Pilates

Pilates & Food: A Restorative Recipe

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Pilates & Food… These are 2 of My Favorite things As an owner of a Pilates Studio & a mom, there is not much time in the day to feed oneself. We all know how important feeding our body is; it works so hard teaching our clients, taking care of our family, and sneaking in some Pilates for ourselves in between sessions or after a long day. I used to be so against crock pots and I really didn’t know why, so I decided to explore it a bit… I remember hearing my very Italian New Jersey mother once say “Uck who uses a crockpot! Using one of those is not really cooking! So yeah, I guess that’s it, those words stuck in my head for years and years and I would not use one. The poor thing just sat there staring at me … until life got out of control and a baby joined the family. Alive with juicy veggies and amazing aromas, I now had a healthy and savory meal that was ready when I got home. This recipe is one of my favorites to come home to after a long day; it truly nourishes me from the inside out. The mix of coconut milk, garlic and ginger is just so delicious it will warm you up and make your mindful Pilates body feel great. My 10-month-old son is obsessed with the chicken, so it is a meal that every age can enjoy. It can become a go to for all busy wives, mommas, teachers, leaders and overall bad asses! Enjoying this recipe and a Restorative Pilates class is a perfect way to end the day. Recipe: TheKitchn – Whole Chicken in Coconut Milk – Slow Cooker! Why Restorative? Restorative movements in Pilates or any type of exercise are very important. They help us decompress and find our center. They allow us to focus on our breath, our mobility and our balance by slowing down and really feeling the movements. With restorative movement, you have time to think about how each movement feels in your muscles and in your bones. You become very aware if something feels tight or if it suddenly relaxes; ahhh, we love that feeling. One of the main reasons for this is because it is done at a slower pace.  I love restorative Pilates because it is great for assisting someone recovering from an injury, is a safe and effective class for active agers and pre and post natal women love it. While your crockpot is taking care of dinner, use these moves to take care of yourself. Shake off any holding patterns you may have picked up during the past few days. My go to restorative moves… 1. Diaphragmatic Breathing: Inhale and think about releasing your bottom and your pelvic floor muscles into the floor where you are comfortably sitting. Exhale and feel how the breath narrows your ribs and gently lifts your pelvic basket. 2. Foot Rollout: Grab a spiky ball, a tennis ball, a lacrosse ball or your child’s toy ball and roll out the bottom of your feet. You may find some sticky and painful spots – stay with that for a bit and then move the ball vigorously from toe to heel. Your feet work hard all day everyday. Show them some love and watch how it improves your posture! 3. Neck and Shoulder Release : Lie on your back with your legs long. Reach both arms up to the ceiling and inhale to reach your finger tips long towards the ceiling – feel how your shoulder blades gently separate and open your upper back. Exhale and and allow your shoulder blades to melt into the floor, narrowing towards each other – feel how this allows your collar bones to spread and your ribs to narrow.

To learn more about Joanna Cefaratti and Firehaus Pilates Click Here.

Unconscious Competence & Limitless Potential

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We are creatures of comfort and spend a great deal of our focus and effort to minimize possible discomfort. For example: cushioned shoes, central air conditioning and heating, heated steering wheels, cooled car seats, grocery delivery, etc. It’s fantastic that we have these innovations and conveniences built into our lives, but does it carry over into our physical fitness and mental expectations? – Kate Strozak, NCPT
In movement training sessions, our goals are to expand our movement capabilities whether that be in power, mobility, agility, or complexity. We want to respect our bodies when we receive signals of: “that’s enough,” “that was a little too much too soon,” or “this is causing damage.” The more we move and the more body awareness we cultivate, the better we can listen to these messages while continuing to progress. Early on, a coach or trainer can help a person to recognize these messages while challenging their capabilities. “The four stages of learning” is a model employed across many sectors including business, psychology, education, sports, and others.

This model was created by Noel Burch in 1970 and it includes:

  • Unconscious incompetence (we don’t know what we don’t know)
  • Conscious incompetence (we are aware of what we don’t know)
  • Conscious competence (we are aware and can do)
  • Unconscious competence (we do without thinking- a habit is born)
As a movement professional, do you help your clients get to the phase of unconscious competence? For many trainers, this could be an intimidating tactic because you might wonder what would happen to your business if all of your clients could do without you.

I have two suggestions:

1. Enable your clients to get to the phase of unconscious competence. 2. Help your clients embrace that their potential is limitless and that you are there as a resource. A few simple suggestions to help your clients phase into the state of unconscious competence include fostering exploration and creativity. Phrases might include: “what would happen if you tried…?” and “let’s explore…”
Using cuing judiciously is also helpful in empowering your clients. Do you find yourself having to repeatedly cue the same faulty movement patterns, for example, rib alignment?
If you find you are often repeating the same cues, it’s likely because the client hasn’t experienced what you are trying to convey or they don’t understand. Try changing the task or environment and see if they can execute whichever function you want them to accomplish. Embodying this principle can take time; it can decrease the pressure of feeling like you have to know everything, increase the collaborative nature of your work, and facilitate creativity from both the coach and the client.
Journeying through the limitless potential phase is a soul-satisfying experience that can result in unexpected laughs, plot twists, and spontaneous joy.
For example, the other day I was reviewing footage of a movement flow I did in a park and saw that I did one legged push ups in a complete state of ease and flow. I started laughing and almost crying! After a year of focused practice on mastering a pushup, I had never considered what my next step would be. Who knows what will evolve next, but I know that my own expectations can only limit what I’m capable of accomplishing. Being a resource to your client to help them explore movements that might be challenging now while pushing them further along is the role of a movement coach. Be open to surprises and be willing to explore both with yourself and with your clients.

Are you looking for some ways to take yourself out of your comfort zone?

Here are a few things I incorporate in my day-to-day life: • At the end of a shower, turn your water as cold as you can. Over time increase the duration of time you can tolerate the cold water. • Walk on rocks of variety of shapes, sizes, and smoothness. Your body will thank you! • Turn off the AC or heat in the car and open those windows! You might be do this for small periods of time, and please be safe if you’re living in places with extreme weather patterns. • Practice breathing exercises with sustained pauses. Buteyko breathing and Wim Hof are great resources for this work.

Kate Strozak, NCPT is a Polestar Pilates Educator and Content Contributor

The Journey Within: Movement as Meditation

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Whenever I hear someone say, “that’s not yoga”, I always chuckle inside because they remind me of an earlier version of myself. Yoga, Pilates and GYROTONIC® have become a sort of trinity for me. These mind body techniques have one main thing in common: they all ask you to be present. These practices guide the thinking part of ourselves inward into a space of focused attention that transcends time and space. When we are fully present there are no words, lineages or traditions, there is the lack of all that has been or will be, so that the here and now may reveal itself. The traditions of yoga, Pilates, Qi-Gong, etc are vehicles that transport our psyche out of the time space continuum into the present moment; the eternal now. Nowadays when I hear this type of comment of, ‘that’s not yoga’ or ‘that’s not Pilates’, or my favorite, ‘you teach Pilates like a yoga teacher,’ rather than defending why it is or isn’t a certain thing, I realize that we are all struggling to name and categorize the nameless, which is the experience of being whole and not separate from our source. Through the repetitive practice of visiting this internal space of awareness and communion with source energy, the illusion of separation begins to fall away. This practice of being in the now is like peeling an onion with an infinite center. There is no where to go, the whole point of the practice is just to peel the onion of the Self for the sake of simply being present. As we aspire to align with That which is ideal, optimal, correct and appropriate, we are reminded that we are in constant flux. What felt ‘correct’ one day may not feel that way the next. What was ‘correct’ for one body, may not be for the other. This is absolutely fascinating and humbling if we can let go of our desire to be ‘correct´. The ability to perceive our own physical, mental and emotional daily changes and to develop the sensitivity to see them in others requires the discipline of time. Teachers and practitioners of mind body disciplines hopefully live and teach based on personal sweat, tears and time spent in awareness, as opposed to time spent repeating ideas they have never experienced. As teachers we have the privilege of sharing and guiding others into this sublime experience of being through movement. When we are able to clearly communicate an experience of awareness to our students they, sometimes unknowingly, enter into this space of being here now and become inspired, excited, joyful and grateful… hence, the healing is occurring. As we grow in our practice, we become the practice itself and ideas like, ‘that’s not yoga’ become silly as we realize everything is yoga. Yoga literally means to yoke together, from the yuj, often defined as “to add”, “to join”, “to unite”, or “to attach.” As we cultivate the experience of being in the now, whether it be on a reformer, mat or airplane, we create unity within ourselves and the need to define what it is that makes us feel connected begins to fall away. The world becomes the yoga mat as we grow into the practice, and as we grow into the practice, it becomes us…and it never ends so you’re constantly being given opportunities for conscious change and living! Let’s co-conspire and co-create this summer at the Polestar Life Conference! Keynote speaker, Marilyn Schlitz’s address, “Bridging Consciousness, Science and Society” will explore the science behind subtle energies, bio fields, and mind body practices, so that we may learn to embrace our innate gifts of healing for ourselves, our relationships, and our world. Learn more from Polestar Educator Christi Idavoy by visiting her studio or following her online.

The Power of the Breath in Pilates

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When something is very natural it’s often compared to breathing; an implicit trust in an unconscious process.  17, 000 breaths a day is as natural as it comes. That’s why you’ll be surprised to know there are better breathing techniques than regular breath that Pilates encourages. We sat down with our Director of Curriculum, Shelly Power, to set the record straight on breathing for Pilates. There are many ways the breath is useful and integral to movement. Generally, how does proper breathing help Pilates? Proper breathing’ is such a funny expression – as if there are good and bad breathers. We joke that most ‘bad breathers’ are dead. Seriously though, the main thing to remember, is to breathe. Joseph Pilates is often quoted as saying ‘breathe in the air and out the air’. That is great advice. What Pilates brings is breath awareness and control. Students often ask me ‘what is the right way to breathe?’ ‘Should I be inhaling or exhaling?’ What I really want to say is, ‘yes’. At first breath, however, it’s most comfortable. As a teacher, I observe what comes natural and decide when I can use the breath in a different way to assist or challenge the student. Sometimes we use breathing to help the body move and sometimes we use it to help the body stay stable. And, sometimes we move to help us breathe. So, the breath really depends on what you want. There is a quote from Blandine Calais-Germain about spontaneity, “This, in some activities (even very complex ones) there may be a total lack of breath training because ‘only spontaneous breathing will harmonize well with the movement.’ Is there a certain “intensity of breath” across all Pilates movements? How might an instructor cue on the proper amount? In Polestar we like the intensity of the breath to match the intensity of the movement. You don’t breathe the same way walking as you do when you’re running. It’s the same in Pilates. Certain movements require a stronger breath, some require something softer. It often depends on what your desired outcome is. Is the current style of breathing making the movement better or is it getting in the way? If the student is distracted by too much focus on the breath, let it go and just let them breathe comfortably. Eventually, we should really be able to change the breathing patterns with ease. Dr. Larry Cahalin discussing improved breathing habits with Pilates Which Pilates exercises are closely related to breath control? The most well-known Pilates breathing exercise is The 100. It consists of breathing in for 5 counts, then out 5 counts 10 times, all the while maintaining the torso in a rolled up position with the legs outstretched. It’s a challenging exercise, to say the least. There are others but this is the one most everyone knows. Why is too much of a focus on breath a negative? Focusing on exactly when to inhale and exhale often gets in the way of the movement being performed. Especially when a student is new to Pilates. Having students breathe comfortably is sometimes a better approach at first, so as not to overwhelm them. Too much or little of anything isn’t great. Find a happy medium until the student can coordinate the movement and the breath. Can breath for Pilates be applied to other movement disciplines (high-intensity workouts/meditation)? Pilates movements help to create mobility throughout the body which is crucial for good and efficient air exchange. During high-intensity workouts, there is a lot of air that is exchanged. The better our ribs, spine, shoulder girdle and trunk muscles function, the easier it is to breathe. Conversely, resting breath should be efficient and should really just use the diaphragm, the primary muscle in breathing. No need to use a lot of other muscles. Can it improve daily functions around breath or movement? Absolutely. Practicing different styles of breathing can help to both improve mobility in the thorax and strengthen the muscles associated with breathing. If our torso is rigid, it makes it difficult to expand the ribs when inhaling and to narrow the ribs when exhaling. The latter is often associated with people who are obese, women who have just given birth, and in addition to the changes in the lung tissue, COPD. They often lack the mobility and strength to close the rib cage and squeeze the air out of the lungs. Many Pilates movements can assist in restoring better function What are the consequences of poor breathing habits? One of the biggest consequences of poor breathing habits is a lack of energy. The first goal of breathing is gas exchange – to rid the body and CO2 and take in O2. In addition to the physiological needs, we also improve posture with better breathing techniques and can change our mood or state with more energetic or quiet breath styles. Long, slow breaths can bring us toward a more calm state. This is often the goal of meditation and relaxation techniques. A more vigorous breath gives us energy and can make us more aware and alert. Breath should be natural and spontaneous. Shelly and Brent delve deeper into breath in their video on diaphragmatic breathing. It’s always good to take a step back and reevaluate the basics, even if you feel you mastered it centuries ago. Become Polestar trained and study with Senior Polestar Pilates educator Shelly Power at the upcoming Transition Intensive.Transition (Bridging) Pilates Teacher Training

The Swing of Things – Pilates & Rotational Sports

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Golf, tennis, and baseball are just a few sports that demand mobility, stability, coordination, balance, and alignment for efficient movement. Athletes who participate in these rotational sports are excellent candidates for Pilates. If we take a moment to think about the demand placed on the body when playing any of these sports, we can quickly see that repetitively swinging the arm overhead, if not integrated with the rest of the body, can easily cause injury. Common injuries include rotator cuff impingement and tears, tendonitis, bursitis, sprains, and back pain. All of these things can be avoided and minimized with one thing…Pilates! As Pilates teachers, we know how to help our clients integrate movement efficiently. We are great at looking at the bigger picture. For example, when we observe someone performing footwork on the reformer, we are not just looking at foot and ankle alignment. We are watching how the knees track in line with the hips; do their hips seem level; does the weight distribution and timing seem to be balanced; are the ribs in line with their pelvis and softly resting on the carriage; are the shoulders open and level; is the head centered with their body? These are just some of the basic things a Pilates instructor is trained to see– just imagine how powerful a Pilates instructor’s intervention could be with an athlete! Pilates for rotational sports can help enhance this skill set by looking at the dynamic relationships of the body. Using Polestar’s six Principles of Movement, together with the Pilates repertoire, we can make better decisions about which exercises to use with athletes to optimize their sports performance. Pilates for rotational sports is synonymous with Pilates for injury prevention. As alignment is improved, efficiency and endurance increase. When our joints are moving in their optimal way, muscle actions are more balanced and the likelihood of injury decreases. By adding Pilates to an athlete’s workout routine, we can better educate them so that they can get the most out of their play. EXPERIENTIAL / TRY THIS AT HOME Increasing spinal mobility in general can have a very positive impact on rotation of the spine. Because all of our ribs are attached to the spinal column, increasing the mobility of the ribcage can increase the mobility of the spine. One of my favorite ways to access more movement through the ribs is through breath. Breathing for spinal mobility: Props needed – yoga strap, belt or scarf 1. Lie on your back with the strap under your ribcage, crossing in front; hold opposite straps with hands so that when you pull on the straps it tightens around your ribcage. 2. Pull the strap tight enough that you can just barely feel it against your ribcage. 3. Inhale and allow the strap to slide to accommodate the increase in size of your ribcage. Notice how much strap you let slide. 4. Exhale and pull the strap to help your ribcage narrow with your exhale. 5. Repeat this 8-10 times and see if the total difference from full exhale to full inhale increases.

Pilates on the Water

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At Polestar, we encourage you to apply your Pilates knowledge to every discipline of movement you can find. Stand up paddling or “SUP” is a good way to add a new dimension of awareness to your routine, as long as you don’t slip into the water! Stand up paddle boarding is one of the fastest growing water sports in recent years. Paddle boarding is an aquatic activity that is performed standing on a surfboard with the help of a paddle to propel you through the water. One of the earliest accounts of stand up paddling was in pre-colonial west and south African tribes, standing in long canoes with modified spear-paddles. The sport as we know it originates in Hawaii, where they use 5 meter long boards and paddles. Professional SUP started in Hawaii around 1990, when the practice began being taught in surf schools for the first time. SUP is an ideal activity because it doesn’t require much adeptness to surfing (or even waves).  Practicing Pilates while balancing on a board, on the water, is another story.   Pilates on the board becomes a more dynamic balancing experience of posture and breath.  When you climb on the paddle-board, the movement of the water creates an extra dimension of instability and challenge to familiar Pilates poses. SUP + Pilates does wonders for awareness, balance and focus – assuming you can stay on! Polestar Graduate, Natalia Testón, demonstrates a few of her favorite SUP + Pilates routines here: SUP – Pilates.  Natalia first discovered her love for surfing in 2006 but it wasn’t until 2012 that she fully fused her two loves (surfing and Pilates) into a class.  As a level 1 sports technician in Spain, she challenges her clients with new and exciting techniques.  Are you a SUP + Pilates practitioner? Share your experiences with us!  #IamPolestar.