Okay! I admit
it! Due to an intensely busy
summer and fall…Did you hear that The Pilates Studio expanded? Did you hear that I’m also teaching a
Polestar Pilates comprehensive teacher training in Burlington? Oh yeah, and my parents have been
visiting for two weeks. SOOO….This
blog has had a little bit of a hiatus, but my friends, I am back, and I have a
story for you!
Pilates is for everyone. I’ve written about this before. Considering that this is the
blog for The Pilates Studio, you might say, “Of course you think that Pilates
is for everyone”…Yes I have a bias, but my bias is so strong because I am
constantly reminded how adaptable the Pilates apparatus can be, and how this
method let’s me hear the stories of some very amazing people. The brilliance of the Pilates Apparatus
system and method emerged again when I worked with Maggie Baumer.
Maggie is a sweet soul with a huge smile. Recently she finished law school. She loves to run, and she has momentarily
moved back to the valley. She just
wrote this blog post to tell her story.
When you read it, you will feel the vibrance coming from a bright young
woman who is looking at the world and seeing the beauty that is there…One more
thing. Maggie Baumer lost her left
hand last fall.
When I worked with Maggie we talked about shoulder tension,
we talked about phantom limb pain, and Maggie did an elbow plank that showed me
just how fiercely strong she is.
However, as Maggie and I worked together something became apparent to
me…Maggie’s arm was fine. She was
adapting in ways that made me want to look at brain scans to see how many extra
neurons she had developed…(Yes I’m still that nerdy) Maggie did not need me to
help her move her shoulder…Maggie needed what everyone else needs. Maggie needed hip strength to protect
her knees when running. Maggie
needed to learn to breathe into the back of her ribcage. Maggie needed efficient movement in her
shoulder girdle. Maggie needed
Pilates, and luckily the adaptability of the pilates apparatus allowed us to
create successful, awesome movement.
We worked on her breath to widen the back of her
ribcage.
We found a way to increase her shoulder stability
We worked on axial length during hip abduction
We found a way to do the hundred (That’s right of course we
did!)
Really what we did was move…move, and move some more. When I met Maggie last summer, I was impressed by the poised brilliance emanating from a woman that suffered a
tragic accident. I look
forward to watching Maggie change the world, and after watching her move, I can’t
imagine that she won’t!
Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA® - CPT
Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio
If you want to hear more of Maggie's story follow these links!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/swiftrivercoach/2013/08/27/maggie-baumer--reclaiming-her-story
http://www.spreaker.com/user/4519239/how_to_reclaim_your_story_part_one
http://www.spreaker.com/user/4519239/how_to_reclaim_your_story_part_two
If you want to hear more of Maggie's story follow these links!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/swiftrivercoach/2013/08/27/maggie-baumer--reclaiming-her-story
http://www.spreaker.com/user/4519239/how_to_reclaim_your_story_part_one
http://www.spreaker.com/user/4519239/how_to_reclaim_your_story_part_two
