Browse Pilates

Focusing your mind and body on great technique is of utmost importance to properly execute the Pilates Side Plank exercise. While the Side Plank helps improve upper body strength, it can also be the reason for shoulder pain or injury if done improperly. It is imperative to use correct functional shoulder mechanics during the transition to lift up into the Side Plank and even up to lowering the body back down to the mat safely and to avoid unnecessary injuries. 3 BENEFITS OF THE PILATES SIDE PLANK EXERCISE: 1. Improves Balance to Support the Bodyr

Yesterday I switched things up for my regular aerobic workout and did my cardio on the rowing machine. Whew…I forgot what a great whole-body workout you can get on a rowing machine. If you’re one to always head to the treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine - I’d encourage you to check out the ...

Frequently, we as teachers have students of various skill levels in our classes. In order to meet the needs of students, while delivering a good, safe work-out it is helpful to have an understanding of exercise progressions. In this tutorial we will examine Pilates exercises and offer progressions and modifications to the traditional technique. These progressions and modifications maintain the intention of the original exercises while providing a perfect, client specific clas

Here are a six interesting foot facts that I found recently from the while researching foot health and exercise on the web.n • Seventy-five percent of Americans will experience foot health problems of varying degrees of severity at one time or another in their lives. • Women have about four ...

How to Improve Ab Strength and Increase the Flexibility of your Back for the Roll Uprnr

What is Pilates? Pilates is a physical fitness system developed by Joseph Pilates. In Pilates, the mind is used to control the muscles. Pilates attempts to create a fusion of mind and body, allowing the body to move with grace, balance and economy. Traditional Pilates is performed on a machine known as the reformer, which provides exercise resistance to build strength, develop proper alignment and posture, and increase flexibility. Today, people practice mat Pilates, which do

I have to say that I am grateful for my gymnastics, dance, and Pilates training - especially in regards to body awareness. I’m sure it’s why so many dancers and athletes are embracing Pilates as a component of their injury-prevention and cross-training program. And it makes sense why so many ...

Ah, the thrill of being fearless in your bikini. But are you fearless? If not, the problem may be that you aren't ready to strut your foxy stuff because you're dreading every lump and bump and the bulging belly on your body. Well, you don't have to spend your summer in a muumuu. nnInstead, get a body you'll love with these exercises taken from The Six-Week Bikini Body Countdown. This is the inside scoop on how you can get ready to show off an itsy-bitsy bikini (without a saro

Question: What daily-life activities can I do that use different muscle groups in different ways? How do I do them correctly? What muscle groups they will use? 1. Driving – Practicing Seated Posture, Relaxed Shoulders, Low Abdominal Support

Tips for Getting Started Improving Core Strength for Functional Movement To enjoy a healthy and active life using your core to support the body and develop effective functional movement habits is essential to help reduce back problems, improve body mechanics, increase strength, mobility and support. Whether your goal is to enhance sports performance, or just enjoy an adequate amount of fitness for a happy life, learning to find and use your core muscles and incorporate core training exercises into your workouts can help ensure great whole-body health.

When your feet hurt, it becomes impossible to maintain an active life. Simple tasks such as walking, running, or even riding a bike can be intolerable. When our feet ache, our workouts stop and it’s difficult to think about anything else! All you want is for your foot pain to go away so you can get your pain-free feet back and resume your normal happy and active life.

"I have a question about a client with Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD. She takes medication for it and sometimes it works better than others. I try to minimize distractions in and around the studio and I try to be very clear with my queing. Is there something I could be doing to focus her? ...

Try utilizing one of these principles during your next session... Like most disciplines, Pilates has certain basic principles that should be followed to get the most benefit. The six principles of Pilates are Control, Concentration, Centering, Precision, Breath and Flow. Most are of no ...

Who doesn’t want a toned, attractive back? Especially when the summer months loom and you are unenthusiastically facing swimsuit season, or during the holiday season as you eye that glittery, back-baring party dress. A well-developed upper back gives you that appealing V-shape, which ...

Designing safe and effective Pilates training programs that are client-specific, goal-oriented, and help improve whole-body health is the primary function of a great Pilates teacher. You can know lots of good exercises, but it's the subtle changes, adaptations, or order for workout sequence that ...

“What is the purpose of learning how to properly use the iliopsoas muscle, and how does this affect exercise technique from a Pilates perspective?” This was the question asked of me, which led to an interesting few days of contemplation about how I think, what I teach, how I originally ...

Health improvement covers a lot of different things. Yet it all sums up your wellness goals, whether it’s for a better body, fitness, diet & nutrition, managing stress, or any other important part of staying healthy it’s important to find simple strategies to better take care of your body and have a healthy life.

Here are a six interesting foot facts that I found recently from the while researching foot health and exercise on the web.n n Seventy-five percent of Americans will experience foot health problems of varying degrees of severity at one time or another in their lives.nn Women have about four times as many foot problems as men; lifelong patterns of wearing high heels often are the culprit.nn There are times when you’re walking that the pressure on your feet exceeds your body

The scoop is a signature concept for Pilates training, as well as a topic for much debate. Every teacher has an opinion on whether the Pilates exercises should be done with a scoop or neutral spine. It’s impossible not to land on one side of the political fence or the other with a viewpoint on ...The scoop is a signature concept for Pilates training, as well as a topic for much debate. Every teacher has an opinion on whether the Pilates exercises should be done with a scoop or neutral spine.

A Simple Foot Fitness Exercise To Help Your Heels & Improve The Alignment of Your Feetrnr

One of the most popular books about Pilates is The Pilates Body: The Ultimate At-Home Guide to Strengthening, Lengthening and Toning Your Body--Without Machines, written by Brooke Siler and presented in a way that makes it easy to access and very informative. The author has credentials from training with the oldest protégé of Joseph Pilates himself, and creates a wonderfully organized book that helps offer tips and ways to build the perfect Pilates regimen for you. First, S

Do I have to practice Pilates to improve my posture? Not necessarily. However, the Pilates exercises can be a wonderful way to help you change habits. Everything that you learn about your body with the Pilates Method can be applied to both your everyday life and other fitness activities. The ...

Extension nnExtension the spine is the opposite of flexion. From a terminology standpoint, it’s helpful to be specific. If the cue is “bend the spine” it could move in one of three directions. Forward (spine flexion), Backward (spine extension), or Sideways (lateral flexion). The other direction our spine moves is to rotate or twist. Normally “bending” means flexion, or moving the body forward towards the legs. Extension would be taking the body backwards in the opp

Pilates Exercise Tips To Strengthen the Body for Side Plankr Here are some suggestions and recommended Pilates exercises to help strengthen the shoulders and develop strong core support for a successful Side Plank exercise. The Side Plank exercise is a higher intermediate or advanced exercise in a Pilates Mat work. in his book Return to Life, Joseph Pilates calls this exercise the “Side Bend.”

I recently had someone drop me a contact request for Pilates Teacher Training information and thought she had some great questions that might be helpful to post in my Centerworks Pilates blog. nn Think I may turn this into a regular section and update & add posts with questions as they come in.nnIt’s so important that students interested in making the transition from client to Pilates teacher ask good questions and gather lots of information before making the decision about

“What is the purpose of learning how to properly use the iliopsoas muscle, and how does this affect exercise technique from a Pilates perspective?”nnIn Part 1 the anatomy, benefits, and function of the iliopsoas muscle were reviewed for a greater understanding of the importance it plays in movement and health. Fine for the brain to understand the concepts, how does one practically apply this information to Pilates? In this article I will review a few of the tricks I use t

Are your current breathing practices helping you stay fit, or contributing to back pain, shoulder pain or neck pain? Do you know if your current breathing habits are helping your posture or only making it worse?

The benefit of Pilates is efficient movement. Movement is health, health is life. The spine is the vertical support for our structure. It protects the nerves that cue our bodies for movement. Breath pumps nourishing fluids from the brain to the body and assists in lengthening the spine for freedom of movement. We start our Pilates training by learning how to flex the spine, then extend, rotate and side bend. Using the Pilates system for a full-body workout should include exer

The past few weeks I have been working with my Pilates clients with a goal of assisting them enhance the curl and bend of the upper back for The Hundred. I’ve also been focused on improving articulation of the upper back for the Roll Up, Teaser and Neck Pull - These are not easy exercises for most beginner and some intermediate level Pilates clients.

This Foot Care Question was just submitted to me by Nicole, and I thought perhaps there are others out there searching for answers on how to alleviate foot problems and curious to know if exercise might help. Here's the Question: “I have some problems with my feet. Hyper mobile forefoot and ...

Evolution, in the case of Pilates, began in 1934 with Your Health, continued in 1945 with Return to Life through Contrology, and continues to this very day with new exercises, new equipment, new enhancements to his original fitness programming, and Pilates Evolution. Developments to and through the 21st Century

The Pilates principles are the foundation of the Pilates method and are what make the exercises so effective. Knowing and applying these principles to your workouts will help you to balance your body's musculature, prevent injuries, and maximize the results of your workouts. This month's principle is Concentration. Read on to find why Joseph Pilates called his method the "thinking man's workout." Rael Isacowitz, founder of Body Arts and Sciences International (BASI) divides t

Different Methods for Enhancing the Side Leg Exercises in Pilates Matwork One of the most difficult challenges when doing the Pilates Mat work Side Leg Series exercises is keeping the body completely still while swinging the leg. Many of the Pilates Mat exercises that are done before you get to the Side Leg series (with your abs in and back on the mat) will help you prepare to lie balanced on your side and still be able to hold a solid position and strong core! The Pilates side leg series exercises have numerous useful benefits, here are just a few:

It can definitely be a challenge to keep yourself at the top of your priority list with everything else in life demanding a piece of your time – deadlines at work, family responsibilities, household chores.

Have you ever heard the term “Monkey Mind” and laughed with the visual of a bunch of monkeys jumping around being crazy and wild? And can you relate to a feeling of having those little monkeys running around in your head causing your thoughts to bounce from one thing to the next and making it ...

The Benefits of Spine Extension.nn Tips and Techniques for Increasing Spine Mobility.nn Exercises to Practice Spine Extension.nn Practicing Extension with Pilates.n nExtension (As defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)nPronunciation: ik-’sten(t)-sh&n Function: nounn n The action of extending : state of being extendednn The total range over which something extendsnn An unbending movement around a joint in a limb (as the knee or elbow) that increases the angle betw

Considering the large number of clients I’ve seen with chronic back and neck pain, and the great results they’ve had from participating in Pilates programs with me, I strongly agree with the findings from this recent research article I read in SOAP notes from PT Products.nn Exercise Underutilized for Chronic Back and Neck Pain nnAbout the Research Study n nA recent study, funded by the National Institutes of Health , looked at exercise prescription-who is prescribing it,

Spring is coming and exercising outside becomes more pleasant. As you head into training for your spring and summer activities, a part of the body we often forget about is the ankle. We forget until we injure them, that is. An ankle injury can really put a crimp in your training schedule. Common foot and ankle injuries include strain, an injury to the tendon that connects the muscle to the bone, sprain, an injury to the ligament which holds two bones together, tendonitis, whi

Understanding Functional Movement Functional Movement is the ability to move your body efficiently by utilizing the right muscle groups to move the bones in an effortless, pain-free range of motion. Perfecting bio-mechanically efficiency with everything you do, regardless of whether it’s for competitive sports, general fitness, or everyday life activities, is crucial for preserving a healthy, sound body and preventing injury.

Pilates Workout Tips for Healthy, Well Balanced Shoulders • Have You Ever Experienced A Painful Arm or Shoulder Injury?r • Are Your Shoulders Ever Hiked Up By Your Ears?r • Do You Carry Tension or Stress in Your Neck and Upper Back? It’s no surprise that a lot of people these days are dealing with one, or several of these shoulder problems. To hold our vertical human posture we have a couple of options - excellent core support and good posture, or the reliance on our deltoids, upper traps, and shoulders to support us!

Yesterday I switched things up for my regular aerobic workout and did my cardio on the rowing machine. Whew…I forgot what a great whole-body workout you can get on a rowing machine.nnIf you’re one to always head to the treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine - I’d encourage you to check out the benefits of adding even a few minutes of rowing to your aerobic workout program and here’s why:n n Rowing is definitely a whole-body exercise - your upper body, core and back st

Exercise Underutilized for Chronic Back and Neck Pain A recent study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, looked at exercise prescription—who is prescribing it, who is getting it, and what type of exercise is being prescribed—and found that exercise may be underutilized for ...

What is The Pilates Method? The Pilates Method teaches a holistic, common-sense approach to efficient movement habits for whole-body health. Developed as a system or movement regime, Pilates training provides a variety of choices in both exercises and specialized Pilates equipment to help reinforce good movement habits, lying down, seated, kneeling, and standing. Everything you learn about how to move your body with the Pilates exercises can be practiced during other sport &

Wii Fitness… What Fun! nnI may be a bit behind the times when it comes to enjoying the fun and benefits of all the new interactive video game products on the market - like the Nintendo Wii Fit… but recently my techno-geek boyfriend purchased a Wii Fit for home. (He’s had one at work since they first hit the market.) Being a bit shy about actually getting a computer to do what I want, for me is intimidating, never mind the hand-eye coordination it takes to “win” a co

Just a quick thought… While improving posture may or may not be on the list of goals Pilates participants, it might be because posture improvement isn’t what they want, but rather the BENEFITS of correcting bad posture, which include: Reduced back and neck pain, less stress on all the body’s joints (spine, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles), easier breathing in daily life & sport activities, shoulders that are no longer wrapped around the ears, ease of movement for daily l

The cover of BioMechanics – The Magazine of Body Movement and Medicine caught my eye. The February 2007 issue / Volume XIV Number 2 had a barefoot runner on the front and the tag-line, “New barefoot designs challenge footwear conventions.” Since the subject of happy feet and ...

An area of conce for many women - no matter what age - is the shape, tone and length of muscle of our legs. The suppleness of front, back, sidelines of the legs and surely the curve of the derriere are the parts of our bodies that get a lot of focus and attention in everything we do, every way we move and everywhere we come and go. Why not spend a minimum of twenty minutes a session, twice a week, shaping and toning these lifelong supports to mental and physical health and be

The Pilates Method teaches a common-sense approach to efficient movement habits for whole-body health. Every Pilates exercise combines strength and flexibility with breathing and total body awareness. Learning to pay attention to what your body is doing and how it moves is a must for getting ...

Are you a Pilates buff, and know and understand the benefits of a tight, toned body without having a near death experience on the spinning bike? Do you also know that one Pilates session a week won’t give it to you? Welcome to the 14-day challenge, an idea developed by my husband, Steve, who is a recent NY Pilates convert. He devised a 14 day challenge for us one morning when in passing, I commented on how great his abs looked. “It’s Pilates,” he said surprised and pr

Centerworks Pilates is a great resource for everything Pilates! "How-to" books, Pilates Matwork CD/MP3's, Pilates teacher-education, & student workshops. Find great products and free articles to inspire mind-body wellness and a healthy lifestyle at www.Centerworks.com