Polestar

Core Strength in Pilates: What You Need to Know

By Kristin Loeer, Movement Therapist & Polestar Pilates Practitioner @polestarpilatesuk

Is core strength your goal from Pilates? This is a goal many of my clients note on their intake form when they come to see me. Not surprising, considering Pilates is considered a discipline that improves core strength. Yet, every time I see “core strength” as a goal, I wonder what it means to the client. Truth is, this goal does not reveal as much as you might think. Here’s what you need to know before you start working on core strength with your clients. 

What Is Core Strength?

Believe it or not, core strength is not really a goal by itself. It is a concept, an idea, and a theory about biomechanical function. As a Pilates Teacher, you know all about core strength. Or do you? It is touted as a solution to many problems. A weak core can cause back pain and spinal problems. A strong core helps prevent injury and enables us to master challenging physical tasks. We talk about core strength as though we all agree on what it is. The funny thing is, we really don’t! We can somewhat agree that the core refers to the center of the body, and strength refers to muscular power or force. So let’s work from the basis that core strength comes from the strength of the muscles surrounding the spine in the center of the body. 

Hang On, Which Muscles Are Core Muscles?

Many professionals including physical therapists and some Pilates teachers have different views on true core muscles and global trunk muscles. This is where the first problem lies. While for some it is crucial that only four deep muscles of the trunk represent the core, for others it is six, and for others still, it is every muscle surrounding the center of the body. Whichever muscles you consider to compromise the “core” makes a huge difference in how you go about strengthening this area. If you believe it’s the four deep trunk muscles (diaphragm, transverse abdominus, pelvic floor and multifidus), you would use a different strategy than you would if your idea included more superficial muscles.

What we can agree on, is that these deep, postural muscles play a role in stabilizing the spine. As soon as we add movement of the trunk, we also start exercising the global muscles of the trunk. If the core is considered weak, the goal for some would be to strengthen the deep muscles in isolation. You might do minimal-effort stability exercises with no spinal movement. If you believe the core is the body’s center in general, and all muscles in this area play a role in spinal stabilization, you would do more classical abdominal, bracing exercises that feel a lot stronger, or work on a generally more functional level. 

What To Believe About Core Strength?

So to assess and prescribe movement effectively, decide what you believe about core strength. How do you make this decision? You could delve more into research on the topic, however, you will find equal parts supporting both theories. I recommend taking a look at the Paul Hodges work for some quality deep core muscle theory, and Stuart Mc Gill’s many books about the reasons behind his abdominal bracing theory. Be ready, you might also come across research that rejects the idea of core muscle strength altogether.

Those who reject it argue that the body does not create stable, healthy movement by contracting individual muscles like pulling strings on a marionette. Rather, movement and stability are created more along the lines of tensegrity, an architectural construct that suspends levers in an equally stretched and tensioned elastic network. So even with all the research and theories on what to believe about core strength and improving it, no one can definitively conclude what we are talking about and what we should be doing. 

What Do You Want To Achieve From Core Strength?

There is a time and place for all the different core strength ideas out there. To be effective in our assessment and prescription, you need to start from what you want to achieve from core strength. Do you want to eliminate pain? Improve physical ability or performance? Is it about a toned waist? Do you want it because others seem to? What do you really want to achieve from core strength? And do you really need it? The answers to these questions will give you a much better idea of the approach. The rest comes from observing movements, so you can see if and how the lack of core strength presents in the body. Such a deficit may present itself in different ways, which influences your approach. 

What It Means to Lack Core Control

To understand what it means to lack core control, I start from the premise that no one body part is more important than another. Our bodies have developed over thousands of years to be durable and efficient, with no flaws in the design. For varying reasons like sedentary life habits or medical history, some people lack core control. Core control refers to the efficiency and appropriate stability of the trunk during movement. Motor control is the coordination and stability of efficient movement patterns, facilitated by the nervous system. Both may impact spinal health or abilities. However the reason for this lack of core control is unique to each person, therefore your strategy to improve must be unique too. 

How to Influence and Improve Core Control

There are so many ways to influence and improve core control. Connective tissue experts like Thomas Myers and Robert Schleip have helped increase awareness of the degree of interconnectedness of the body. Connective tissue, or fascia, interwebs our muscles, organs, and bones from foot to brain. The idea that we should isolate one or few muscles by trying to contract them individually and locally, is unrealistic and according to the research, unnatural. Sometimes we may lack core control because of a local weakness or injury, but how are we going to work a muscle in isolation that is entirely inter-webbed with others? We can use the inter-webbed structures in our bodies to improve core control. To do this, it helps to reflect on how we first learned to move and control our center of gravity; it started with crawling and walking.

We engaged with our environment. We used the feedback we got from the floor, from gravity, and from furniture we leveraged to pull ourselves up. It makes sense to apply the same strategies to maintain and improve core control at any stage of life. Think of it as re-engaging with our natural instincts to learn how to move well. The Pilates apparatus, such as the reformer, trapeze table and combo chair are fantastic tools for this. The machine gives you a unique experience of movement. It gives you subtle resistance and support. It provides feedback while enriching the neurological connections into your muscles. It lets you explore movements in different relations to gravity.

Goals in Pilates

Whatever is aiding core control inside your body is getting lots of stimulation here. It is a Pilates teacher’s job to not only guide movements with the use of machines but to observe the quality of clients’ movements in all areas of their body. Look out for the alignment of lower extremities, the head, neck and shoulder organization, and the articulation and control of the spine. All of this is valuable information about core control ability as well as the many other elements that play a role in healthy physical movement ability. 

Core strength, if it exists, is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Start with what your client wants to achieve, and what they want their body to be able to do. What do they want to change, and what will life look like when they achieve it? Some idea of core strength might indeed come into play. But it will be unique to that client and their goals. I hope these insights will help you come closer to understanding and achieving core strength goals for you and your clients.


Author: Kristin Loeer, Movement Therapist & Polestar Pilates Practitioner. Ready to Learn More? Try our Pilates Hour Episode “The Science and Myth of Intra-Abdominal Pressure”.

Generosity & The Business of Pilates

What I love most about Polestar and Brent Anderson’s message is the spirit of generosity.” – Mara Sievers

I remember reading a newsletter Brent wrote a while ago encouraging us to visit other Pilates studios, even the ones that are not teaching our technique or style. We can learn from everyone. Each new piece of information, every creative variation enriches us. Every life experience for that matter.

There is no reason to be afraid of other styles, schools or teachings.

When I first opened my studio, I felt a significant amount of stress to fill my classes and make everyone love Pilates so that my studio and I would thrive. This stress took quite a toll on my mental and physical wellbeing, so I made the conscious decision to eliminate the self-imposed stress of competition. I have to admit that it was initially more of a “fake it ’til you make it” effort, but over the years, I can honestly say that I have completely dropped the fear of competition.

Last year I visited a Pilates studio and took a session with the owner. During our session a man came in the door who was curious about Pilates and wanted some information. After briefly showing the man around the studio, she let the prospect go. She told me that her schedule was booked and she doesn’t need new clients. That’s wonderful for her, but she missed an opportunity to generously share the Pilates method with someone who’s interested by referring him to another nearby studio.

In order for the Pilates method to thrive, we all need to thrive. In this example, the studio owner could have brought business to another like-minded, hard working business owner. The man who came in would have remembered that this lady was generous enough to help him get what he was looking for even though she got nothing out of it. I think it’s better for us to be inclusive than exclusive, and this type of generosity and honesty gains respect in the community.

At my studio I get the occasional request if we offer barre classes, which we don’t, but I know of a studio in my town that does, so I refer them to that studio. Although barre is a different movement style, the spirit of generosity still applies.

Recently, a classically trained instructor who had moved to the area contacted me with her interest in teaching at my studio. After her demo and some thinking, she decided not to teach at my studio and eventually opened her own about 20 minutes from me. I saw this as a fantastic opportunity for me to experience classical equipment, which was new to me. I had been terribly curious about it and wanted to experience first hand what everyone was talking about. As soon as her studio was set up and ready to go, I booked a session and learned a bunch of new things that helped my body and inspired my teaching. She is a very different teacher from me, and she will attract very different clients.

Here are some reasons why I would refer a client to another teacher or studio:

  • I’m fully booked and can’t fit the client into my or the studio’s schedule
  • One of my current clients has a different mindset and approach to Pilates: if I feel I have to convince them in every lesson that what I do has value, then it might be better to refer them out… we’ll both be happier
  • If I or my studio don’t offer the day, time or type of class that the student is looking for, it’s more important that the student gets to do their preferred movement, even if it’s somewhere else

As Pilates teachers, it’s our goal to help people have positive movement experiences and to build awareness of mind and body. Whether they reach that goal through us or our “competitors” doesn’t matter so much; what matters is that people are moving and finding happiness.

Keep a generous spirit even or especially when the stresses of our lives make us withdraw, contract, and pull back. Sharing opens your heart to others, and people will love and remember you for it.

Your turn! Share your story of Generosity & Pilates in the comments section below.


Mara Sievers NCPT, is a Polestar Graduate, Practitioner and the creator of the Pilates Encyclopedia. Pilates is an amazing method, and it can be hard. It requires a lot of time to master. With its many details, it can seem overwhelming at first. Even after completing a comprehensive training, there is still so much to learn.

Graduate Highlight : Steffi Jauw from Jakarta, Indonesia

Pilates is for EVERYBODY! I love how Polestar teaches us to adapt our cues & teaching to fit our clients’ needs. Whether our client is post-injury & in need of a little extra attention, or you have a client who is very athletic & is using Pilates to enhance their performance – Polestar Pilates provides! – Steffi Jauw


What Three Words come to mind when you think of “Polestar Pilates”

Attention

Compassion

Safety

What do you love about teaching Pilates?

SJ: I love how my clients are much more aware of their bodies now. They are able to move better, and it’s so satisfying when they come into the studio and tell me how Pilates helps them in their day to day lives, and how they can now do certain things they weren’t able to do before, or how after a few sessions a lingering pain that has been there for a long time is suddenly gone. It is always so fulfilling to see how in the beginning they weren’t able to do a certain exercise, and after a few sessions they were able to do it with confidence!

Where did you take your Training and who was the educator?

SJ: I took my training in Bandung, Indonesia. My educator was Sansan – she is such a lovely and knowledgeable teacher! I have learned and hope to continue to learn much more from her!

What are your current Inspirations? What do You love about them?

SJ: I want to be able to help as many clients as possible. I am excited to learn more about bodies and how to help them move better!

Why Pilates?  How did you find the practice?

SJ: Initially I taught group fitness for a mega gym. I used to teach up to 15 hours a week – that destroyed my body, because when I taught I had to move with the members as well. So I was doing up to 15 hours of intense cardio and weightlifting exercises a week. It was so hard for me to get up in the morning. It reached a point where one day I said to myself, I need to find a more sustainable career path… I’ve always been intrigued by Pilates, especially with Pilates equipment. They all look so intimidating yet curious.

Where I live – in Jakarta – There are many Pilates schools and some are infamous for being a extremely difficult courses. I was quite intimidated by the demand to know all the anatomy & the names of the muscles off the top of your head so I started asking around about other Pilates schools, started doing my research.

One of my best friends – who was in the process of taking her exam – introduced me to Polestar. She raved about how great it was and highly recommended it to me.

I took the Gateway Mat course – with doubt at first. But what cleared my doubts was the way Sansan made everything so easy to understand, and with her humble & approachable persona, I wasn’t afraid to ask her questions…Also, during my Gateway course, I was having a very bad case of low back pain due to overtraining. By the end of the course it had gone – amazing!

What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

SJ: I want to spread awareness to my clients. I want them to know how important proper movement is. I also want them to know Pilates is not scary – with the right tools, all movements are achievable and beneficial.

What is your favorite Quote?  How do you live, embody or apply this?

SJ: “If your spine is stiff at 30, you are old. If it is flexible at 60, you are young.”

I have friends who are in their 20s and yet move as if they are in their 80s… It pains me to see that their bodies are not making full use of their potential. I try to do as much self-practice as possible. I do a lot of clerical work, and I still teach group fitness (about 4 hours a week) – so if I don’t incorporate a little Pilates practice once in a while, my body gets stiff and at times even painful…


What is your Favorite Apparatus or favorite way to move? What do you love about it?

SJ: The Oov! I just did the Oov course and it was MIND BLOWING. I love how it can be used for both corrective exercises and to train for performance as well!


Learn more about Polestar Pilates Asia here!

Fascia in Pilates

Chances are you’ve heard about fascia and its importance in the human body – But how do we take this information and apply it to our training sessions with clients? – Kate Strozak


Fascia is a connective tissue that runs continuously throughout the entire body. According to the International Congress of Fascial Research, the fascial system:

“…consists of the three-dimensional continuum of soft, collagen containing, loose and dense fibrous connective tissues that permeate the body. It incorporates elements such as adipose tissue, adventitiae and neurovascular sheaths, aponeuroses, deep and superficial fasciae, epineurium, joint capsules, ligaments, membranes, meninges, myofascial expansions, periostea, retinacula, septa, tendons, visceral fasciae, and all the intramuscular and intermuscular connective tissues including endo-/peri-/epimysium.

The fascial system surrounds, interweaves between, and interpenetrates all organs, muscles, bones and nerve fibers, endowing the body with a functional structure, and providing an environment that enables all body systems to operate in an integrated manner.” 

Some in the field also propose that bone is calcified or mineralized fascia. Fascia is an important communication network in the body that communicates via photons. Its depth and function is remarkable!

Being aware of what fascia is and where it is located is a great start to incorporating our understanding of it in movement education and science.

Have you also ever wondered why continuously stretching what you think to be muscle tissue doesn’t consistently yield results in you or your clients?

Perhaps it’s not the muscles that need impacting but a fascial restriction that is producing sensations of tightness, restriction, or rigidity. How do you address this? I propose a whole body movement integration session with manual therapy, movement, or a combination of the two.             

Some schools of fascial-based modalities advise long, sustained holds to facilitate fascial releases. Other modalities might advise movement-based techniques to promote tissue gliding and release. I’d recommend trying both and seeing how your client responds. Every body is different, so some people might respond better to one technique over another.            

An example of a sustained hold would be a supine stretch over the ladder barrel where you can facilitate release of tissues in the front of the body by sustaining the position and breathing for 5 minutes.

The ladder barrel could be too extreme a range of motion for a client, in which case lying over a bolster, foam roller, or even on the ground might be more ideal. Make sure that your client is comfortable and isn’t feeling an extreme pull or tension anywhere. An example of a movement based fascial release could be book openings where you’re rotating into the position and rotating from the position in order to facilitate a release of tissues on the front of your body.             

Fascia runs continuously throughout the depths of the human body, so how can we impact those deepest fascial tissues? As Joseph Pilates intuitively knew, breath!

Practicing 3 dimensional, natural breathing that embraces the movement of our rib cage and diaphragm is perhaps the most accessible way to influence the fascial system. Applying your breath to sustained holds or to movements will help reap more benefits from your intervention.            

As one final thought on fascia and its role in movement, our tissues respond to the loads and demands we place upon it.

When we palpate and feel “tight tissue,” it might be there for a very good reason and not meant to be broken down or released. For example, our IT-bands. Our IT-bands have the tensional strength to lift a 2-ton car. In the human body, IT-bands support stability in the lower limbs and pelvis, help with knee tracking, and more. More so than releasing IT-bands, we could help people by addressing their methods of stability and their strategies for movement.            

If you’re looking for more information on fascia there are great resources out there. The International Fascia Research Congress offers yearly conferences, many massage therapy modalities focus on fascial tissue, and you can find all of the latest research on fascia utilizing research databases such as pubmed.


Interested in Learning more? Try our Online Course:


Read Kate’s Blogs on the Nervous System, Healthcare and Expanding your Movement Potential

You can find Kate on instagram @katestrozak 

Educator Highlight: Nichole Anderson, NCPT

Polestar Educator Nichole Anderson has been teaching for 10 years. Her first comprehensive was with Bob Schroedter and Cynthia McGee LaPortilla in 2004. Nichole began as a Polestar Mentor under Educators Amy Broekemeier and Dannielle Holder in Salt Lake City, Utah where she taught group and private Pilates from 2010 – 2016. She has assisted Transition courses with Shelly Power and led her first Comprehensive in Miami 2018. Nichole is the assistant director of education for Polestar Pilates International and manages domestic education in the United States.

NA: I have recently been interested in visiting doing a tour of Norway. After getting into Norse mythology, I have been interested in seeing the landscape of the myths.

Polestar: What are your current inspirations?

NA: I am currently inspired by how magnificent and adapting our bodies are. The more I see and experience movement, the more I realize how infinitely capable our bodies are of anything and everything. Gone are the days of seeing people through the lens of their physical limitations, and I am excited to be a part of a movement that encourages people to move. I just finished a Yoga teacher training with Heather Seagraves which has served as another inspiration to my movement practice and teaching.

Polestar: What are you reading?

NA: I am always reading about 7 books at a time. Among them, I have been reading The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide by Steven H. Horne and Thomas Easley, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield, and Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. I can also always be found with a mystery novel for rainy days and airplane rides.

Polestar: What is your favorite Quote?

NA: One of my current favorites (poem) is “And For No Reason” By Hafiz… (Look it up!)

Polestar: What do you love about teaching?

NA: I love seeing people have that “aha” moment in their bodies. The moment when they realize they are in control of how they feel and move. When they take ownership of their movement and from that, open up into creativity with their bodies.

Polestar: What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

NA: I hope to convey that each person is the greatest authority of their body. I hope that students can feel empowered through listening and observing their bodies. Through this they can make decisions one where they can move safely with the most ease and freedom.

Polestar: Describe your movement style?

NA: I would describe my movement style as improvisational and imaginative. I like to include imagery and improvisation into my movement and I enjoy creating a space for people to improvise in their own bodies based off of images they create or images that are suggested. It is always impressive to see what movement comes out of it

Polestar: What is your favorite apparatus?

NA: My favorite apparatus is always shifting and changing. My current favorite apparatus is the trapeze table. I like the stability of the table combined with the freedom of being directly attached to the springs – how you can move your limbs independently from a pulley system (like the reformer).

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You can find Nichole on Instagram @nicholemoves

Runners Knee: The Science Behind Injury and Prevention

Runners Knee – Discover the science behind the injury and how to prevent and treat PFPS.

Many of our online followers have been asking us about patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), more commonly known as runner’s knee.  What is it?  What exercises can prevent it?  What exercises can treat it?  With the abundance of conflicting information on the internet, finding answers to these questions can feel like a wild goose chase. We called on Juan Nieto, Polestar educator and co-founder/master trainer of Runity, to shed some light on the science behind runner’s knee and what you can do to prevent and treat it. Among runners, lower extremity injuries are very common– up to 79.3% of runners will experience these injuries, about half of which occur in the knee (Van Gent et al., 2007).  Patellofemoral pain syndrome, also called anterior knee pain syndrome or runner’s knee, describes an overuse disorder that occurs in the patellofemoral region and results in pain behind or around the anterior knee.  The causes of PFPS can vary widely due to the complex interactions between intrinsic anatomic and external training factors (Collado et al., 2010).  In other words, runner’s knee describes the symptoms of a painful knee injury, not the cause of the injury.  The cause is subjective and depends on the runner’s anatomy, strategy, and training. Searching the internet to find specific exercises for your runner’s knee will produce a mixed bag of results due to the subjective nature of the injury.  Depending on whether your injury is associated with vastus medialis/vastus lateralis imbalance, hamstring tightness, or iliotibial tract tightness, the best exercises to treat it will vary.   What can you do to prevent runner’s knee?  According to Juan, there’s no standard set of exercises to prevent the injury since it depends on the person and their movement strategy.  When choosing exercises, it’s important to pick exercises that bring relief and do not flare up pain.  The only true method of prevention is to make sure that the tissue capacity of the runner is bigger than the workload.  In other words, the runner has to be fit enough to run the distance they want to run and allow the appropriate resting periods in between to let the tissues recover.  Additionally, technique retraining could reduce the amount of ground reaction forces that the runner is receiving, meaning they can run the same volume but reduce the workload for the tissues. If you already have runner’s knee, what can you do to treat it?  Again, there’s no magic routine to treat the condition because causes vary.  The best thing you can do is see a movement specialist who can conduct a proper assessment and use sound clinical reasoning to design an exercise plan, test it out, and modify it as necessary to settle on a final selection of exercises that create gradual, positive adaptation (strengthening) without irritation.  If you have runner’s knee, it’s important to remember to avoid irritative exercises and to try to resist running too much too soon.  Most importantly, KEEP MOVING!  Movement heals and having positive movement experiences throughout the body will quicken the healing process for your injury. Want to learn more about efficient, pain-free running, try RUNITY