The Science Underneath the Magic of Pilates: Explorations to come at the Polestar® Life International Conference

In anticipation of the Polestar® Life International Conference on August 1-3, Polestar Pilates released the following video.

It is the clearest depiction of how a well-designed pilates program can improve any life with the magic of movement.  Through an in depth understanding of movement theory and functional movement analysis, Polestar Pilates and its graduates are changing people’s lives.

But is that all we’re doing?  One of the things that I love about the Polestar Pilates philosophy is the understanding that teaching movement is more than just a robotic, industrial analysis of biomechanics and kinesiology.   You cannot isolate the movement of the elbow to functions of the bicep and the tricep. The complexity of movement alone accompanied with the emotional life and history of an individual makes every elbow in this world a little bit different, and Polestar Pilates not only recognizes this but also celebrates it. 

At the Polestar® Life International Conference, Polestar Pilates has partnered with Chopra to create a celebration around the complexity of movement and the diversity of life.  This conference will prove to be three life-changing days of discovery and practice, but for me there is something so much more exciting about this conference… 

It’s true I love practicing Pilates, and I love learning new exercises, and new ways to teach classes, but there is something that I love more.  I love the magic that happens when two people are present and collaborating with each other working towards a common goal.  I love the “aha” moment that happens when actual communication takes place.  The space where the messages passed are congruent. I love the seemingly magical time when together a client and I “try” something and as a result good things happen.  I am equally happy when my client asks me why it worked and I get to say, “I don’t know, but that was awesome.”  It is this part of teaching movement that is going to make the Polestar® Life International Conference spectacular, because at this conference together the presenters and attendees are going to explore the science underneath the magic.

In the following video one of the conference presenters Dr. Carol Davis speaks about the energy transferred between practitioner and client.  She says, “beyond technique…Healing is grounded in the energetic connections that we make with others.” She goes onto say that the fascial system is the conduit for this energetic connection.  (if you follow this blog, you know that Dr. Carol Davis had me at the word fascia)

Imagine a web of messaging connecting every cell of our body, and even more imagine this web connecting every nucleus of every cell. 

This idea makes two of Dr. Davis’s statements all the more powerful, “How we are with our patients impacts their feelings of hope and that has a direct expression on their genes.”

And

“We have an obligation to read and understand the effects of subtle energy on our cellular process and then to use that knowledge to help the body and mind heal itself”

Pilates is an energetic and collaborative practice, and at the Polestar® Life International Conference we are going to explore the potential of increasing hope and joy on a cellular level.  Check out this list of presentations:

Changing Our World from within: Joe’s simple formula to Health and Happiness

Chopra: Ayurveda and Mind/Body Types

From Practitioner Anxiety to Practitioner Potency: Polestar Pilates Through the One Life Model

The Pelvic Floor: to Contract or not to Contract

Moving Imagination

A Breath of Fresh Air: Pilates Breath in the Past, Present, and Future

Chopra: Ayurveda and Nutrition as Medicine

Work Smarter not Harder: How hard should Pilates really be?

Air Traffic Control

Voice and Mat Workshop

The Biology of Perception

Bridging Consciousness, Science, and Society

Chopra: Ayurveda Through Movement

Essence of Mindful Teaching: Discovering the Art and Soul of Communication – Purposeful, Compassionate Intention

The Miraculous Discoveries of Fascia and Movement: A Profound Look at the Extracellular Matrix

Join us in San Diego and make the world a better place!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A and PMA ® - CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Pilates in the Park: Practicing Outside

Imagine this as the view for your side leg series

I took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and watched the clouds pass by.  As I started the class I noticed my eyes darting quickly to see everything that I could see.  I was struck by the expansive view, and wondered if it correlated to what I perceived to be a never ending inhale. Then I exhaled and felt my body melt to the mat and through the mat to the earth.      A wondering popped into my mind. Was it possible that the incredible spacious sight of the trees and the sky was increasing inspiration? Could the breeze that I felt on my skin be communicating to my lungs?  Saying something like, “Woh man, now this is the good stuff! Take it all in!”

Every class starts with breath

Unfortunately, the scientific part of myself won’t let me proclaim with unwavering tenacity that practicing Pilates in the Park increases lung capacity (which is too bad, people would be coming to my classes in droves.) I can simply suggest that practicing Pilates in the Park is awesome!  Imagine lying on your back looking at a sky that is the crispest of blue. Think about feeling the breeze on your skin as you laterally flex your spine, or what it might be like to extend your spine to the view of a lake lined with beautiful trees.  Will it be more fun to challenge your balance with the vision of ducks taking flight? How many times have you taken a pilates class inside and the teacher says, “Imagine that the sun is shining down on your body.” What if you were taking a class and the sun was actually in reality shining down on your body?  I always say movement is magic…practicing movement outside is well…Better than magic.  Practicing movement outside clears your mind. For one hour instead of aches, pains, stress, or sadness, you will feel bright joy with a side of enormous strength and power.

And ends with balance

This has been the first week that The Pilates Studio has partnered with Look Memorial Park to offer Pilates in the Park.  Thanks to the Northampton Chamber for giving us the chance to connect with such a fabulous treasure in the Pioneer Valley and to Look Park’s new Executive Director Shawn Porter for offering us the opportunity to teach outside.  What a grand summer this will be!

Check out Look Memorial Park’s brand new website!

Click Here for more information mat classes at Look Memorial Park!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA® -CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio    

Perception and Pilates: Part I

About two weeks ago, my buddy Jack (my business partner’s son) created an anatomy book.  It’s not too surprising to us how much this four year old knows about the body.  He has grown up at The Pilates Studio after all, and we are body people.  Seriously, Jack started Planking before it was an internet sensation, but this anatomy book has astounded us.  This anatomy book is the kind of artifact that his mom will keep forever. It’s both a work of art and a depiction of this young one’s perception of the body.  I was surprised by the accuracy of the drawings, and have spent the last two weeks thinking how did he know that?  And then I’ve been wondering, how can Jack’s perception of the body inform connections in my own?

For instance in this picture of Jack’s hand:

How did Jack know how many bones were in each finger and even more how did he understand what the joints of the hand look like?  Clearly Jack hadn’t taken an anatomy course, which is where I remember learning about such things.  When Laurie asked Jack how he knew how many bones were in his fingers he rolled his eyes the way only a four and a half year old can and said, “Mom, one, two three!” as he bent his fingers at the knuckles and pointed to each bone.   How could Laurie not know that there were three bones in each finger, “DUH,” was certainly implied. 

What can we learn from this?  What if we just observed our bodies?  What if we watched them like a four year old watches his body?  Would we know more profound things than those we learned in biology class? 

Here is Jack’s picture of the brain complete with brainstem:

Is our brain just a bunch of squiggles?  When I think about what I know about the brain and all of its connections, I think Jack’s drawing has some conceptual accuracy.  I imagine that the lines swirling around in this depiction of the brain are all of the electrical connections in the brain.  Synapses firing and sending signals…I wonder if Jack has combined what he sees and what he feels.  Without the corruption of knowledge can Jack feel the messages being passed in his body?  Could we if we tried?

And finally what can we learn from Jack’s picture of the Ribcage

If we think that size is a depiction of importance.  Jack’s intuition shows how important he thinks the ribcage is.  Jack has a huge heart, and I can imagine that he feels the world more than he thinks about the world. The ribcage must be protecting something important…This, of course, might be reading too much into a giant picture of the ribcage created by a four year old, but this is how my brain works. 
Looking at the body is one of my very favorite things, but even more winding my way through someone else’s mind wondering how they see the body is what makes me a teacher.  The perception we have of our bodies informs the perception of our movement, and stepping out of our own perception into that of someone else’s is the best way to expand our thoughts and understand those around us.

Katrina Hawley C.M.A PMA-CPT
Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

You may have noticed that This blogpost is part I...Next week, to continue our "Perception and Pilates" series, I shall wind my way through the paintings of our very own Jennifer Sussman.  Her series is entitled invented body systems, and well  I can't wait to let the connections flow.

How my Anthropology Minor makes me a better Pilates Instructor

Many years ago, (I believe I was a sophomore in college) I took a course at Western Wyoming College entitled, “Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.”  To be honest, I am not sure why I signed up for the course.  At the time, I’m pretty sure that I didn’t even know the definition of the word Anthropology. 

But for whatever reason, I was registered for this course, and on the first day I went.  The professor Charlie Love, gave a lecture of which I remember little, but one thing he said stuck with me, “In your heart you know you are right.”  A very empowering statement until he went on to describe the conflict that occurs when what you know to be right in your heart is different than what another person knows to be right.  Is your heart any more correct than the other hearts?

And with this began a journey of this thing we call cultural anthropology…Deconstructing constructs and questioning everything…I soaked in all of the information that I could.  Every elective I took (I was a dance major after all) was related to anthropology in some way.  It was my interest and my passion, and at the end of four years I completed my degree, A Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Anthropology.  How’s that for practical????  But wait…It in fact was a very practical degree, but I couldn’t articulate why until recently. 

From there, my study of different cultures continued through the eyes of Laban Movement Analysis and of course I got a day job teaching Pilates. (A girl’s got to make a living)  But something happened in these formative years.  My worldview changed.  Without trying, I learned to see with some insight into the worldview of others.  I didn’t know this made me a better instructor, and honestly I hadn’t made many connections between Anthropological thought and effective teaching until this many years later when I took a Polestar Pilates continuing education course taught by Helen Masin of the University of Miami.

The course entitled, “Communication Skills for Pilates Teachers,” sounded fascinating, but I didn’t know that it was going to be like going home.  I didn’t know that I would be talking about mini ethnographies and worldviews.  I didn’t know that I would be learning about active listening and Neuro Linguistic Programming.  But most importantly, I didn’t know that I was going to be reminded of Edward T. Hall and the amazing qualitative research he did on nonverbal communication.  Of course this took me to my bookshelf, where I have all of his books!  There will be some revisiting happening soon!

As always after a course, I come to the studio with different eyes.  This week it was how am I adapting my worldview hour to hour…

How might a session with Avery, (check out the videos below,) be different than other sessions?           

In this picture my clients are experiencing MY worldview: We could save the world if we would just take care of our feet! 

The most important thing Helen Masin said, “Approach every interaction with curiosity.”  How exciting is that?  My curiosity is what gets me through the day!  Who knew?

Katrina Hawley, C.M.A – PMA® - CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Emphasizing the Good during a Tough Week

I’m sitting at my mom’s dining room table, thinking about how many blogposts I have written from this seat far away from The Pilates Studio.  I’ve actually reread them, and the wind in Wyoming has been a theme so far.  I wrote about the time that I nearly lost my arm and a car door to a gust of wind, and I even posted a video of a “breezy” day in Wyoming, and for those of you that might be interested in the Wyoming weather well this is what I woke up to this morning!

Yet below you'll see what the sky was like yesterday…

And well, that’s spring in Wyoming…

But this post is supposed to be about Pilates, it’s on The Pilates Studio’s blog afterall…Okay you’ve caught me, I’m at a loss for words.  The Pilates Studio is located in Western Massachusetts, and last week was a tough week for Massachusetts.  Yet it was a week that showed just how strong we are.  If the community at The Pilates Studio is any small microcosm of the people of Massachusetts, then we know how to offer support and pull together. 

I don’t know how many times clients asked each other,  “Is your family in Boston safe?” The greeting became, “Did you know anyone in the race?” or “What about your friends in Watertown?” There were so many hugs passed between friends this week at the studio and around the state as people kept a vigilant eye on the events that finally came to a head on Friday night.

Yet, the mood was not dour, at the studio, or in Massachusetts.  There was fear but resilience, caution but strength, seriousness but humor. I even read a blog post entitled, “The Problem with One Night Stands in Locked Down Boston,” and it was funny.  There were people pulling together to support each other in any way they could.  The Yankees even played, “Sweet Caroline” at their game, I’m sorry but that is the kind of thing that brings tears to my eyes and the stuff that great sports movies are made of! Last week was a tough week for Massachusetts, but last week the people of Massachusetts showed just how amazing they are…

So as I pause to look out my parent’s back door into their back yard where it is still snowing.  

I smile at the irony that I am vacationing in Wyoming in April where it is snowing.  And then I take a moment to send my thoughts to the lives lost and the lives forever changed, and finally I become grateful to the people of Massachusetts for showing me the good during a tough week.

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA ®-CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Jamie Schoen comes to The Pilates Studio

Twelve years ago, I taught a contemporary dance technique class at Amherst Ballet. The class had maybe 8 or 9 teenagers in it, and I think back to that class and one student really stood out to me.  She was very present and engaged, quick with her wit, and wise beyond her years.  Her smile was warm and her laugh infectious.  After the semester ended, I didn’t see her for awhile.

Our next encounter was on the first floor of the studio building, which at the time was the home of Northstar: Self Directed Learning for Teens.  She had decided to leave high school and with the help of Northstar was creating her own education.  She even did an internship at the studio.  Once again in our conversations, I was amazed at the grounded, wise persona of this individual.  She talked with me about things that were going on in her life and even as a teenager

Argentina

she showed an intuitive nature that had compassion and empathy for everyone.

After this, my contact with this now beautiful young adult was very minimal.  Basically, once in awhile I saw her at Esselon (because I am there a lot), and we would catch up.  She went to Argentina to teach English for six months, she trained to be a Pilates Instructor, She started going to Gcc, then she was at Umass.  I honestly don’t have any idea what the chronological order of these events turned out to be, these are just my memories of passing conversations.

  
Then about six weeks ago, she came to The Pilates Studio, and I said, “Hey Jamie what’s up?”  And the rest is history.  Jamie needed a place to teach pilates, and Laurie and I jumped at the chance to add such a wonderful energy to our space! So welcome to Jamie Schoen, we’re so excited to have you!

The lovely Winnie

Jamie is currently at Umass working her way through the prerequisites to PT school.  She is taking Physics this semester, and in between clients you might see her studiously working on her laptop.  You might see her walking her dog on the bike path, and you might just be lucky enough to see one of her infectious smiles.  She is teaching a Pilates Plus mat class on Tuesdays at 1, and she has two reformer classes on Sunday.  Read the rest of her biography here, and be sure to say hi to Jamie at The Pilates Studio.

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA® - CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio    

#PCWM and the Business of Pilates

What is PCWM you ask?  Well that my friends is an acronym for Podcamp Western Massachusetts, which then translates into group of people gathering to learn more about this thing we call social media…Okay from the outside that might be what Podcamp looks like.   From the inside Podcamp is a day where energy builds on energy, where friendships are made instantaneously, where you learn about social media as a marketing tool, and where you brainstorm with like minds about how to make things better!  Most importantly, Podcamp is a day that permanently debunks the myth that social media is causing the world to be increasingly disconnected.

The spontaneity of the day was something special.  The schedule was comprised of sticky notes on a wall that were shifted as needs were met.  When I first saw the giant sticky notes I knew I was surrounded by creative genius.   Why?  Because everyone knows that all of the best ideas are at first written on sticky notes, of course.

My first seminar by Thom Fox was entitled, “Transforming Online Connections into Offline Relationships” There were so many nuggets in this very short 45 minutes…For instance Thom listed some best practices like:

Promoting other people is the most important part of social media!  With that in mind I’d like to give a shout out to my new and old friends from Podcamp.  Check out the links to learn about many amazing people.

Val Nelson – Career and Business Coach

Jeff Rock of SwiftRiver Coaching

Karo Kilfeather - @aspiringkaro

Doug Merrill of Merrillauto.com

Jennifer Williams, brilliant marketing researcher

Becky Castro of Keepitoffonceandforall.com

Every person at this event made as many if not more connections, and I am positive that these connections will make the world a better place.

Thom ended his presentation with this quote, “They say it takes a village to raise a child, I say it takes a village to sustain an economy.”  And to that I say, “Well said Thom Fox!”

I left this session high as a kite…Okay not literally, Let’s say I left this session really caffeinated and ready to roll.  I ran (or waded through the sea of excited people) to the sticky note schedule, and the number of presentations had multiplied.  There were so many more to choose from.  I found that the presentation I had planned to take had been moved to a different location (The Sticky note was unstuck and restuck underneath a different room’s column). 

I decided to take “Are Introverts or Extraverts better at social media networking.” presented by Val Nelson.  I have known Val for a couple of years, and in fact it was her suggestion that got me to podcamp in the first place.  I was certainly curious about this topic.  I am an introvert, which does not mean that I am shy, or that I don’t like people (Wow would I be in the wrong business).  It means that at the end of the day, I need a little time with my thoughts to recharge.  But does being an introvert mean that I am better at social media networking than those that recharge by spending time with people?? That was the curiosity that sent me to Val Nelson’s session.

Before the session started, I was still riding the caffeine-underscored energy of being around all sorts of like-minded people.  I was chatting with Jeff Rock of Swiftriver Coaching.  I had just learned about QR codes and texted Laurie Johnson that QR codes could be a way to market our business, and as always she texted back to me that she was just talking to her brother in law about QR codes (It is amazing how often this kind of thing happens with us).  I then took the time to send her this video, which made Jeff Rock literally laugh out loud! 

Then I took a breath, looked at the time, and realized that it was nine minutes until the next session.  Clearly I needed every minute of that time to get to the next space for Val’s session, so I entered the elevator and it closed upon the chaotic fabulous scene of the third floor of podcamp.  I rode the elevator two floors and the doors opened upon my destination, where about thirty people were sitting almost completely silent waiting for Val’s session.  Now that is juxtaposition!  .

 The illustration between the different energy sources at both ends of my elevator ride was illustrated by Val Nelson’s session.  Are introverts or extraverts better networkers?  The conclusion we came to was that introverts and extraverts network differently, and dabbling in both kinds of energies is beneficial.  We also discussed the possibility that while there may be a slight extrovert bias in in-person networking situations, social media may just be leveling the playing field.  I also learned that I must go and buy the book Quiet by Susan Cain.  Thank you Val!

Jeff Rock was equally jazzed by this event

Next, I entered a session entitled, “BodyTalk,” in which Paul Bogush explored non-verbal communication with us.   His energy exuded real expertise and excitement about the subject.  I knew I was in the presence of another movement geek!!!! Oh what a great day this was! There were two stand out things about Paul’s session.  First, he gave us all a tic tac, told us to place it on our tongue and then asked us to count from 1 -10.  In my mind, I started counting and felt the distorted words change to louder, clearer numbers. I felt my shoulders widen and my neck lengthen, and my spine grow.  Of course the neurons in my head started popping and synthesizing like mad.  This simple exercise illustrated Polestar Pilates Axial Elongation and Core Control, and then my mind almost exploded when I remembered that Tom Myers Deep Front Line ended at the tongue!  Who knew that a tic tac could be so powerful?  Just wait until I give you a tic tac at The Pilates Studio.

The second take away from Paul’s session:  Paul is a middle school social studies teacher, and my heart is so happy knowing that hundreds maybe thousands of kids will be touched by such an empowering, caring teacher.  I sigh with relief every time I think of it!

I ended the day in a session with Jennifer Williams who has done extensive research on the Psychological Profiles of the different social media platforms.  Jennifer’s brilliance is her ability to research so many ideas and then present them in a succinct and tangible way!  She did all of the research so that we as business owners who are working too hard already don’t need to.  For this I am grateful!

With that I give you Jennifer’s most powerful slide,

Facebook – Who am I

Twitter – Who am I right now

Pinterest – Who do I want to be

Instagram -  How do I express myself

Google + - What do I think

With this in mind, we are already deciding how to strategize what we post to different platforms.

Finally I shall share the most important thing podcamp changed,  I no longer run around saying that Twitter is destroying the English language.  I get it now! Feel free to follow me @katrinahawley

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA® - CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio