Here’s my revelation for the week!  (or perhaps it’s just today’s revelation – and something else will pop up eager for me to share tomorrow.)

I’ve always cued my clients to begin learning their exercises with the awareness of working within the framework of the Pilates “Box.” Think about the torso from shoulder to shoulder, and hip to hip.  Every exercise starts from the center of the box, moves away from, and back to center.  The farther away from center you move, the stronger you have to be to maintain balance, control, and core support for your exercise or movement.  Feeling where the corners of the “box” are help create an awareness of being evenly  distributing your weight and staying centered.  Great concept!

So when the knees bend in towards the chest on any exercise where should they go? 

I encourage clients to stay within the framework of their “Box” and here’s why:

When the knees don’t open wider than the body there are multiple benefits for strength, flexibility, joint range of motion, core stability and control.

Here are 5 Great Benefits for “Knees Over Chest is Best – For Pilates Training”:

1. Better abdominal support for a safe and healthy back. The abdominal muscles have to pull in – out of the way when the thighs/knees pull in towards the chest.  This cues the core muscles to work and get stronger while the legs are moving.
2. This improved abdominal support, and the relationship with the thighs to the chest, provide a massaging action on the internal organs to assist the digestive system and elimination processes. If the knees open wide and the abdominals “pop” out to the front – support for the spine is lost, as well as the strength to hold the organs in a natural resting position in the torso.
3. Strengthen the Adductor Muscles. The inner thigh muscles work more effectively to stabilize leg control, and guide the legs in a precise plane moving away from and back to center.
4. Improve Knee Flexion. The medial hamstrings will do more work and get stronger as the legs bend in towards the body. This will help strengthen the knees and assist with smooth, controlled movement.  (With the legs opening wider than the body the inner thighs and medial hamstrings might not be working much at all!
5. Moving the legs while tracking within the Pilates Box, strengthens efficient alignment and allows the ball to drop in the hip socket to a good posterior-inferior position.  This helps to develop a free full range of motion for the hip joint (which is necessary to maintain and improve bone density),  trains the legs to move independently of the pelvis, and effectively stretches the glutes, and lower back.  AND while all this is happening, you are maintaining support with the back and core muscles.

I encourage you to play with this concept and see how it feels.

With which Pilates exercises can you see value in thinking about the “Box” and Knees Over the Chest position?

Has this post changed your perspective on wide knees vs. knees over the chest?

I’d love to know what you think!  Comments please….

I 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 computer game…..I was never any good at these games as a kid.

I have to admit my extreme skepticism about the benefits of staring at a TV screen and using a computer game for fitness.  But am always excited to hear about new ways to inspire and encourage people to increase their exercise and activity level, and ANYTHING that people enjoy doing that involves movement can be a great way to improve health and fitness.

After playing with the Wii Fit only a couple of times, I am a happy to report that I am a fan of the fun, interaction, and health benefits that this gadget can provide!  Last night my family spent 6 hours playing Wii Fit games together!!!  Tennis, Baseball, Boxing, Bowling, Golf, balance games, yoga.  I think we explored the gamut of options!  I can honestly say that I can feel my abs this morning – so core muscle strengthening was definitely happening, and I wasn’t one of the folks that spent tons of time playing! So can only imagine how sore a few other people might be today!  We had more fun, spent more time laughing, talking, and encouraging each other in competition that the evening flew by and nobody wanted to stop playing.

While I wouldn’t want to spend all my workout time on the Wii…I think it’s a great option for friendly competition, a way to check-in on your health status with weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), goal setting, and some basic fitness testing for strength, balance, and control.  This gizmo provides instant feedback to see where you’re at, games and skill challenges to improve your health, and a way to do something besides just be a couch potato in front of the TV.  I also think that the balance awareness and assessment tools are excellent.  More about that in an upcoming blog post!

Do you Wii???  If you’re doing or teaching Pilates and haven’t tried this yet…find a friend who’s got one – create your Mii (your own personal cartoon version of you!) and go play!  I’d love to hear what you think about using Wii Fit as a tool to help your clients track improvements with their health and check-in with Posture and being “on center” for balance and body control that is such a key aspect of Pilates training.

Share your Wii Fit experience!

Question: Is Pilates appropriate for someone with peripheral atrophy? Balancing is becoming more & more difficult so yoga is no longer an option. If appropriate, please tell me where I might find a certified teacher/instructor. Please advise.

Answer: I do not feel it’s appropriate for me to answer this with a specific yes, or no – because I’m out of my scope of practice to recommend Pilates for a specific person, with a specific medical issue. (Especially someone I’ve never seen or worked with!)

However, here are my personal thoughts on the subject:

There can be many different reasons for peripheral atrophy. It would be important to know the causes, what parts of the body are being affected, how long it’s been an issue, symptoms, challenges, goals, a personal medical and exercise history, AND get prior approval from your primary care physician and medical specialist who is treating you for this — before starting a Pilates program. Your physician should give you the green light that it’s ok for you to begin (or continue) an exercise program – Pilates training or other forms of exercise.

Based on my years of Pilates teaching experience, and having worked with several clients with moderate to severe health challenges related to degenerative nerve and muscle diseases, Pilates training didn’t help reverse the clock and make everything “normal” but I have watched my clients enjoy substantial benefits in regards to gaining and maintaining strength, flexibility, balance, and body awareness for an improved quality of life.

Because a training session with the Pilates equipment can get you off your feet, and into more supportive positions – the challenge of balance can be taken out of the equation while learning different ways to improve strength and body control. The goal, of a Pilates program (in my opinion) would be to help identify things in your daily life activities, movements, and posture that are becoming a challenge, and then develop a program with the Pilates exercises that will best help to maintain and improve your fitness.

Some of what I do with my special needs clients is Pilates. Some exercises have been creatively modified; other exercises I pull from my experience in dance and general fitness that I feel are applicable to continue gently encouraging the body to stay strong and healthy. This is my approach! It might be different with a different teacher.

If your Physician agrees that Pilates might be beneficial and recommends you give it a try, then you can start the search for a qualified Pilates teacher with the knowledge and background to work with you.

Not all Pilates teachers are created equal. With health challenges, it would be best to find a teacher with good experience, and it might be advisable to find someone with rehabilitation background or physical therapy experience (You want to find a Pilates teacher who is confident to work with special populations.)

Ask your potential Pilates trainer if they’ve worked with other clients with special needs or peripheral atrophy. If you’re lucky enough to be in an area of the country with an abundance of Pilates professional, I’d recommend visiting several studios, asking lots of questions, and possibly take lessons from a few different teachers to be sure you’ve found one that has a personality that clicks with yours and fits the bill for knowledge, expertise, ability to help encourage you, and can design a Pilates training program that allows you to work at your own pace.

Begin with private one-on-one Pilates training, and let the teacher you are working with help guide you into Pilates Mat or other equipment classes if and when it’s appropriate for you. (Private Pilates lessons may be your long-term best and safest option.) Chances are there will be lots of exercises and concepts that you will be able to take out of the studio for “homework” as a supplement to your Pilates personal training routine.

To locate a Pilates Teacher near you:

• See what’s listed in your local phone book under Pilates.
• Inquire with your local health clubs.
• Call sports medicine / physical therapy / or kinesiology / chiropractic clinics and ask where they refer their patients for Pilates Training.
• Check with the Pilates Method Alliance. The PMA is an international membership organization for Pilates. You can search on their website to locate a PMA member Pilates Teacher/Studio at http://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org/curntmemb.html
• PilatesStyle Magazine also has a good studio referral network at http://www.pilatesstyle.com/web/directory.aspx

It’s so important – that we maintain a good level of wellness! Finding an exercise program that you can do safely to maintain strength and flexibility will keep you as healthy as possible. It doesn’t have to be a wild and vigorous workout to get results. There is a difference between a professional athlete training for sports performance, and you or me enjoying exercise to maintain a good quality of life. Check with your doctor to be sure it’s ok for you to be active, and then find exercises you can do and enjoy that keep you moving at your own pace… and keep on moving!

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If you’re looking for more general info on peripheral atrophy visit: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000593.htm