Pilates and Rowing

About four years ago, I took a two-week “Learn to Row” course with Northampton Community Rowing.  I loved the pristine water in the morning, learning the biomechanics of rowing, and feeling the boat move through the water as my eight companions and I synchronized our strokes…These were all parts of this two week course that I loved.  Only one thing kept me from repeating it, and that was the fact that leaving my house at 5:30 am everyday for two weeks was just too much. I’ve always said that I am a bad teacher before 8 am, and well it turns out I’m not the greatest student either.  And so after two weeks I chose sleep, and with that my rowing career ended.  At least that is what I thought.

Notice the posture

Fast forward quite a few years, I am still teaching Pilates, and a client enters the studio for her first session.  She rows.  It is her passion.  It is her life.  This client ROWS!  The only trouble is that after an accident, rowing now causes pain and she can’t do what she loves.  She asked me, “Do you think I will ever be able to row again?”  I said, “Let’s see what we can do.”

Pilates retrains the body, Pilates creates functional strength, and Pilates returns people to the activities they love.  So yes, to end the suspense, I will say that I am positive that my client will row again!  We have worked with many aspects of the rowing stroke. We have broken it down and retrained her body in foreign environments and we are now just beginning to put the stroke back together again in a familiar environment.  First of all, I must give credit to Polestar Pilates for sharing this idea with the world.  To create functional strength you change movement patterns in a foreign environment (whether it be the relationship to gravity or the point at which resistance or assistance is given) and then take these new movement patterns into the familiar and begin to integrate the new patterns into functional movement.  This has always been a very effective way to work with knee or back pain, but this is my first attempt at reconstructing the rower’s stroke.

First, we changed the body’s relationship to gravity.  We started in a supine position and worked with joint disassociation (moving the legs and the arms without moving the pelvis or the spine), Then we took these movement patterns into a familiar relationship to gravity, and this is where the fun began.  I love teaching the many classic Pilates exercises, but my favorite part of the session is when we look at the equipment and use the pilates principles to make stuff up!  The following video is how my client and I turned the reformer combo table into an erg rowing machine…No this new exercise does not incorporate the power of the erg, but it does simulate the biomechanics.  And it certainly challenges that balance. 

I hope you enjoyed it!  I love this kind of problem solving!  It’s the best part.  My client is up to 10 minutes on the erg.  I am positive she will be in the water soon!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA®-CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Practicing the Spins with Pilates: Facilitating Arthrokinematics to Create Movement Efficiency

The other day I was working with a client whose pelvis has a tendency towards an anterior tilt. During the session we were looking at hip flexion when she was supine (on her back), and I was teaching my client to facilitate the spins of the femur to create efficient hip flexion.  Say what???  The femur spins???  Why yes it does, in fact it also glides! When the hip flexes (thigh moves closer to torso) the femur bone spins out and glides back, and when the hip extends (Thigh moves away from the torso) the femur bone spins in and glides forward.  These are not the muscular actions of external or internal rotation of the hip, this is the way the femur bone moves in the hip socket during hip flexion and extension.  After completing this simple exercise, I asked my client to walk around the room. She seemed baffled because she knew something was different, but she couldn’t tell me what had changed.  Walking just seemed easier.

Here is a video of the exercise we started with.  The yoga belt is facilitating the spins of the thigh.

The previous video is showing the The Thigh Lift if you are practicing the Bartenieff Fundamentals, or The Dead Bug if you are practicing Pilates (The same idea in two different theories = important idea) This exercise is about moving the femur into hip flexion with as much ease as possible.   It is the basis of forward movement in gait, and if it is done efficiently in all relationships to gravity, then the knees, hips and low back will be happy campers.  This movement can be elusive in many bodies because of muscular imbalances in the pelvis. Together my client and I discovered that the yoga belt could help facilitate the movement.       

Due to the success of this simple exercise, I heard myself say, “What if we tried this?”

When I am teaching movement, “What if we tried this?” is the precursor to the most interesting solutions, and whenever I hear myself say it, I get just a little excited.  I feel the synapses connecting in my brain as information that may or may not be relevant is brought forth for consideration.  It’s during these moments between student and teacher that theories and avenues of study are synthesized into the present. It’s here that I realize no matter how many times I teach a particular exercise there will always be more ideas to investigate. 

We added the yoga belt to the Standing Leg Pump:

Then we added the yoga belt to the Scooter:

Then we added the yoga belt to the Side Splits:

At the end of the session, my client and I were flying high on the discoveries we made.  Using the yoga belt in all of these exercises allowed my client to find balance in the pelvis.  She felt release in both the front of the pelvis and low back.  She felt more powerful in her gait, and she felt more secure in all of her movement. 

Each day at The Pilates Studio people are connecting to their bodies on a cellular level and making change through movement.  On the best days, one interesting moment turns into several as the teachers at The Pilates Studio allow a wealth of knowledge to be the basis for their intuition.  The Pilates Studio becomes a living laboratory of the learning process.  We are constantly gathering anecdotal data allowing the creative process to merge with science and biomechanical fact.  “What if we tried this?” constantly weaves its way into our conversations as does, “hmmm, now that was interesting.  What if we changed the relationship to gravity and tried again?”  and now, “What if we used a yoga belt?” has been added to the list of discoveries! Wow, I love my job!!!!

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, PMA® -CPT

Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

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