How great to see Pilates getting some good press in the Huffington Post. Did you know that Pilates can help you increase strength and flexibility, improve your posture, enhance focus and concentration, and even improve your sex life! It’s true.
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Posts Tagged ‘Pilates’
Pilates Exercises Can Improve Your Whole-Body Health & Sex Life
Return to Life and Other Pilates Resources – Recommendations for Books, DVD’s, and Apps to Grow Your Pilates Expertise
Wonderful questions I received this week about Joseph Pilates book Return to Life, and other Pilates Matwork book & DVD resources for Pilates teachers and students. Keep reading this post to see the questions I’ve been asked, and my thoughts on the topic of publication quality, content, and the benefits of different Pilates exercise resources on the market.
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Pilates Matwork – Double Leg Kick Exercise to Improve Hamstring Strength & Spine Extension
Improve Hip Extension & Hamstring Strength, Pelvic Placement, Spine Extension, Plus Arm & Shoulder Motion for a Great Whole-Back-of-the-Body Exercise with the Pilates Mat exercise: Double Leg Kick.
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Ankle Sprains Influenced by Foot Position During Walking & Running
Have you ever sprained your ankle? Did it turn into a nagging chronic injury?
I recently came across a synopsis of a study that was published in the June online edition of the AJSM (American Journal of Sports Medicine) that shows a correlation between ankle alignment and ankle sprains. Ankle sprains are the most common sports-related injury, and many people develop chronic instability and repetitive ankle injuries.
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Extreme Heat & Exercise – Stay Safe, Stay Fit, Stay Indoors & Do Pilates!
We’re in the middle of the Summer scorching season here in Kansas. The highs this week have been well over 100 degrees! Staying safe and exercising in extreme heat conditions is something that everyone should be aware of. Consider your choice of activities wisely. Do you really need to go out for a run in the heat of the day? Or would an indoor workout be more advisable? If you exercise early, or later in the day it might be a little cooler, but you still need to be careful. (If cooler is 90 degrees instead of 105 – it’s still HOT!) Be sure to drink lots of fluids, and pay attention to the warning signs for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Your life depends on learning to listen to your body and NOT overdoing it in the heat!
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Pilates and the Pelvic Floor: For Poise and Help with LBL
I was recently interviewed by my friend Marilyn Suttle who is the resident LBL expert for Poise.com. LBL stands for Light Bladder Leakage, which affects 1 out of 3 women! One out of three women, means there are a lot of folks who could benefit from a better understanding of the benefits of a strong pelvic floor. I’m a firm believer in utilizing Pilates to help with pelvic floor strength, not only does using the pelvic floor better support your body for exercise and movement, but it can also definitely help with LBL. Quite a few of my clients over the years have commented that their LBL problems went away after they started Pilates. Fewer bladder problems is a nice added bonus to better whole-body health with Pilates!
Thought some of you might enjoy reading the blog post Marilyn wrote after interviewing me about Pilates and the Pelvic Floor.
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Pilates & Health Improvement:
Remember Your Journey, Document Your Progress
I had a discussion at the end of a session with a very loyal and long-standing Pilates client this week. After the many, many years of consistent Pilates this person was feeling frustrated that they weren’t super flexible yet! “After all this time, why aren’t I any better? Seems like by now I should be like Gumby!”
This got me to thinking how interesting our perspectives are about our own health. By my opinion, this client has made HUGE improvements in flexibility, strength, body awareness, and mechanics. And where I used to have to put ALL my body weight into spotting things and trying to help get things bend better, now I can lightly put a hand here or there and things start moving!
If we spend 2-4 hours a week doing Pilates, we then have 20-22 hours of time to forget (or time to reinforce other habits. (Some of which might be good, and others probably aren’t helping our body mechanics and movement.)
For Example:
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The Pilates Mind-Body Connection – Unconscious vs. Conscious Awareness for Pilates Training & Life!
How much time throughout the day do you spend consciously aware of what you’re doing? Is it a couple of minutes, an hour, or most of your day? Or is it hardly ever?
A few years ago, I was working with one of my Pilates students, who had been training with me for quite a while, but never seemed to remember anything that we were doing. He had a routine, but I had to tell him every little detail, from the name of the exercise to how to do it, breath patterns, and equipment set up. Every workout felt like we were starting from scratch – he acted like he’d never seen the exercises before – and this had been happening on EVERY exercise for years!
While I usually am very patient with my students, one day I had a moment of utter frustration… and blurted out, “You know that Pilates is a mind-body exercise program, and using your mind means that you should know your exercises and the order you do them in for your Pilates workout program!”
He looked at me and said, “But I’ve always exercised so that I don’t have to think.” (As was obvious by our “Groundhog Day” experience during our Pilates sessions)
But think about how many people you see walking, running, swimming, lifting weights, or other fitness activities with their headphones on tuned into their music or favorite TV show with no awareness of body mechanics, support, or efficient movement technique.
And then something miraculous happened…
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The Benefits of Using Mirrors for Pilates Workouts – Are You Looking In or Looking Out?
I was working with a client this week, and we got off on a discussion about the use of mirrors for Pilates exercise programs. In the 3 different Pilates studio locations I’ve owned – I had mirrors everywhere! However, right now, I’m teaching in a space with no mirrors… Well, actually, I’ve got a small, portable full-length mirror that I pull out of the closet occasionally, when we really need it, but I’m finding that I’m having my client’s rely on their eyeballs less, and what they are feeling more – and the result is an enhanced brain-body connection and quicker improvements finding the right stuff to enhance technique for all of their Pilates exercises.
So what’s a positive benefit of having mirrors to watch the body during Pilates exercises?
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Exercises for Weight Loss When Challenged with Foot Pain
I received a great question in my in-box this week about exercise for weight loss when you have foot pain. I am sure that there are other people out there with similar issues, so I thought I’d share my reply!
Here’s the Question:
I’ve had foot pain since I was a teenager, so in my weight loss journey I’ve had to do everything so far without exercise. While I’ve had great success, I’ve gained back a little of the weight. Now trying to get back on track. Are there any exercises, low key, that I can do to aid me in reaching my goals that won’t hold me back because of my foot pain?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Advice from Aliesa:
Thanks for your questions and congratulations on your weight loss success! And it’s great to know that you’re actively looking for things you can do that will keep you healthy, active, fit, and safe with a foot problem. I’ve had several clients over the years who have had major foot problems, and have still managed to stay consistent with a Pilates exercise program.
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