INCORPORATE PRIVATE CLASSES
You will REAP FANTASTIC REWARDS by
TAKING A SERIES OF PRIVATE CLASSES with your Pilates instructor.
Small group studio Pilates classes give you the specific exercises & care you need for special conditions, greater ability to meet your goals and sports specific work. However, if you find yourself wanting to go deeper into your practice, feel you need to go over something in more detail, or if your situation (in body or mind) has changed due to stress, injury, pregnancy, surgery or even having a holiday, you might consider private classes. This may be a single class to help you with a challenging movement pattern, the choreography of an exercise, pelvic floor work , going through a muscular release or engagement in more detail, advanced work, or any other area you, or your instructor, want to work on. You could also CONSIDER A SERIES OF PRIVATE CLASSES, 3, 5, 8 or 10!
A SINGLE, OR A SERIES OF, PRIVATE SESSIONS WILL TRANSFORM YOUR WEEKLY WORKOUT and give you new skills to find more depth in the work, as well as empowering you to understand your body, and what it needs, better. Ongoing group classes are fantastic, but perhaps once a month, or even once a year, why not treat yourself to a little more and take your Pilates further. For MAT CLASS ENTHUSIASTS who love the pace & flow of mat classes, a single private class, or series of private classes will provide you with more hands on cues, and a chance to look more closely at how to correctly engage Pelvic Floor and Transversus Abdominus, as well as have a chance to have your own postural type and movement challenges addressed, so that you can work more effectively in your mat classes. Going into the studio and using the equipment, provides you with an amazing range of ways to challenge you with the exercises you find easy, or to assist you with the movements you find challenging.
If private classes are outside your budget, why not TAKE A
SERIES OF 10 STUDIO GROUP CLASSES EVERY 6-12 MONTHS to deepen your practice.
PILATES MAT CLASSES
Mat classes are a fantastic way to take a low impact workout which works on your body mind (link to this article). I love the flow, dynamics & the group energy of mat classes. Because it's a group led class, it also provides you with continuity and continuous dialogue from your instructor, to take you deeper into your body.
ADD A MAT CLASS TO YOUR WEEKLY STUDIO CLASS.
Many studios now provide mat classes for different levels and needs, so if you have a self managed injury or condition, you may find there are safe mat classes for you to attend. Ask your studio instructor if there is a class that will suit you. Try to rise above ego and if you are recommended to take a beginners class, see it as a fantastic way to go over the basics each week and enjoy discovering the depths that the foundations provide. If you are an intermediate or advanced mat class client, why not TAKE A GENTLER CLASS ONCE A WEEK (or series as a refresher)TO KEEP YOUR FOUNDATIONS STRONG! I regularly take my intermediate clients 'back to basics' and they are constantly challenged by the deep core connection that is required from this work. Personally I can spend an hour on a knee float or just listening to my diaphragm, and find it just as rewarding and necessary as a tough workout!
ME TIME
HOME EXERCISE, HOME CLASSES, BODY EXPLORATIONS!
Many of us have a mental block when it comes to 'homework'.
FIND A NEW NAME FOR IT AND START INTRODUCING SOME 'ME TIME' INTO YOUR LIFE.
This can be anything, from a highly structured workout, to 15 minutes rolling around on your reflex balls, lying on your foam roller, stretching or some breathing work. It is unrealistic to expect your Pilates instructor to attend to all your body's needs in one, or even two, hour(s) a week. If you feel stiff, sore, tired or inspired... DO SOMETHING! Your classes provide you with invaluable skills and knowledge. Take this home with you and utilise the skills you have developed. It doesn't matter if you can't remember everything. Listen to your body and trust the wisdom it has, it will guide you. Only do that which feels GOOD and stop if something doesn't feel right. The more you practice at home, stretch, or even just breathe, the more you will remember from classes and deeper your understanding of your own body will become.
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THOUGHT OF THE DAY
"When we accept our bodies as teachers, they bring us warmly and closely in touch with our potential for conscious personal and communal evolution."
Nancy Mellon 'Body Eloquence: The power of Myth and Story to Awaken the Body's Energies'
MOVEMENT OF THE DAY
This comes from Liz Koch's website coreawareness.com. Liz is an American woman who has been working with the Psoas muscle for over 30 years. This is a really great and deep Psoas stretch I invite you to try. Liz is running a workshop in Sydney and one in Drysdale, Victoria in early April which I'm sure will be amazing and is open to anyone. http://www.coreawareness.com/workshops/psoas-melbourne-australia/
Psoas Stretch
Published by Liz Koch on November 20, 2010 in BlogPower-lifter (804lb) & strength trainer Deric Stockton (see box squat video below) created this simply delicious psoas stretch, implementing Spine Based Movement (TM). Add it to your holiday fare for a relaxing, easy to digest Season!
Begin in Constructive Rest Position (CRP) for 2-5 minutes. Tuck a Slo-mo ball, foam exercise roller, or tightly rolled yoga mat, evenly placed under your balanced pelvis. Relax your pelvis over the curved object by relaxing your spine and opening (softening and relaxing) the front of the hip sockets. Lengthen & extend one leg. Lengthen and extend the same arm over the head. Grab the lengthened arm at the wrist with your other hand. Gently pull yourself into a spinal lateral C curve. Be sure to include both arm and leg. Slowly spiral, initiating the movement in the thoracic spine, towards your extended arm & leg until you sense the activation of the upper psoas and a sense of delicious relaxation spreading through the chest and throat (do not just turn the head, rather let the head follow the subtle spiral). Look up into the elbow of your extended arm to help further open the throat. Connect the sensation of stretch both moving down towards your feet and up towards your head. Explore the position for 2 minutes then return to CRP and begin again on the other side.http://www.coreawareness.com/blog/delicious-psoas-stretch-for-the-holidays/
