In 8 Workshop Week 1 Recap

We covered a lot of ground in one week and want to keep the information fresh for you. Starting with Pilates, here is what we did:

Pilates Mat Work:

Breathing - relax, imprint your spine onto your mat, feel the bony landmarks
Coccyx Curls - begin articulating your spine from the very base
Bridges - low, keeping ribs on mat, feeling hamstring stability
Neck Curl - a proper sit up where your spine stays neutral (no tucking)
Single Knee Folds - in neutral, lift one foot off the floor and stabilize your pelvis
Double Knee Folds - more challenging to stay neutral, small range of movement
Double Knee with Head Up - adds a level of difficulty, can hold your head w/hands
100's Modified - arms pump up down, knees at 90 degree angle, inhale/exhale 10
Knee Stirs - circle knees in socket from the joint to release hip flexors
Seated 1/2 curls - sitting up you curl your spine back and hold a C-curve
Balance - roll back to the "meaty" part of your butt and lift feet off mat, hold legs from deep belly muscles not hip flexors
Rolling - from the balance, roll back to small of back and up with a complete inhale and exhale - maintain the C-curve so you actually roll
Single Leg Stretch - on your back, head curls up and you extend the right leg out while holding your left knee and then switch while you inhale 2 legs and exhale 2 legs. Keep legs at an angle which is comfortable for your back.
Double Leg Stretch - both legs extend up and away from the midline of the body and your arms simultaneously go behind your body. Exhale and pull back into the center. Again, watch the angle of your legs and support your neck if necessary.
Spine Stretch - sit up with legs in a small V and reach for your toes while contracting your low belly muscles away from your feet - don't hunch upper body forward
Modified Corkscrew - legs bent and up in the air. Make a circle on your sacrum as the legs swing right around and center and then left back to center. Limit range of movement to what is appropriate for your spine.
Modified Swan - on stomach with arms at sides, fingers reaching to heels, exhale and anchor the pubic bone into the mat as you lift your upper back and arms off the mat
Side Kicks - on your side, lift and lower the top leg while extending the feet past each other and then small swings forward and back without shifting your spine forward and back.

I know that is a lot of information so sit with it and we will re-visit on Monday.

Nutritional Counseling Session:

We discussed changing our relationship to food.
Overview points to think about:
You are what you eat
What you put inside your body becomes you because it goes into your blood
Your Body is smarter than your mind - physiological and psychological responses to food
What effects does food have on your body?
Primary food is fulfillment, Secondary food is what you eat

WHOLE GRAINS:

Simple Carbs - white flour, white rice, pizza, pasta. These are addictive which becomes psychological. These process in fat cells like sugar.

Complex Carbs - these raise your blood sugar slower and keep it steady.

Note that neither one of these is bad.

Alice recommended the following book whose title has changed:
"Potatoes not Prozac" or "Sugar Addicts"

Homework was given to try one new complex carb. Examples were passed around such as Soba noodles, 4 grain plus flax cereal, trail mix with tamari almonds, cranberries sweetened with apple juice and raw pumpkin seeds, goji berries.

January 28 Informed Body on ABC 7 View from the Bay

Tune in today before Oprah to watch Informed Body on View from the Bay. They came to our studio to film and show people what the equipment looks like and to get an idea about how we do things. It occurred to me after I was interviewed that they were going for a "mind/body/spirit" bent which is great, but not really how we roll.

My take on the mind/body aspect of Pilates is if you are paying attention to your body while you are in movement of any kind, you will be less likely to hurt yourself and more likely to be moving efficiently thus achieving better results in terms of posture, strength and flexibility. I am definitely not one to tell people to stop talking during their workouts. As long as you are doing the exercises properly and are aware of the task at hand, I am happy.

We had a lot of fun showing off our studio and I hope it comes through in the video that was shot. Many thanks to Katie McMahon, Cami Clark, Traci Higgins, Trina Hancock, Shona Curley and Alice Moore for participating and for being hilarious. I am not going to name names, but some ladies brought hair dryers to make sure their hair was perfect and another had her makeup done. Hmmm...

Don't forget to watch or TIVO today!

Must Read Book - Options

If you are in need of being humored, this book will make you glad you have a strong pelvic floor since you will be laughing so hard. The fake Steve Jobs is at his best when he asks Hillary Clinton if she has ever heard of Pilates which clearly she hasn't given the shape she is in. I love that he pokes fun at Larry Ellison for his tea ceremonies and plastic surgeries and then Bono for his save the world antics and his blatant disregard for everyone else.

So many parts of this book had me crying. I passed it on to a client who suggested we pen the "fake Brittany Spears" blog which lord knows I would if I could. Read this book now!!!!!

Buns Day - In Theory not in Practice

The fourth annual Bun's Day won't be happening as a booty beauty class this year. Instead of me begging everyone to come early on a Sunday morning for an additional workout, I am asking you to Give Back in one of three ways:

1. Buy Omala clothes at Informed Body and we will donate 10% to SaveABunny (see photos of clothes)

2. Bring a check to the studio and at the end of the month we will pass those on to the shelter

3. Go directly to the website at www.saveabunny.com and donate via paypal.

SaveABunny is a non-profit animal rescue organization that saves rabbits from euthanasia at shelters across the Bay Area. Most people aren't aware that after cats and dogs, rabbits are the third most frequently euthanized animal at shelters around the country. Donations go to covering medical expenses, food, shelter and spay and neuter programs.

I hope you will join me in supporting this organization this holiday season and check back next year for Buns Day 5 - we will be working out with a vengeance.

Mat Certification Class

Today was the last day of our teacher training classes for the Pilates mat work. The five ladies who took our course were great students and I have faith they will make great teachers in the future.

In addition to sharing my 11 years of teaching experience and Shona's 9 years of teaching experience, we had them read several books about the work to use for referencing the exercises. When we were at a loss to explain to them why they'd do certain exercises like Rocking (an advanced move I never like to teach) or Swan Dive (not comfortable on men, full bladders etc...) we'd refer to the book "Rael Pilates". Who knew the answer was "to harness your energy". I have never told a client to harness anything. Descriptions like that are almost as priceless as a teacher asking you to breathe through orifices that aren't so obvious.

At the end of our two weekend workshop, we were all exhausted and sore, but we learned a lot. Trainees will be asked to complete 88 hours of class time, practice, observation and practice teaching. If you are interested in working with one of the trainees as a "guinea pig" please let us know.

Finally - a decent article about the "core"

As a general rule of thumb I can't stand the word "core". Often overused and not completely understood, this buzz word of the moment makes everyone believe they are in the know about the body by slipping it into a sentence. An example "We did core work in our exercise class."

I always have to ask what the heck that means to people and 9 times out of 10 they have no clue. They think because they worked their abs, they used their core. Not so. The core is all the muscles in the torso which stabilize the spine and the connectors as well from the legs up. Just yesterday I was reading the NY Times and came across a great article which actually had a good description of the core. Follow this link and learn:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/sports/playmagazine/28physed.html

OMALA at Informed Body

For those of you who missed the trunk show for Omala last weekend I want to share some of my favorite looks. I love a lot of things about this line. It is owned by a lovely woman named Kate Gaertner who also owns a store in NY. Supporting a small business is always a good thing. Kate is planning on producing future lines in the US which is another good thing. She uses sustainable fabrics like Bamboo which is very green. The styling is different from most other activewear lines out there and looks great whether you are wearing it in your workout, dance class or hanging out with friends.

We will carry some of these pieces at Informed Body and rotate them out every few weeks so check back with us. To view the line in its entirety, go to www.omalausa.com If you aren't sure how the items look in person, just ask me (jill) I think I bought ever piece made this season and love them all.