Pilates Workout Blog

by Laurette Ryan

Just back from the PMA 2011 conference in Palm Springs. I got to connect with so many awesome teachers and benefactors of our Pilates world. It’s in those moments I know I am so lucky to have found and discovered my calling as a teacher of Joe Pilate’s work.

I am also re-energized to move this work, as a true profession, forward. In 2012, I personally, will be re-doubling my efforts to achieve critical-mass in awareness of teacher training, qualifications and certification. I feel it is essential for us (Pilates Teachers) to uphold the foundations and standards of our work and move forward together, blazing the trail on the pathway to professional recognition.

The percentage of truly “certified” teachers is still small. This does not reflect the percentage of “qualified” teachers, whom I believe there are a great number! Helping the public have some idea who to go to for “real” Pilates, (not referring to style or lineage-but instead-*not core class,ab class etc.) becomes more difficult everyday as more and more fitness instructors read an article online or in print and suddenly add “Pilates” to their repertoire of “can teach”! AND the public has no idea!

We are in the days of the Barber/Dentist. 200 years ago, if you had a bad tooth you went to your local Barber to have it extracted. Today people would never consider that- but they will go to their aerobic instructor for Pilates , and it’s basically just as outrageous. In the 17^th century,Pierre Fauchard, “the father of modern dentistry” was probably not well-liked by the Barbers of his day. The Barber/Dentist continued well into the 19^th century, let’s hope it doesn’t take 2 centuries for Pilates to become it’s own field of study! Barbers, I am sure, felt they were in fact, very qualified to take care of dental concerns, and resented the implication that it would take an entire educational experience devoted to that practice to do such. (sound familiar yet?) The parallels here are uncanny. Now Barbers are great at what they do -but they are not Dentists and we all, easily, see that today. I long for the day that will be the case in our profession. The day when we appreciate what our group exercise and personal trainers can do for us, but would never consider going to them for advice or lessons in Pilates.

You’ve heard my rants on the benefits of 3^rd Party credentialing and true “certification” -I know this is a huge part of getting us to the goal of being a Profession, a real career. At this point, those of you who cannot see or understand this, have their heads in the sand- the time is now to look up and look forward. We join hands and heart together, inclusive. (Feel the Pilates love-I’m calling it Pil-love -that’s what happens after 4 day love-fest with your Pilates peeps in the desert!) There is room for all qualified Pilates teachers in this, by getting “certified” “3^rd party credentialed” yes- PMA-certified (the ONLY 3^rd party credential) we help each other and we sustain our profession. *(BTW the PMA is a not-for-profit! We are the voice! We are the PMA! We need you and your voice! Again it is a not-for profit and it’s books are open to all-so if you’re wondering – go educate yourself on the finances of this thing- it’s your absolute right and you should be cautious about where you put your time energy and money- kudos to you.)

My crusade this year will be to begin to educate the public about our profession and credentialing. I feel a little like Joan of Arc and wonder if I shall be burned at the stake- but I love my profession and I suppose when a passion grows so deeply in one, this is what one, is compelled to do. Wish me luck and send fire extinguishers and water.

Sincerely and with the deepest Pil-love,

Laurette Ryan

www.balancepointpilates.com

Is Pilates Different?

By Laurette Ryan

www.balancepointpilates.com

www.LauretteRyan.com

Recently, I was engaged in one of those crazy online “discussions” where a person asked “So, what makes Pilates different from other forms of exercise?” And just like it goes, at times when you are online, I couldn’t tell whether the “asker” was under the impression that Pilates was in fact no different, or they just wanted others to defend their personal position as to why it was different and see if it matched her contentions??? I, of course strongly believe Pilates is different, more importantly though I felt my clients thought it was different. The problem was, I so strongly believed this, that I never actually asked them what they thought.

I have spent the last couple of weeks asking! I’ve asked my clients, I’ve asked Pilates teachers, I’ve asked people online….and what I found out – made me smile, because I found out that what I know from a scientific and experiential foundation is what they believe too! Everyone who answered also replied that they expected to continue to practice Pilates for a lifetime! Let me repeat— a lifetime!

Interestingly, all student felt that they experienced a feeling or sense of having “lengthened” their muscles. Every respondent participated in other physical fitness activities. A few had then given up their other activities completely and solely practiced Pilates.

Whitney Arruda who runs on the treadmill and does free weights at home,has been practicing Pilates for 6 years on and off, said, “I find Pilates very effective, I have always been a runner to stay in shape, but after I started doing Pilates I found that Pilates lengthens the body and strengthens muscles that I didn’t know I had and other forms of training don’t reach. Pilates is a full body workout that lengthens and strengthens the body using your own body mass/muscle, Pilates gets the deeper muscles and not just the ones on the surface like many types of training.”

Carrie Brooks : “The word “lengthen” is a good summary word for Pilates.

Most students reported using principles like proper breathing, core engagement and a focused mind, which they learned in Pilates, in their other sports and activities. These Pilates enthusiasts recognized that Pilates was a system of exercises which focused on “whole body movement” Let me be honest, anytime anyone stated that -I was getting a little giddy. I could tell they “got it”. They might have started for a toned tummy…but after practicing they are all finding the joy in an efficiently balanced, functionally intelligent body. The consensus was that they had not previously understood- the what , how, or why of strengthening and using deep muscle groups like the transverse abdominus. ( I like to call it- your suck-in muscle, you know pretend your on the beach and that cute guy/gal walks by…you know-your suck-in muscle!)

“Pilates makes me feel longer, stronger, and more centered. My posture has changed drastically and I was recently deemed a half inch taller at a physical this year. I considered myself to be 5′ 4 1/2″ since my teenage years. When the nurse claimed that I was 5′5″, I had to ask her to please remeasure in order to convince myself that I “grew” in my late twenties!” says Kristen Reynolds,Pilates Teacher and Physical Therapist.

Lavina McKenna replied, “It really helped my posture which I can see now in old pictures of me. It toned and shaped better than all other types of exercises that I had ever done.”

The Teacher was noted as a very important factor in the effectiveness of the pilates workout. Although, it is a topic of much debate, I think this emphasizes the need for setting guidelines or parameters like third party certification as a way for the public to find a qualified teacher.

When asked to explain why Pilates is different?,Tracy Maurstad, PMA-CPT  of Las Vegas Pilates replied, “Interesting challenge Laurette. It’s hard to distill down something we’re so passionate about isn’t it? Pilates is not about how your body LOOKS. It’s about how your body WORKS. Looking good just happens to be a nice side benefit! Traditional weight training comes out of body building. Think about a body builder. On stage. Posing. Looking good. But not MOVING. Pilates uses full body movement emanating from a strong core not to get bigger, but to get better.” she also added, “…The concentration required. If you’re talking about The Housewives of Whatever and doing a Pilates exercise, you may be doing exercise, but you’re not doing Pilates. Practicing Pilates requires your full attention. The motion without the mind won’t get you there. Imagine your spine growing another inch, or a powerful magnet being dropped between your hip sockets, even just a little more weight into the ball of your big toes and the feeling of the exercise completely changes. I call those “Pilates moments”.

Is Pilates different? YES, those who practice properly agree. They may continue with running or weight training or cardio, but they need their Pilates. Nothing else substitutes. So whether my the “online-asker” of the question is satisfied ..I don’t know. What most importantly matters is, people do think Pilates is different and is effective and intend to practice it their whole lives.

Whitney summed it up, “I enjoy Pilates…. I find that it makes me feel good about my body and myself and also helps me mentally with stress from work/life.”

Pilates makes life better.

Now -go do your Pilates….

Laurette Ryan

By Laurette Ryan

Balancepoint Pilates

www.balncepointpilates.com

I’m sure by this time many of you have seen that hilarious fake info-mercial by Mr. Jimmy Kimmel entitled “Hottie Body-Humpilates”.  I, like many if not most of you, got a good chuckle.

I would like this opportunity to respond to “Humpilates”. Part of me wishes Mr. Pilates himself were alive and could go on Mr. Kimmel’s TV program and teach him the Saw or Roll-over in his classical manner (as seen in Mary Bowen’s home movie reels…if you know what I mean). I admit that fantasy, my Pilates friends, really makes me chuckle or lol, if you wish. I was wondering why I would have such an evil fantasy…I’m thinking that Lolita San Miguel, Mary Bowen and Ron Fletcher could go on Kimmel and teach him a thing or two…Too bad Kathy Grant isn’t with us- she’d show him why Pilates is for men- she could have taught him a little respect! ….And what about Romana, could he survive Romana?, well he’s probably got a personal masseuse, he might be okay.

I’m normally quite reasonable, a peace-loving individual with a good sense of humor. So why did I want to see Mr. Kimmel suffer a little? I’m sure his piece was all in good fun, it’s not actually called Jimmy K’s Pilates. There are two reasons. First, it’s the “-ilates” thing. People tack the “-ilates” onto everything…Cardio-lates, Yoga-lates, Spin-ilates,Dance-ilates Box-ilates, I’m just waiting for Driv-ilates and Sleep-ilates. I’m sure all these fusion classes are great fun and serve a need, but the public unfortunately can get a little confused…what is Pilates, really? … is the Warrior pose part of the repertoire? They can’t figure it out.

(Can you imagine going in to get a broken leg cast and getting a cast AND a pedicure …..you might wonder how pink toenails helped fix your broken bones- it’s what our students are thinking).

So obvious “Hump-ilates” is a joke….. but it does perpetuate that line of thinking which is- add “-ilates” to anything and you have the hottest new workout.

Secondly, have you noticed how Hollywood so often makes Pilates the punch-line? I laugh, because I can laugh at myself. Pilates teachers and enthusiasts probably get a laugh too and we’re happy to see ourselves recognized by popular media. What happens though, is that as we seek to gain professional recognition in our communities, stereo-types are created which do not portray us in a credible or favorable light. Do you think those stereo-types encourage the middle-aged blue collar worker with back pain ,(whose Doctor recommended he exercise) to seek out a qualified Pilates Professional to help him out?

Pilates is an amazing way to strengthen, condition, improve and yes, I believe heal your body. People don’t laugh at Dental Care…(*they may have though, years past-when dental care was a side-business of your Barber) This may be reason to think about the trend for Group Exercise Teachers to get a “Weekend Mat Certification” ….think about it. Dentist are considered professionals. Would you even consider going to a Dentist/Barber these days?

I feel we need to be vigilant in few ways to keep pushing our profession forward. The support and promotion of a Third-Party Credential, adhering to a recognized and accepted Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice guideline are keys and however we get there..the fact is- we must. The Pilates Method Alliance ( www.pilatesmethodalliance.org ) is at this time, the only organization offering this, that I am aware of. (If there are any others meeting this criteria, please feel free to share them with us.)

So, Mr. Kimmel -Thank You for your very funny skit and Thank You for making us take a moment to consider our profession, it’s current state and our future direction.

Mary Bowen’s website : www.pilates-marybowen.com

Lolita San Miguel’s website : http://lolitapilates.com/

Ron Fletcher’s website: http://ronfletcherwork.com

Yours in Peace and Pilates,

Laurette