides she’ll do it again. Friends are often shocked that I will make the 2-hour trip to Los Angeles to have a Pilates lesson but it is all worth it for the knowledge and how good I feel at the end of the sessions. Three main ingredients really: a great teacher, zippy music for the trip and liking your car :) .

When I first met Sandy she seemed quite calm and quiet. Gradually I came to discover there’s a whackadoodle residing just under the surface. Awesome. Actually I was a bit relieved.

I can’t say enough about the Vintage Pilates studio. It is a serious place to learn and full of fun friendly people, teachers and students alike. Oh yes, and then there’s Jay Grimes. Make that fun, friendly and world-class.

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?  

Sandy Shimoda: Hmmm…my body is seriously fighting over the answer to that question right now!  There are those exercises that feel so good on my body, then there are those that challenge and invigorate me – I love so many exercises for different reasons.  Well, since the latest addition to Vintage Pilates is the Guillotine, I will say my most RECENT favorite exercise is the dismount from the Guillotine that allows me to swing from my center, stretch through my thighs, then pass through the bridge to come to standing. When I am finished I am inevitably smiling. 

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

SS: It’s hard to even come up with one but I will give it a sincere try.  I don’t love the squirrel because I don’t get the satisfaction of a satisfying stretch along with the control and strength that is required in that exercise.  

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

SS: Physically, I am drawn to movement of any kind and I dig the fact that Pilates has given me the tools to approach any activity with strength and control.  The cherry on top is that I have more ease and freedom whether I am hiking, salsa dancing or scuba diving! Mentally, I appreciate the focus and courage needed to drive my own work out.  Creatively, I love finding the words, the touch, the imagery to lead students deeper into their Pilates work out. 

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

SS: Being present to each miracle, gift, and act of love in every moment (including but not limited to enjoying a green tea latte, sitting on the sand at Sunset beach, watching the sky turn its brilliant hues on a warm Hawaiian night, with the someone I love).

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

SS: To become intolerant (including but not limited to deciding that I had all the answers, rejecting anyone else who thought differently, while barking in English for a decent cup of coffee at an elegant cafe in Italy).

Take 2: Losing a sense of self.  Without it we are beings lost in a crowd of bodies, looking for purpose and questioning our every thought.  When we know who we are and we stay true to ourselves life becomes interesting, full and personal.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

SS: Exhale.

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

SS: Guillotine.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

SS: Interior design.  I think it would round out the other 3 I have already enjoyed.

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

SS: Setzen Sie auf Ihrem Leotard!  Am Reformer zu springen! (Ed. note: this loosely translates  to ”Put on your leotard! Get on the reformer!”)


10. What did you learn today?

SS: It’ll be alright in the end.  And if it’s not alright. It’s not the end.  (courtesy of Aunt Sookie)

 

Steal from the Best (and now for something completely different…)

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I am an ardent admirer of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. We recently celebrated our 40th birthdays together a *few* years ago. Python is sketch comedy writing at its tightest and silliest. I can watch these guys over and over again and laugh every single time. Choose to steal any bit from Monty Python and you have yourself an actor-proof sure-fire gem of comedy. They are simply the best!

Yup. Guilty.

Communication can be an enormous asset to a teacher. It is clear and precise direction that guides the client safely and efficiently through the entire lesson. Some things I come up with work well immediately and others for a myriad of reasons fall flat and cease to be helpful. More experience brings a teacher deeper into the study of humanity and what we respond to, how we behave and/or misbehave. 

Jay Grimes

For nearly a year now I have been fortunate enough to observe Jay Grimes up close and personal. Jay Grimes is the Monty Python of Pilates. No doubt over his many years of teaching he has gone through numerous corrections to get people to work and connect more deeply. He has seen it all: the good, the bad, the wildly tense, the ridiculously out of control. My favorite game is to watch his gaze follow the movement of his client. His eyes cover a lot of territory as the client moves, darting from one part of the body to the center and back again. I like to challenge myself to discover what he sees. What is he looking at??! He takes it all in, quietly, yes quietly observing. So when he does say something it is usually a goodie; his direction clear and simple, his material deftly edited by his wealth of experience in the Pilates method. Each line is a keeper. So of course I have to try one on and see how it feels. Right?

Be mercenary. Steal from the best! 

During Going Up Front on the Electric Chair there is a point where one is standing with one foot on the Electric Chair, one foot on the pedal. The heel of the pedal foot is up and one must reach the heel down as much as possible, lift it back up again and then continue the exercise. The tendency is that as the heel moves downwards, the back sways or sinks and the stomach goes on vacation, like it is a time for resting. So I usually spend a lot of energy trying to teach people to stay lifted and not let everything go at this point. Jay’s solution as you reach the heel down? “Don’t get any shorter!” 

And don’t you know, it works like a charm. It is very communicative and everybody gets it. Humanity it seems never intentionally desires to be shorter if they can help it…

All I had to do was simply say it. It is a magic correction (Gravitas not included).

Oh and I stole it, you know I did.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Chris Robinson

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I met Chris Robinson circa 2007. I had heard his name a few times before, mostly from women, more often than not in a different pitch than their normal speaking voice and accompanied by a swoon. Hmmm…interesting.

Chris, you may not be happy that I am leading with the swoon factor. 

But wait, hear me out. 

In the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to speak with Chris about his perspective on the true work of Joseph Pilates, the greater Pilates industry, life, etc… We have been devotees of Jay Grimes for years and often see each other at Vintage Pilates in LA for lessons. Out to dinner with colleagues and friends, we have been scolded for persisting to talk about “work.” We just can’t stop. We love Pilates. During his workout with Jay, Chris’ love for movement is abundantly clear. The Pilates Method excites him. Athletic movement animates him with an infectious enthusiasm for learning and the pursuit of perfection. He nods with satisfaction when executing an exercise better today than yesterday. 

So I have to agree, Chris, your approach to the work is decidedly swoon-worthy.

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

CR: Double Leg Stretch. Every exercise in the Method has elements of the Double Leg Stretch. If you get this exercise correct, then you’ll understand the others much better.

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

CR: Overhead. Because my shoulders are so tight, I have to use all of my strength and energy to do it correctly.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

CR: The fact you can always go to a deeper layer amazes me. I can work on an exercise for years and then one little adjustment and the exercise is completely changed.

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

CR: Balance!!!

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

CR: Imbalance!!! LOL

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

CR: REACH!!!!

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

CR: STRETCH!!!

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

CR: Astronaut!!

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

CR: I would like him to tell me if I’m teaching his work correctly. 

10. What did you learn today?

CR: How to do the Control Push Up Reverse correctly by connecting the feet to the powerhouse.

Question #10 foreshadows my first Pilates Style featurette, “What Did You Learn Today?” in their upcoming September/October issue. Chris Robinson and I will both say more about this famous question that Romana Kryzanowska asked her students on a daily basis. Stay tuned to Pilatesology for further information.

For more information about Chris Robinson find him at http://www.corecoach.net/aboutus.php


The Results are in! Chapter III

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We asked you to tell us how you use Pilatesology and you really let us have it!

Kara Wily Pilates Studio in Los Angeles now offering 

Your Time

a new Pilatesology-in-action program

Students pay a monthly fee of just $60 to use the apparatus and do their own independent workouts. 10 Private lessons at KWP or elsewhere are required before beginning the program. Kara finds that people love it. Just make a reservation via the studio’s MINDBODY Online scheduler, and get your Pilates on! Clients say it is exactly what they have been looking for and that they don’t understand why other studios aren’t offering this unique program. Kara feels that Pilatesology is the perfect tool for those who may be hesitant to start an independent workout program. With the use of Pilatesology they have just enough guidance via the instruction on the site for motivation and growth. Recently a journalist came in to try it out. He too had reservations about practicing Pilates on his own. He felt the instruction was so good on the site that he could really learn and establish his own solo practice. Kara also loves recommending her Pilatesology-in-action program because clients can get even more out of the site by using the Foot Corrector, Wunda Chair, etc. and not limit themselves to work on just the Reformer or Mat.

Your Time is offered six days a week: morning, afternoon and night.

Participation in the Your Time program also gets you one private lesson/month at a special rate of just $40. 

Come have some fun working out with Kara and Pilatesology!

The Short Box: How I love thee let me count the ways…

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My love affair with the Pilates Method began with 3-4 months of practicing only the Mat. I was desperate to fit into the skimpy costume the theatre had bestowed on me for an acting role and therefore willing to try anything. 

I enrolled in a six-week mat course at Excel Pilates in Washington, DC. (A big shout-out to all my fabulous Excel peeps, past and present!) I made a couple of fantastic friends in class and we decided to form a trio for weekly apparatus work with our instructor, the lovely Lesa McLaughlin. To this day I hold the Mat as my favorite apparatus with the Reformer a crazy-close second.

But back in the Naughty Aughties my first carriage ride was a bumpy one. Not used to being encumbered by straps, springs, BOXES, etc…, I stared down at my flailing arms in the Hundred…oh the carriage should stay still, eh? Ce n’est pas possible! I quite enjoyed the Teaser until I had to haul myself up atop Mt. Long Box dragging pesky straps and handles. And whose bright idea was it to turn that perfectly good Long Box into 

The. Short. Box. 

All I can say is “My Kingdom for the Tree.” Otherwise I don’t know what all went on there. I am pretty sure it went something like this:

Ooooh, I like this first exercise (Round)….it gives a nice backbend and back massage…until I must…get…back…up. Ooof. Then the Flat Back helps me find out I have ribs ribs ribs that shall not be silenced! Um, what’s next…? (Stall stall stall…my brain does not want to remember the next bit of torture.) Oh yeah, Side to Side, right. This is the one where Lesa comes to fix me… I have not a clue what is going on here, whatever I do is clearly the wrong answer…and as if it could not possibly get any worse I discover that somehow I live a life devoid of twisting because it is surprisingly damn hard. Yay! It’s time for the Tree! Yeah, yeah, it’s not about my leg…sheesh!

Not that Lesa let us do the other Reformer exercises any old way but is it my imagination? Why and how are these Short Box exercises so exacting? She is super particular about all the different positions. Does one ever advance to the point where one can banish the @%$#^@**! Short Box??!!!

No.

And now it’s 2012 and I. Friggin’. LOVE. It. 

Thank you Lesa, I hope I can see you in person very soon and present to you my Short Box 12.0. See Andrea lift! And Twist! See her reach from Side-to-Side and take a trip Around The World! I might even Go Fishing for you!

Enraptured as I am, let me extoll a few of the virtues of my newly beloved Short Box:

1. Posture, posture, posture. Again one of the reasons I love Pilates is that left to my own devices I have terrible posture. Someday I aspire to sit up as tall as I do in the Flat Back while using my laptop!

2. Stomach for Days: Yes for sure the Tree is not about your leg, but again another Aha/Duh! exclamation at this crazy stomach exercise…We are doing Pilates, right? What are the chances of encountering a stomach exercise? Say it with me: Duh! Make yourself a sweaty mess with this one.

3. A Corkscrew for the upper body: You can be the tree before the Tree! Use your wonderful flowing Around the World to root legs in the strap and let your beautiful supple strength branch out in the breeze in this challenging Twist variation.

4. Don’t even get me started on the virtues of the Side Sit Ups here :) That could be a whole post unto itself!

The Results are in! Chapter II

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We asked you to tell us how you use Pilatesology and you really let us have it! 

Many of our members are Pilates instructors looking for a fresh perspective as well as a way to work out without having to be their own teacher. A letter from Jaime Cole, Pilates Instructor/Owner at Pilates-a-Go-Go:

I am very grateful for Pilatesology’s variety of classical Pilates workouts and education because they enrich my teaching and give me a good workout! It is nice to have talented teachers teach me in the comfort of my own studio. My husband and two teenagers enjoy working out along with the Pilatesology instructors too!  They say that the instructors are nicer than I am, probably because my family actually “listens” to the instructors on Pilatesology.

Not only am I impressed with the site content, but it also presents an open window into the world of classical Pilates. As a Pilates Instructor that received her certification through a contemporary Pilates program, Pilatesology brings classical Pilates to life, enhancing my studies of the method. While I understand the site is not a replacement for a classical Pilates certification program, it gives access to the creative cueing, sequencing, and variations of the method, used by some of the most respected teachers in the industry.  

The welcoming and generous atmosphere at Pilatesology gives the member a sense of being a part of the classical Pilates community. This is not the first site to offer online Pilates, but it is the first to dedicate itself to honoring the true teachings of Joseph Pilates.  It was Joe’s vision that every man and woman practice his method to Return to Life. And through the utilization of the world wide web, his vision is becoming a reality. I believe that if Joe were alive today he would definitely approve and be very proud!  

Your creation of the site has inspired me to proceed with a classical Pilates certification program. In the mean time I will continue to appreciate and share the workouts, teachings, and seminars that you so generously share with us!

Sincerely,

Jaime Cole and Family

Oceanside, California

Dear Jaime: THANK YOU for your wonderful words of support! We want you and anyone else who is interested in furthering their Pilates certification to please check our new Studios & Partners page and Teacher Training page for listings of the studios and certification programs that we recommend. 

Check out some of Jaime’s favorite classes (click on the title of this Post if classes don’t appear below):

Inside the Pilates Studio: Alisa Wyatt

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Alisa and I met in 2007 at a classical Pilates workshop extravaganza in Big Bear, California, called the Big Bear Intensive. It was a lovely event, spearheaded by the irrepressible Siri Galliano and featuring Jay Grimes as well as a host of other luminaries.

I had been in California for only a few years at that point and Alisa was new to the area having just relocated from New York City. We were some of the only teachers that were trained through Romana and Drago’s Gym (now True Pilates NY) so we got to talking and had a great time. Over the years I saw more and more of Alisa each time I would attend Jay Grimes events as we were both smitten and taking lessons with him whenever possible. Running my own Pilates business was new to me and Alisa had a way of making her business look confident, polished and easy. I would look to her as a way to promote and model my own studio as I gained more and more experience and clientele. Recently I discovered in addition to our voracious appetites for all things Pilates, we also happen to love love love Queen. Coincidenza?

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

Alisa Wyatt: The Boomerang because of it’s fantastic name and the fact that it always makes me smile, even when I goof it up. It requires strength, stretch, control, and a letting go of all the dumb stuff in your head. You can’t think about your To Do list during The Boomerang. 

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

AW: Ha ha, I like that you only want one least favorite exercise. I used to have a long list but then I realized that the exercises I didn’t like were the ones that my body really needed and I stopped disliking them. But if I was forced to pick one it would be Swan on the Mat. I love all the other Swans, but on the mat I have this brain block that makes me think there’s a 50lb. sandbag on my shoulders. I’m looking forward to the day the sandbag comes off.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

AW: I simply love movement and learning, and Pilates puts the two together which is completely satisfying to me. Even after 14 years of study, I’m still discovering how to move better myself and that continually renews my passion to teach. Creatively, I get to rediscover how the method applies to each body I work with, and then watch that person transform. 

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

AW: Hanging out with my husband, regardless of the activity. Cupcakes come in a distant 2nd.

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

AW: Losing the ability to move.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

AW: Right now my favorite Pilates word is ‘zest’ because it says for me what Pilates gives you. Here’s the quote that inspired my love of zest: ‎”Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.” – Joe Pilates

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

AW: I’m not looking to create controversy with this but Neutral Spine / Neutral Pelvis (which is it anyway?) has always frustrated me. I get the idea behind it but I think the term over-explains or perhaps misinterprets a concept in Joe’s original work that is really quite basic: lengthen your spine as much as possible from top to tail and pull your stomach in to support that length. Keep that happening as you do some cool moves that by-the-way also have amazing health benefits.  

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

AW: Professional athlete. I didn’t participate in team sports as a kid and I can’t say I have any real talent worthy of this dream but I love the dedication that athletes give to their sport. The all-consuming nature of it appeals to me. 

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

AW: “Now you are an animal.” (quoted from 2/12/62 Sports Illustrated article)

10. What did you learn today?

AW: Don’t wait to have fun.

 

The Results are in! Chapter I

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We asked you to tell us how you use Pilatesology and you really let us have it! 

We love hearing from you so much we are making this a regular post. Here’s the first one, from Colin, An industrious Pilates mat purist in Dunoon, Scotland in the County of Argyll: 

(Just how we like ‘em – with a cool accent…)

In 2004 Colin was introduced to Pilates by a Physiotherapist who was treating his lower back pain. He had never heard of the method.

“My back “flared” up one evening at Karate (Shotokan) which I had been practicing for nearly 14 years and I had to pack it all in. I was 50 then and I am now 69. I found the Classical work when I got hold of those DVD’s produced by www.classicalpilates.net in about late 2005 or early 2006. I then found Alisa and she shared her learning with me like nobody else that I have ever met. Her experience with Mr. Grimes brought home to me that perhaps Mr. Grimes was the only link to Mr. Pilates’ “original” work, and on the basis of her talking about her practice with him I attended two workshops in London  – then I knew I had found “purity” and have strived to understand his example of Mr. Pilates’ mat work ever since. In September 2009 I attended a workshop held at NY STUDIOS in London where Jay Grimes was presenting. I also attended his workshop at the same studio again in June 2010.

At the very beginning of each mat class, Jay emphasized the importance to everyone of trying to work on a proper Pilates mat with leg strap and handles. I had never used one before, nor indeed even seen one. I jumped at the suggestion and grabbed one of the high mats for each mat class thereafter!

Jay spoke about Joseph Pilates always teaching the mat using the footstrap and handles or bar and to my simple way of thinking, these two pieces do represent a sort of genius in Mr. Pilates’ methodology seldom spoken about. I had not heard it articulated so simply and clearly before meeting Jay Grimes.”

Without access to traditional Pilates apparatus in his area Colin decided to build himself a proper mat to get it done right!

“My mat consists of foam rubber type product and measures 24” X 80” X 1.5”. I also have Satellite or Moon Boxes made from foam rubber. I have a Footstrap that I got made up by a lady who keeps horses and makes some of her saddlery accessories. It is made to the correct size – 20” with D hooks on either end and double end snap hooks on each end and cost me £8.00 GBP.

The wooden frame is made of pine timber covered with a piece of plywood fixed on top. The Footstrap is positioned appropriately at the bottom end and the handle is a broom shaft positioned through two holes in the framing at the upper end about 5” from the top of the framing.

On a personal note, I should explain to you that I first contacted Alisa several years ago now…She told me about Mr. Grimes and has tirelessly helped me in my understanding and practice of the pure mat work. She is unique in my book. A truly delightful human being and a privilege to know. When Alisa told me she was starting her own video streaming service I was delighted. I think more nowadays about the true depth and integrity of the exercises, and I have already made copious notes of several videos on the pilatesology site that are priceless to me in my practice. Its the most pro-active thing ever to become available to the authentic Pilates student like myself since I first got involved with the Method in 2005.”

Check out some of Colin’s favorite classes! (Click on the title of this post to open it in it’s own window if you can’t see the classes below).

Random Acts of Pilates

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The longer one studies and practices the Pilates Method the more immersed one becomes in its tenets. One’s awareness can heighten to the point where every daily mechanical action of living gets filtered through the Pilates mind. I am particularly fixated on my kitchen blinds right now and reaching up to pull them down with my back rather than my arm. Perhaps I have said too much…

Consequently I relish the moments when I find myself in a decidedly non-Pilates scenario away from work: reading, watching movies, socializing, etc…and just going about my ordinary non-Pilates life (if that is possible). 

Suddenly – magically – miraculously -  a Brigadoon of something Pilates. 

Yes? 

Anyone…? Bueller…? Please contain your enthusiasm until the end of the post…

I like to call this phenomenon Random Acts of Pilates. 

Maybe you have experienced this yourselves as well. I invite you to share if you would like. These are some fun ones that happened to me recently.

1. While reading the novel 1Q84, Haruki Murakami’s “magnus opus, an epic of staggering proportions,” I came across the following (cue Twilight Zone music):

“It is simply the stretching of the muscles. I am not licensed to perform medical procedures. All I do is force people to stretch the muscles they don’t normally use or the ones that are difficult to use, and that way we prevent the deterioration of their physical strength.”

Sound familiar? I had to look over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching for my reaction.

2. A Special Pilates surprise awaits you in the Vidal Sassoon documentary film that you won’t want to miss. 

A lifelong devotee of physical fitness, Sassoon hails Pilates as a major contribution to his daily stretching routine and divulges his secret for career success on a grand scale. He maintains that in the pursuit of any industry, art or craft countless hours of work are required “if you want to become good. It is not a 9 to 5 job”. A consistent workout regime as well as massage enabled Sassoon to work 14 hour days and then do it all again day after day. The film includes footage from an unnamed talk show circa late 70’s-early 80’s. Hosted by the young Regis Philbin, this gem of a clip is eye candy for all you apparatus geeks. Feast your eyes on what is clearly a Gratz Reformer with a naked and beautifully shiny footbar! Could this possibly get any better?! Wait for it…wait for it…

As though this is not enough of an adrenaline rush, Vidal Sassoon then proceeds to hoist Philbin into the Teaser on the Long Box (whether Regis wants to go there or not). Wowzers. Following briefly afterward is a still shot of Sassoon working out, in what looks to be one of the various incarnations of Romana’s studio (he’s doing Long Back Stretch on the Reformer).
A must-see! Stream it on Netflix and pay attention around minute 57…
Check out the trailer here: http://vimeo.com/19834368

3. The television show Damages starring Glenn Close. Soooo wanted to find a clip for this, but here is the skinny…

In an episode from Season 1 Patty Hewes (Close) is working out in her home Pilates studio (!) with her instructor (a man!). She is doing the exercise on the Cadillac called Breathing (yay! an actual Pilates exercise!). Her trainer is very fawning, flowery and obsequious in his cues and corrections for her until finally she (and I) cannot take it anymore and she explodes, screaming, “Shut Up!!”  

So keep on the lookout my Pilates pals! Share your own Random Acts of Pilates with us at info@pilatesology.com or post them on our facebook page. 

 

The Teaser: The Truth Will Prevail

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Throughout the Pilates repertoire there is perhaps no other exercise that instills in us as much dread, angst and raspberries as the Teaser (insert ominous sound effect here). For sure there are more formidable exercises depending on who you are: Snake/Twist (Reformer), the Star (anywhere, really), the Mountain Climb (Wunda Chair). But for the most part, once you learn the Teaser it is relentless and it shows up everywhere. 

The Teaser is infamous.

It’s got a reputation and the word on the street is not good. 

My experience of this exercise in the last 12 years has been a different story. I must confess to you that I really didn’t see what all the fuss was about. I rather like the Teaser and there are other exercises that are for me, clearly more problematic. I was terrified to receive my first Pilates diploma due to my inability to do the Neck Pull on the mat at all, really. I assumed if I were ever to run into criminals in a dark alley they would demand the Neck Pull in exchange for my life, and my odds of surviving said encounter were slim. And I am really out of luck if they also demand I twist. But the Teaser by comparison felt fun and elegant and balancey up there…and as you might be suspecting, 12 years later… I. Am. A. Big. Cheater. Once up in the Teaser, no big deal right? Now what do you think?

To reform my cheatin’ ways I focus on the 2-way stretch, or the oppositional forces that must be fiercely at work to execute the Teaser correctly: Stomach pulling in and up and limbs reaching endlessly out from this strong center. Sounds familiar, yes? It is also the same 2-way stretch that is in other exercises where you are in a similar shape: a lifted curve. This lifted curve, also labeled the C-curve, the scoop, etc…, can be found throughout the Pilates system:  the Roll Up, Rolling Like a Ball, Horseback and Open Leg Rocker to name a few. Recognizing and knowing this shape well in other exercises has helped me to retrain my Teaser and whip myself into shape. Incidentally, I used to have a pretty good time in the Teaser on the Reformer doing the Shave variation (there’s your first clue…does anyone discuss their Teaser exercise and start with the words “I was having a pretty good time??). It was a stretch for my back I guess a little (clue #2). Here is even further proof: With my lifted curve and therefore 2-way stretch in place I decided that despite it already being challenging, why not try a little Shave anyway… I mean, while I’m here… Well, (a) I could not do it without getting stuck and (b) the degree to which I could barely do it gave me a small taste of the wonderful stretch that awaits me when I can do it for reals. I can’t express it any other way except to say that it feels like the Truth.

Years ago I was coerced into riding a roller coaster that had a really scary name. Afterwards I was reeling a bit, and another group of friends was returning from the same roller coaster clearly shaken and staggering. The sturdiest one looked at the others and finally spoke: “Man, that is the TRUTH!” This is how I feel about a well-executed Pilates exercise. It just feels like the Truth.

 

“The truth will prevail and that is why I know that my teachings will reach the masses and finally be adopted as universal.”       

Joseph H. Pilates

Inside the Pilates Studio: Christina Maria Gadar

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Christina Maria Gadar

In some ways this interview is one of my favorite “gets.” Christina and I have actually never met in person. We do share a similar training lineage, but I know her only through her facebook page and her wonderful videos that she has posted on both FB and YouTube. Her work as a practitioner and her beautifully selected Pilates content clearly reveal a deep devotion and love for the Pilates Method. I simply must get to Florida so I can catch up with this fascinating woman! Family, a thriving Pilates business and “The Flying Squirrel” what more could you hope to find in a Pilates instructor? So I couldn’t resist and I sent her a message…thank you so much Christina for the time and thought that you gave to my questions :)

From http://www.pilatespersonaltraining.com:

“Ten years after her initial introduction to the Pilates Method, Christina Maria Gadar began her Pilates certification under the tutelage of certified teacher trainer Roxane Richards-Huang before obtaining full certification directly from master instructor Romana Kryzanowska in New York in 2000. Christina has resided in Sarasota, Florida since 1996 and has been specializing in private instruction of the original Pilates Method since 2000. She enjoys the balancing act of running her Pilates studio to the highest standards while staying actively involved in the lives of her two children.”

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

Christina Maria Gadar: The standing semi-circle performed on the Cadillac or guillotine apparatus is the most delicious exercise. It encompasses the three most important Pilates skills: deepening the powerhouse, articulating the spine, and opening the chest. The first time I saw it performed I fell in love. To get the most out of it you need to perform it with rhythm, as Romana says: “Do it with music in your soul.” It is absolutely divine! 

I also love the “wave” performed with the push thru bar during the squirrel on the Cadillac apparatus because it has made me push myself to develop my powerhouse more than any other exercise in the Pilates Method. For eleven years I convinced myself that I could never perform that “wave” because I was too flexible and didn’t have a gymnastics background. I knew Romana believed I could do it some day since she had me try the preparation exercise for it, but I completely lacked the confidence in myself. I had to develop the mental strength as well as the physical strength and I had to move out of my comfort zone. I recently performed the full version of it (six years after Romana introduced it to me). 

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

CMG: I think our least favorite exercises are the ones we need the most. The stomach massage series has been one of my least favorite exercises because it challenges me all over. It truly works every part of the body. I have a funny picture from my first private lesson with Romana back in 2000. I’m in stomach massage position, sitting closer to the edge of the carriage than I ever had experienced before working with Romana. At first glance it looks like I’m smiling, but truly I was using everything (including my teeth) to help me stay upright.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

CMG: What turns me on about the Pilates method is that you never reach the end. When I was a young dancer I was in such a hurry to become a professional only to realize that my time in ballet school was in some ways better than being a professional. Since the very beginning of my training as a Pilates apprentice I have savored each moment. Currently, my favorite Pilates challenge is working on the Pilates principle of flow (creating the maximum effect through minimum of motion). It is one of my favorite Pilates principles because it requires all of the other five Pilates principles (control, concentration, centering, breathing and precision). It is where the science of Pilates becomes an art form.

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness? 

CMG: My idea of earthly happiness is fulfilling one’s potential. I believe Pilates plays a direct role in my happiness. Jerome (one of Romana’s protégés) explained to me that one of the beliefs in Greek philosophy was that to attain supreme achievement you needed energy. Pilates helps you reach your potential because it gives you energy. When you do Pilates very well, you only use 25% of your energy and the remaining 75% of energy goes in a reserve to fulfill your achievements in life. In the words of Joseph Pilates: “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

CMG: The greatest misfortune (in relation to Pilates) would be to see people get more sedentary and lose the mobility in their joints. Joseph Pilates observed the natural movement of children and animals. The Pilates Method is nature. It is safe and natural movement done within the frame of the body. Unfortunately people seem to be getting more and more out of touch with their bodies. My goal is to improve the quality of people’s lives through the work of Joseph Pilates.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

CMG: My favorite Pilates word is “oom-pah,” a word Romana has used a lot to put rhythm into our movements. I have notebooks filled with quotes from all of my Pilates mentors and my absolute favorite quote comes of course from Romana. I love when she says: “Squeeze the juice out of the exercise, don’t just tickle it!” Her cue makes me go so much deeper into the movement. Performing the exercises (and transitions) with rhythm, accents, and shading adds a whole new layer to the work. Pilates truly is much more than just a workout. 

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

CMG: Hearing the words “neutral spine” sends horrible chills down my own spine. It reminds me of the tainted and hybrid forms of Pilates that certainly do not measure up to the original intentions of Joseph Pilates. I love what Romana says with respect to all the people who are putting their own twist on Joseph Pilates’ work. Romana just says “make your own name famous.” 

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

CMG: I would love a profession that incorporates the Portuguese language because I am so passionate about Brazil (I have dual citizenship with Brazil). I also have a passion for animals, so a profession that involves animal rights would be very fulfilling. In the meantime I’ll have to settle for teaching the elephant, monkey and seal in Portuguese to my Brazilian Pilates students!

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

CMG: Romana has said that “Joe is churning in his urn” with all the altered versions of his method that are being taught. My hope is that he would be proud of my commitment to teach his method in its purest form as he delivered it to Romana, and she delivered it to me. Perhaps in his heavy German accent he could say something like: “You verked der bodies vell!”

10. What did you learn today?

CMG: It is true that I am constantly learning (and re-learning when reviewing my notes). My current teaching goal is to use my energy and touch more than my words to communicate with my students. As I was reviewing my notes today I came across a note on breathing through the nose. I’m always telling my students that breathing through the nose works much deeper and that breathing through the mouth is a more shallow way to breathe. I also tell my students that “relax” does not mean “collapse.” But I was reminded today that we breathe through the nose to avoid collapsing in the powerhouse. Just think of the control it takes to lower the wunda chair pedal when coming down from a pull up. The exhale through the nose during the lowering of the pedal does indeed help one stay in the powerhouse.

See Christina in action in an exercise it can take years to master: The Squirrel

I’ll let you know when I get there…  

The 5 Parts of the Mind

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Romana Kryzanowska

Romana Kryzanowska is quoted thusly:

“You can say what Pilates is in three words. Stretch with Strength and Control. And the control part is the most important because that makes you use your mind.” 

In a separate quote Romana goes into more detail about just what’s going on up there -  the specific functions of your mind “on Pilates.” Pilates is often referred to as mind/body exercise but I feel this is quite the understatement. The capacity to which our minds can exert control over the body is infinite. Romana also says “You can improve your genes a little if you are tenacious enough.” So there we go.

This is your mind: 

2+2=4…The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain…

This is your mind on Pilates: 

“Intelligence guided by the will using memory and imagination assisted by intuition.”

I loved this quote the moment I heard it. As someone that is stubborn enough to want it all to be possible despite the occasional alternate agenda on the part of my body, I like that I can be smart and willful, lie down, workout and make myself feel better (I give 3 shaves and a 2 hug salute to Kara Wily for one of the best Pilates taglines out there).

Let’s look a little closer at these nuances…

intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills

You have learned and honed your Pilates exercises over countless hours. Maybe you even teach the 100 in your sleep. Smart cookies don’t crumble.

will: the faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action, a deliberate or fixed desire or intention

“Fixed desire” exactly – I love it! You decide, you initiate and now you fixate. Awesome.

memory: the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information

Also do not underestimate the memory of the body. It is more than you may imagine. Pilates has a wonderfully curious effect that I like to call “the Pilates mind-eraser.” This phenomenon occurs when you work fabulously and ridiculously well in an exercise only to have no idea what comes next…even if you are a teacher and of course you know what comes next. Let the body lead you for a few moments and it will take you just where you need to be and suddenly your mind will return: “Yes! Side Splits. Of course!” Which leads me to a bit of a tangent, actually… 

This “Pilates mind-eraser” feeling is an unexpected parallel to the June Havoc school of remembering your lines. June Havoc (the real-life Baby June in the musical Gypsy) was a firm believer that if you go “up” on stage – meaning the forgetting of your lines during a performance – you just keep right on talking and eventually your next line will come right out. So just keep moving and going about your business and that next exercise will find its way to you (you=your mind+body).

imagination: the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses; the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful; the part of the mind that imagines things

Ideas and images are the best friends one can have in the workout. What speaks to your particular creative and resourceful mind? There are no limits to the information and ideas you can recruit to assist you.

intuition: the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning, a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning

This is the body thinking and leading the mind. Instinctual. Visceral. Say it, Joe: “Now you are an animal!”

O, be some other name!

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The Pilates Exercises: What’s in a name?

Lebron and Jay Z make their own names for Pilates exercises

Joe Pilates is indeed responsible for some of the names of his exercises. However, back in the day at Joe’s original studio there were also exercises that were named by the clients. The names have undergone some changes since the advent of Pilates certification programs and nowadays variations do exist, for example The Double Leg Pull more recently called Double Leg Stretch.

The original names are simple and direct: Spine Stretch, The Roll Up. The names seem to come from what you look like (Roll Like a Ball, Elephant), what you are doing (Single Leg Pull, Spine Twist) or from what is required to accomplish the exercise (Control Balance).  Occasionally the name promises a massage, but oh you’ve got to work for it: Short Spine Massage, Rolling Stomach Massage, and dare I say Long Spine Massage (those of you who haven’t tried this one yet… well, you’ll see what I mean).

Sharon, a long time client and friend, is working toward more autonomy in her workout. Her current focus is learning the order and the names of her exercises. In the process she has arrived at some unorthodox names to remember the Reformer exercises. I can envision a brand new wacky Pilates world where Sharon’s “The Leg Guys” (Long Stretch) and “Round, Ass Out and The Partial” (Knee Stretch Series) proliferate in teacher training programs. Jay Grimes will not be pleased…Also “Uppie Downie” (Pelvic Lift) is a favorite. Did I mention that Sharon is an infant educator? Very interesting. 

Sharon is not alone with her creative titles for her favorite exercises. Love ‘em or not-so-much-more-than-tolerate-‘em, nearly everyone can name at least one of the exercises in their Pilates repertoire. Margy loves Semi-Circle although she saddles it with a rather unfortunate name: “The Prison Cot.” Along the lines of know-thine-enemy, Janet has no trouble remembering the name of her nemesis, an oft-despised exercise on the Short Box:Tree. And Dave embellishes the name of one of his very favorite exercises: “The Tower of Power.” Explicitly so he can request it, by name.

From Pilatesblog.com January 18, 2008:

Lebron James throws “the roc” aka Shaving on the Reformer

“Team USA beat Uruguay 118-79. As a tribute, Lebron [James] threw up the roc. Team USA went on to clinch the gold by beating Argentina 118-81 to win the FIBA Americas championship qualifying Team USA for a spot in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing China. At the awards ceremony Lebron threw up the roc again. When asked what does it mean? James replied: 

“It’s a Pilates move. I can never remember the names of all the moves, so I just give them my own names, such asJesus H and No Way in Hell. Anyway, there’s one exercise on the Reformer— I think the original name is shaving or shave to the head or something — where you make a triangle with your hands on your forehead and then extend your arms at a 45 degree angle. When my Pilates instructor first showed me, I just called it the roc to make it easier.”  

Hands on your forehead?? But you’re Lebron James! Get those hands behind your head!

And I so want to know which exercise you refer to as No Way in Hell. I title nearly every explosive lightning-fast thing Lebron does as No Way in Hell. Like that whole vertical leap thingie. Let’s call that one The High Frog. Sorry Tony Parker. 

Tell Us How You Use Pilatesology: Share your workout secrets and your story just might make the blog!

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Several colleagues and clients have been intimating that Pilatesology has given them some fantastic and fun options for workouts, networking and education. 

As Pilates teachers, you can be a fly on the wall as Jay Grimes teaches a new male client that is 6’7”. Or you can attend a workshop with Siri Dharma Galliano about how the method all hangs together. It just doesn’t get any better than this folks. One can learn from the best, observing great instructors teach real people. Especially good if you are in your own private studio without the voices of other teachers swirling around and stimulating your mind. 

I have been using Pilatesology for all of the above and more. I need to keep up with my personal workout, but sometimes if I am feeling less-than-perfectly motivated I can play a little Alisa Wyatt or Kara Wily and it helps me get past that initial inertia and – of course – kicks my ass at the same time! Brilliant! Perhaps a little commando exercise…yes? Look at Tiziana go! Alisa worked out with one of my videos on the mat while she was traveling recently, filming lots of wonderful Pilates but having little time for her own Pilates. How fun that friends can help you workout wherever you happen to be in the world. 

As a Pilates enthusiast, everyone has at least a mat at home. One subscriber even created his own DIY project and built himself a proper studio mat with handles and a strap. Bravo! More on this resourceful devotee in the results post… 

One client shared Pilatesology with her co-workers intending to challenge her whole office to a “Pilatesology 10-Day-Trial Workout Challenge.” Another hoped to use her subscription to schedule her own lunchtime workouts in the privacy of her own office. 

Get new inspiration to sneak in an extra session between studio lessons and gain further autonomy in your workout. 

Challenge yourself to keep up with your favorite instructor. There’s a good chance they will be working hard and sweating just like when you workout in their studio. And during particularly nasty exercises you can curse at them and they won’t even hear you! 

What other ways have you used Pilatesology to whip yourself into shape? My friend Cindy and I want to host a Pilatesology Party!

Email your story to info@pilatesology.com and you just might make the blog!

Inside the Pilates Studio: Kathryn Ross Nash

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Welcome to the first installation of Inside the Pilates Studio. I am excited to bring to you a small window into the hearts and minds of perhaps some of your favorite – well at least my favorite – Pilates Superstars. Stars! They’re just like us!

For a short interview I will seek out those in the Pilates world whose work, presence and mojo speaks to me and inspires me in my own journey with this amazing exercise system. Even for those individuals that I know rather well, there is still something about them that makes me want to know more. More about their POV on the Pilates Method, their business, their life and how they present themselves, their essence and ultimately their humanity.

James Lipton, host of the fabulous television show Inside the Actors’ Studio and former student of Joe Pilates (I know, right?) has a series of signature questions. Jimmy, If you are reading this, please email me!

According to www.senselist.com: 

”Fans of Inside the Actor’s Studio are familiar with James Lipton’s list of questions, which he poses to each of his guests at the end of an interview. Lipton always gives credit for this list to French talk show host Bernard Pivot, who hosted Apostrophes from 1975–1990 and Bouillon de Culture from 1990–2001; he often mentions that the list originally came from French novelist Marcel Proust (1871–1922). Proust did not actually create the questionnaire that frequently has his name attached, though he did famously answer two versions of it (once at age 13, and a second time at age 20), and thereby gave the lists a certain notoriety. Their original author is unknown.” 

Each Inside the Pilates Studio interview will include ten questions, in the style of Lipton’s and tweaked towards Pilates. I will also include a short bit about said Superstar and/or what enticed me to seek the interview.

So try to imagine the blue 5×7 index cards if you can…

 

Inside the Pilates Studio: Kathryn Ross-Nash

I first met Kathryn Ross-Nash in 2007. The workshop was on the Wunda Chair. Initially I became a fan though Romana’s first series of videos. Although I consider myself to be a reasonably flexible person, we all have the experience of the exercises through the filter of our own body. Watching Kathi’s Pilates workout enabled me to expand my horizons, shall we say…and of course the grass is always greener…

”Wow – my arms can end up over there??” and “Oh…that’s what I am trying to do…” 

…Sigh…but back to that wunda chair workshop. 

Kathi was speaking about the use of touch as a teacher, which led us to a discussion about our need to feel touch as humans – it is communicative, empowering, reassuring, necessary. And humanity kinda always moves me – so now I am misty-eyed and trying to do the Mountain Climb, the Pull Up or something equally not suited to weeping…and Kathi’s prancing about in a sassy red outfit…I was so deeply in Like at that moment…

I love teachers that simply teach their own particular subject, yet at the same time speak volumes about the big picture: Life and what it means to be human. 

Well now I’ve said it. There’s no taking it back. Kathi Ross Nash is a human. Sorry to let that one out of the bag.

Romana says it all in a video teaching Kathi and Jerome on the Cadillac. Romana evaluates Kathi, while she does the standing stretches, to the side, one leg up on the canopy of the Cadillac – no fuzzies required, I might add – and her shin nearly in danger of pressing against her ear. “Stretch your leg a little, honey.” 

Okay, enough hype…here we go!

Kathi Ross-Nash: I will try to behave…

1. What is your favorite Pilates exercise and why?

KRN: Gosh! I have to pick. It actually changes as I change. Right now it is the High Bridge. You need an equal balance of control, stretch and strength to achieve the correct position. Post-illness I had lost my ability to do the High Bridge. So it is a shining example of how the method is amazing. By doing my Pilates workout – not modifying or changing the work – I was able to regain all the components needed to find this delicious exercise again.

2. What exercise is your least favorite? Pick only one.

KRN: I do not have one. There are ones I am horrible at, but they make me work harder.

3. What turns you on creatively, mentally or physically about the Pilates method?

KRN: It is a complete method. If we stopped adding and changing it, we would appreciate it for its completeness. Every exercise is interwoven and tied together like a beautiful tapestry of exercise. When I found The Red Thread(tm) of the work, Joe’s genius became so apparent. As instructors we need to trust in the work – his work – and let the exercises do their magic.

4. What is your idea of earthly happiness?

KRN: Wow. For everyone’s today to be better than yesterday and for tomorrow to be better than today. For infinity.

5. What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?

KRN: To lose hope.

6. What is your favorite Pilates word?

KRN: Lengthen.

7. What is your least favorite Pilates word?

KRN: Core.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

KRN: (laughing) A veterinarian. 

9. If Heaven exists, and by some chance when you arrive at the pearly gates Joseph Pilates is also there, what would you like to hear him say to you?

KRN: “Would you like some Schnapps?” Just kidding. That I knew the work and spread the word.

10. What did you learn today?

KRN: That there is always more to grow. No matter how much you have improved today. Tomorrow there is more. 

How to Make Time for Your Own Workout…and Other Fairy Tales

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Several weeks ago Alisa asked me to write about how one can manage, as a practitioner, a teacher or a devoted enthusiast of the Pilates Method…

 TO FIND THE TIME FOR YOUR OWN WORKOUT. 

I agree, it is easy to put off doing good stuff for yourself until you actually begin your workout and then you remember – “Riiiiight… I feel better already.”

Well, I dashed off an email to a dozen or so colleagues to see if others had any helpful hints about carving out some space for their own workout. I had my own ideas, but I thought I would inquire anyway…Very telling what came back to me…or should I say, what did not come back to me. Initially I received only one response. It just so happened to be from the fantastic lady in the photo above. 

Surprised? Well, I have to say, no, not really. That is why she is Kathi Ross-Nash.

Kathi actually employs some of the same strategies that I do. Yay me  :)

Get on the KRN plan!

Start with the High Bridge. NO.

Set Goals

While maintaining your over-arching goal of perfection in every exercise (no pun intended) it is often helpful to have some stepping stones along the way. In Pilates when one exercise gets better, everything gets better. Look for exercises that you can use as components to the bigger, perhaps fancier exercise. What is the challenging part of the exercise? Where can you find this same action elsewhere in the system? More specifically, see if you can find it in an exercise that you do well. Use these components to cultivate all facets of the goal exercise. Be diligent and perfect every skill necessary to execute the goal. 

It is all the same work, now just in a different, more challenging scenario – so a little more Double Leg Pull I say!

Use your mind to stimulate your workouts and mark your progress!

Schedule workouts with friends

Kathi & her workout buddy Chris Robinson

 

This one works like a charm – put it on your calendar! Sometimes we think it is okay to flake out on ourselves, but when there is a friend involved it helps you to be more accountable. Kathi likes to Skype with friends and colleagues to workout – especially fun if you like to workout with your technology (I [heart] iPhone). No excuses if your workout friends live far away.

 

Wait! This just in! Another instructor friend of mine, Ethan Carter weighs in at the 11th hour, just as I’m writing this post!

Ethan has spent countless hours playing team sports and says he enjoys the social component of a group workout combined with the mental component of perfecting one’s skills. We usually plan to meet once a week in my home studio in pursuit of the perfection of form that is the Pilates Method. While we are at it we can catch up during those brief moments that it’s acceptable to chat it up on the Reformer. Seems to happen mostly during the Short Box Series.

Keep Moving!

“I exercise for sanity, not for vanity.” Ethan cracked me up with this one, but it is so true. Honestly, for me, it is a little bit of both…as I do like to keep my girlish figure…

But do whatever you have to do.

Stay in the moment.

If you tend to get distracted during your workouts (hey, did I hear my phone ring? what’s for lunch? wow, my toes look terrible, I really need a pedicure…). Aim to strike the delicate balance between focused precision and moving it along. Hear your instructor’s voice (or even your own voice) in your head spurring you on!

Remember how great you’ll feel afterwards!

And eyes on the prize, people – remember that one of the reasons you do your workout is because you love the way Pilates makes your body feel afterwards. Return to Life!

PS – Stay tuned for next week’s post, Inside The Pilates Studio, featuring Kathryn Ross-Nash

BTW Joe Pilates was a Genius

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This just in: Joseph Pilates was a genius. 

I realize this with the usual Duh!/Aha! realization that is my constant companion on my journey as a teacher and practitioner of the Pilates Method.  I know I run the risk of exposing my inner Pilates geek, but I’m sure some of you will not be surprised.  

One of the many reasons that I personally love Pilates is because left to my own devices I have terrible posture.  For this reason, the Reader’s Digest article from 1934 has been a great inspiration to me. Joseph Pilates explaining his own method – I love to get to the source as much as possible. I am just as JP describes in his article:

 “Head forward – two or three inches out of alignment with the spine; shoulders rounded, chest hollowed…” and I’ve got a swayback as well and some muscular thighs…Gosh!

As an advanced practitioner I’m being pretty harsh on myself, but let’s just say if I weren’t me, I’d want to give me a pillow. But shhhh…JP is talking:

“Lie down and try to make the whole length of the spine touch the floor, likewise the shoulders and arms, stretched above the head. You can’t do it, but trying is what counts.”

So let’s see what happens. Oh, the floor, she is so unforgiving… and of course no cheating by moving my pelvis! At first I confess I feel like a three-legged table…but I must persevere…

I am now lying on the floor and wailing on achieving better neck posture and opening my chest – it seems like so much work just to get the whole line of the shoulders – across the top of the upper back – on the mat.  And for one brief, shining moment I feet –although horizontal – as though my skeleton hangs vertically from the topmost point of the skull.  That’s when the magic happens.  With that feeling of hanging the whole body from its proper point – the ribcage softens and eases closer to the floor, the whole front of the hips and thighs relax – I know, who knew? – and my stomach draws in and up even more effortlessly.  Almost as though I could use my muscles to create one long continuous line from heels to crown of head, the entire back of the body all on the mat – the key words here being “as though” because… 

“You can’t do it, but trying is what counts.”  Thank you, Joe.

Since I do have quite the swayback, I really wanted to see if my back could possibly be on the mat at this point. Wow! Although it felt as though it were perfectly flat to me – I could still fit my hand nearly halfway under my low back. This was the magic part  – by following JP’s directive to try to get everything to be on the mat, my own anatomy had still been maintained! 

It was at this point that I couldn’t help but halloo his name to the reverberate hills:

“Joseph Pilates was a genius!”

A big xo to Mr. Joe Joe.

The 7th Principle of Pilates: MOVE!

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Most all Pilates training programs – mine included – spend the first hour of the first training weekend imparting some basic information about Joe Pilates and his method. On my first page of notes: Pilates in 3 words = Strength, Stretch and Control.
Okay, cool.

Next my notes tell me what most if not all Pilates instructors also learn very early on:

The six principles of Pilates. These 6 principles (concentration, control, centering, precision, flowing movement and breathing) do accurately describe what differentiates Pilates from other forms of exercise, true. They do not, however, come from Joe Pilates.

Jay Grimes points out that Joe Pilates did not come down from the mountain one day with stone tablets proclaiming the Six Principles of Pilates. I like to laugh when he says this because all I can think of is Mel Brooks as Moses in History of the World Part 1. Moses comes down from the mountain with 15 Commandments, accidentally drops one stone tablet of 5 and quickly changes the number to just “…10… 10 Commandments!”  But Joe Pilates would have had the stone tablets, the tiny white shorts and a cigar I think, yes?

I know, getting a little off topic.

So if not from Joe, from whom do we get these 6 lovely principles?

The Six Principles first appeared in The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning by Philip Friedman and Gail Eisen, two students of Romana Kryzanowska. Originally published in 1980 (more than a decade after Joe Pilates died, yo.).  It “was the first book of its kind – bringing Pilates out of the elite studios and into the lives of millions of Americans.”

The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning

Jogging and running had exploded in the late 1970s. By 1980 a fitness craze was sweeping the country and an obsession with health, beauty and youthfulness was having profound effects on American culture. Students Gail and Philip met with Romana seeking specific ways to differentiate the Pilates Method from other forms of exercise that people were doing. What made Pilates special?

Certainly the 6 principles they created are inherent in the Pilates system. But another more important principle is missing.

Let’s call it the 7th Principle of Pilates: Move!
Who knows, maybe when Joe dropped his stone tablet just like Moses other precious gems were lost as well such as “Thou Shalt Not Bang the Carriage,” “Quiet the Clips,” and “What you don’t like, you do twice.”
Try it for yourself. Simply follow the 7th Principle of Pilates. Move! You will have no choice but to do all those other 6 automatically or perish. 

You will remember the exercises and focus on what you are doing (concentration), you will move in a safe and effective fashion (control), you’ll be toast without your stomach (centering), you will maintain your form (precision) and you will most certainly breathe (Yup) as you MOVE (flowing movement)! All this involves trust of course. Trust in the work. Trust that it is getting the job done without you micromanaging and getting all up in its grill. Let the body lead you without your mind working overtime, or over-indulging in the breathing, perhaps…you know who you are. 

Trust. Let go. Let go and Let Joe…awww…

Teaching Clients Autonomy

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One of the essentials of Pilates that has been lost over time is autonomy. Each student should be working toward knowing their personalized work out, the order of their exercises and proper and efficient set up of the springs, straps, pole and box. Independence allows you to maintain mental focus, flow through the exercises without stopping so as to achieve an aerobic workout, and build confidence and coordination as you move through the work out. This is true for beginners and experienced students alike.

In Joe’s original studio clients got a few private lessons to learn their individual work out. Then they began working out on their own with only a couple of teachers on the floor to assist if needed or to give them a push or pull. In the studio Joe constructed a large board with pictures of him doing all the exercises (you can see one of his picture boards in the background of the photo in this post). Students would refer to the pictures to help remember their order and when they showed an understanding of the exercises in their program, Joe or Clara would add another exercise to their work out. So while you are working out at home do an exercise program that is appropriate for your level and individual needs then work to get flow and dynamic into that work out. When you are ready, add a couple of exercises and work to incorporate them into your old program. Remember that it takes time to condition and change your body so be patient and diligent in your efforts.

For teachers, the best reasons to make your students independent is so that you can see them move. As your students move through their workouts you will notice issues of asymmetry, tension, weakness and lack of coordination that can be addressed with exercises on the cadillac, chairs, barrels, mat or with Pilates accessories. As you help your client build strength and symmetry over time, you will see their reformer work out change like magic! The greatest result of making your students autonomous is that you can be a better teacher and they can get so much more out of their work outs with you.

To see the class that this post is referring to, please click here: Teaching Clients Autonomy

Two-Way Stretch Mat

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Joe Pilates practicing the Double Leg Pull

When you use the two-way stretch you are reaching in opposite directions to fully activate your body and extend outward from your torso. The more completely your body extends from its center, the deeper your core can work. In Pilates, the core includes the muscles of the torso on all sides of the body, including the hips, buttocks, stomach, back and inner thighs.

The two-way stretch is well exemplified in the Double Leg Pull. When you extend the arms and legs, you reach away from your center through your back, legs, arms and sides, keeping an even and stable center. When you circle your arms you engage your back and bend your legs in from the strength of your center. Jay Grimes shared with me that the double leg pull can be found in every exercise. Spend time making sense of that concept as you refine your own mat work out.

One Pilates enthusiast wrote to thank me for the detailed corrections I gave to Melanie and Alisa in the mat class that is associated with this post. Both ladies are experienced students who know the mat order and understand the general principles of Pilates. If my corrections had disturbed the flow of their work out, caused them to slow down or become tense, I wouldn’t have offered as much correction.

Enjoy your mat work out as you build up your repertoire of exercises and perfect your two-way stretch.

To see the class that this post is referring to, please click here: Two Way Stretch Mat

Pilates is good for your Heart

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Pilatesology Instructor Andrea Maida (check out her Advanced Mat here or visit her in San Diego: www.pilatesandrea.com) has some wonderful things to say about hearts and Pilates. This is one thing you don’t have to buy today, you can simply appreciate how good Pilates is for your heart, no greeting cards required. Thanks Andrea, we [heart] you!
 

February. Valentine’s Day. HEARTS! The Hundred. Chocolates….ah, but I digress… 

Pilates does wonderful things for your heart muscle.

 

There are also many individuals that express an extreme devotion, 

a LOVE for the Pilates Method

…including moi of course! 

Bicycle on the Spine Corrector 

  The Heart is equated with:  

COURAGE ”You gotta have heart!”

ENTHUSIASM ”Put your whole heart and soul into it”

A STRONG WILL

 A SPIRIT TO SUCCEED

  Helpful things to have when approaching your Pilates workout.

 Deep in the heart of your Pilates workout: 

(See! Another one… the vital part or essence of something.)

 

The Hundred

 

Perhaps one of the most ‘memorable’ of the Pilates exercises is the Hundred (100).  
One of the first exercises one learns as a Pilates student, 100 is ever-present, lengthy and challenging to do well. 
This exercise uses the vigorous pumping of the arms from your strong center and deep full breathing to warm up the body, getting the blood circulating (heart) and squeezing stale toxic air out of the lungs.
 
 
I like to refer to my workouts as 
an internal shower followed by an external one

“Bodily House Keeping with Blood Circulation.” 

 or What’s not to love about quality House Keeping?

“This is the equivalent of an ‘internal shower.’ Your blood will flow with renewed vigor as the direct result of your faithfully performing the Contrology [Pilates] exercises.”

Translation: Just do it and trust that the exercises are working. Remember that Rome was not built in a day…

  ”These exercises induce the heart to pump strong and steadily.” 

You are moving and hopefully sweating. Remember it is a workout!

“As a result, the bloodstream carries and discharges from your system more of the accumulated debris created by fatigue. [Pilates] exercises drive pure, fresh blood to every muscle fiber of our bodies, particularly to the very important capillaries which ordinarily are rarely ever fully stimulated once we reach adulthood.”

Capillaries fully stimulated…check!

“As a heavy rainstorm freshens the water of a sluggish or stagnant stream and whips it into immediate action, [Pilates] exercises purify the bloodstream and whip it into instant action.”

Feelin’ like a stagnant stream? Then let’s see some action! Move, move, move…

“The result is that the organs of the body, including the important sweat glands, receive the benefit of clean fresh blood carried to them by this rejuvenated bloodstream.” 

This is like porn for vampires…

“In addition…note that all the exercises are performed in a sitting or reclining position. This is done to relieve your heart from undue strain as well as to take advantage of the more normal, original position of the visceral organs of your body when in such positions.” 

Pilates is NOT a heartbreaker  :-)

All quotes can be found in Joe Pilates’ book Return to Life Through Contrology

Contrology is Joe’s original name for his method. 

Check out this NYT article for a play-by-play at the cellular level! 

What’s the story with our name?

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If you’re new to Pilates, you might not know that it’s creator, Joseph Pilates didn’t call it Pilates at all. Joe called it Contrology. In Joe’s own words, “Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit” (Return to Life by J.H. Pilates).

While Contrology (the study of control) evokes what Pilates does so well, it appears that everyone simply wanted to be like Joe. So instead of saying, “I’m on my way to Contrology,” people said, “I’m on my way to Pilates.” Take one look at Joe at 57 years old and again at 82, and you’ll see why. He embodied his philosophy throughout his entire life.

We wanted to honor Joe’s original name and that’s how we came up with ours.

Pilates + Contrology = Pilatesology

 

Wishes for the New Year

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In this last day of the year some people get crazy with little rituals or traditions performed at the end of the day. Eating 12 grapes, each related to a wish, walking around the block with a suitcase, wearing certain colors … all asking for love, money, travel, pleasure.This year, I want to wish that you all have 12 or 10 or 5 or even 2 wishes for the next year. Write them down to remember them. Or if you prefer, create your own ritual to seal the wish.

Oddly enough, the hardest thing for some people is being able to choose their own wishes… short term goals, objectives, or projects for the next year; and bringing them down from the nebula of our minds to become actual, concrete, specific, timely and direct. 

To wish for Health in 2012, means to be responsible with what we eat, accountable in keeping our body and spirits strong, reliable checking that all goes as wished. Wishing for Money, compels us to work harder, save more, spend less, or play the Lotto more often … Wishing for Love, makes us ponder whom we wish to receive from, therefore paying more attention to…

To achieve your goals you must first establish them. So this time, I will not wish “that you accomplish all your wishes” but just that you have a list of them this year’s end! Writing them down is powerful, I’m certain you’ll take charge in making them happen.

This post is dedicated to Alfredo, who sent these inspiring wishes to me this year. Happy New Year!

Today we Launch

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Hi and welcome to Pilatesology!

It’s Thursday, Dec 29th, 2011 and we are about to push the button to launch our site.

Heartfelt thanks go out to our friends and family who cheered us on from the very beginning with our first videotaped Pilates workout in an empty New York City apartment over 5 years ago. 

It is truly an honor to bring you the teachers we have on our roster now, and those who are scheduled to teach for us in the coming months. Stay tuned for some amazing surprises and please tell us what you think, we can’t wait to hear your feedback.

Alisa & Jack