_Hopefully you are thinking about your powerhouse during your Pilates lesson. Maybe your awareness is then heightened after your lesson and you leave the studio with the fabulous posture you’ve always wanted. But what about those random moments when you are not in the studio? At the office? A cocktail party? Driving to work? The grocery store? Here is a new challenge: Try to catch yourself at random moments during the day and asses your Pilates posture. Start with “spot checking” 5 times a day and try to increase your number throughout the week. You just might surprise yourself. Or in the very least, realize you have some work to do.

_Pilates Body Shaping is now an official sponsors of Swim MAC's Team Elite!  These professional swimmers are some of the best in the world and are training for the 2012 Olympics in London.

_I would not categorize myself as a “risk taker.”  Even a small purchase like a pair of pants or shoes leaves me debating the pros and cons for weeks.  However, there have been a couple of times in my life where following my “gut instinct” actually paid off.  One of those was a little over 10 years ago after I took my first Yoga class from Phyllis Rollins of The Yoga Center.  I had been told she was looking for a new studio space and I was doing the same.  After a 5 minute conversation and a quick trip to the location, we were on our way to creating 8th Street Studio.  The past 10 years has been an incredibly smooth, easy partnership filled with support and positivity.  Sometimes following your gut is the way to go.  Happy Birthday Phyllis!!

_Several of our instructors were fortunate enough to be able to attend an event held at Pilates Connection in Evanston, IL.  We took lessons with some of the original Teacher Trainers of Romana.  What an incredible opportunity!  We were also able to observe the other lessons occurring in the studio and see the various styles of teaching within this amazing art form.  It was such a refreshing reminder that so much can be achieved and learned from keeping the work “pure” and teaching to the body that is in front of you.  Fancy tricks (i.e. flipping upside down, flying squirrel, etc…) are tons of fun!  But they are rarely appropriate for clients (and many teachers for that matter!).  The real “meat” of the work can be studied and observed over countless years to come.

_ $135 for 3 private lessons! (new students only. Limit 1 special per student.)

_Within the past few years, Pilates seems to have exploded into mainstream culture.  As more folks find out about it’s benefits, there is a demand for more teachers.  Whichever style of Pilates you choose, please make sure that your instructor has gone through a thorough certification program.  (Bare minimum of 600 hours.)  Also, Pilates is about the complete system.  So what good is it to only be “certified” in 1 area?  (i.e. only having a “mat” or “reformer” certification.)  Just last week I learned of 4 instructors that have certifications from other types of Pilates programs.  They have now chosen to go through the Romana’s Pilates Certification Program.  Interesting… Just something to think about.

_As teachers we are continually working on ways to help our students.  A large part of this starts with what we see.  Are they working evenly?  Is there strength, stretch and control?  Which of these areas could be improved upon?  This was a focus of our recent Continued Professional Education with Juanita Lopez.  Watching other Romana’s Pilates instructors move is a luxury that we don’t often have time for.  Really fine-tuning the subtleties of the work helps us to look for issues that may not be as evident in our students.

_Can everyone do Pilates? Absolutely. Will everyone’s Pilates be the same and look the same? Absolutely not. We all have different bodies, issues etc. Of course it’s exciting to do new things, but it’s not very exciting to be injured or frustrated. Your instructor’s job is to choose exercises that are appropriate for your body on any given day. Depending on your goals, fatigue, life, those will most likely vary. Your job is to focus in class and communicate with your teacher if you experience any pain/discomfort. We all like to do “new” and “fun” things. Working within the system, a good instructor can keep the variety, keep you progressing and keep you safe.

_I have recently started working with a professional swimmer. What a pleasure it is to see an athlete of such an elite caliber fine tune his instrument. He is amazed at how in line Pilates is with his “dry land” training. In addition to the obvious strenghtening of his Powerhouse, working toward symmetry will be a major accomplishment and can only help to improve his speed. Also, strengthening the bottom so the hip flexors don’t have to overwork will be a big advantage. Like all of us, he has “weaknesses,” but everything is relative. This incredibly strong individual is already making minute adjustments that are we hope will make a huge impact on his execution of his sport and his goal of making the 2012 Olympic Team.

_So which one are you going to work on this week? What will be YOUR focus? Do you even know what I’m talking about? There are 7 principals in Pilates: Centering, concentration, control, precision, breath, flow, and rhythm. Each one of these can be applied to every exercise in the Pilates system. Have you ever thought about applying them to your everyday life? Give it a whirl! Make it a personal challenge to pick one and try to carry it through whenever you can. See what happens and share the outcome. You might be pleasantly surprised. Let me know how it goes and enjoy your principal this week!