Freeing the Shoulder by Lesley Powell for Pilates Pro: a more in depth article

Relax your Neck – Liberate your Shoulders
With Lesley Powell, Franklin Method Teacher, Certified Movement Analyst, Balanced Body Pilates Faculty
$60  Early discount sign up by first of the month.February 11, 2012  Saturday 11 AM – 1 PM

When you embody the body’s natural support structure, ‘you’ don’t have to ‘work so hard’ to stay upright and moving forward in a world of ‘stress’.  Discover the flow and ease that exists within you. Lengthen and balance shoulder and neck musculature to dance through life with free healthy shoulders, a liberated neck and a dynamic supportive spine.

The counterbalancing effect of the shoulder blade is especially helpful in arm elevation. Dancers, gymnasts and anyone attempting to reach for the coffee container on the top shelf needs to be able to lift their arms effortlessly without disturbing their centers or increasing tension in the shoulders, back and torso.

In this workshop, you will learn simple and profound ways to catapult your shoulder experience to a beautiful new awareness and then integrate this magical sensation into your daily life movements. Use this every day and embody easeful shoulders and an easeful life. This workshop is highly recommended for dancers, movers, shakers, yogis, desk sitters, children, grown up kids, sky divers, swimmers and anyone who carries a bag.

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com

I am starting a Pilates Equipment class for Special Populations starting Thursdays 2 PM in February.

If you know anyone interested, they can sign up online or call the studio.

The class is designed for students with injuries and special conditions.
Since most classes can be too fast, this class is designed at a slower pace with modifications depending on each person. 

There is a 3 person minimum.  Limited to 6 persons.

Single class signed online $32
5 class card  $155

If you have students interested in this kind of class, please pass the word.  If this time does not work,  have the client call/email about other times.  I would love to start other times if there was interest.

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com

Teachers,

Happy New Year!!  We have an exciting year ahead to support your education as a Pilates teacher.

Anthony Lett joins us in April teaching a workshop based on his fabulous book. Innovations in Pilates.  Finally there is a book for professional Pilates teachers beyond just learning the repertory.  We are selling a dvd of his book at the studio, a more affordable price.  Since the book is published from Australia,  the costs of the book and shipping is expensive.  Please feel free to come by the studio to view the book.

Pilates Lab for Teachers: Muscular Imbalances
With Shelley Studdenberg $60   
Register by the 1st of the month $50 * see overview date

Mondays 1:30-3:30

• Pelvis   1/16/2012
• Lower extremity – knee and foot 2/27/2012
• Upper extremity shoulder  3/26/2012
• Disc  4/23/2012
• Neck  5/21/2012

Franklin Method: Series of workshops

See Workshops for All
With Lesley Powell

• Relax your Neck – Liberate your Shoulders February 11, 2012
• The Knee March 10, 2012 3 -5
• The Spine May 12, 2012  3 – 5 PM

Anatomy in Clay®
with Marcy Schafler
Sunday 10 AM -6 PM  $275  
Early discount see dates below

• April 1     Core        Early bird discount by 3/15  $250
• June 3     Legs    Early bird discount by 5/15  $250
• August 5  Arms      Early bird discount by 7/15  $250

Therapeutic Muscle Stretching on the Pilates Equipment
With Anthony Lett
When; April 14, 15, 16,  2012. 9-5
Cost $800   Early Bird special Register by 3/15/2012  $750.
Workshop includes;

• Joseph Pilates philosophy and stretching
• Relationships between core strength, good posture, dynamic exercise and flexibility
• Case studies and Flexibility interventions
• Anatomy revision-muscle function animations and experiential practice
• Deep and effective Therapeutic Muscle Stretching for the Calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, adductors, gluteals, trunk, arms shoulder and neck.

The workshop will leave you with new insights into Pilates, new class formats, and a whole bunch of new and exciting repertoire. Backed up by 3d muscle function animations and a mostly practical content, your Pilates teaching will feel invigorated and so will your clients!
About Anthony; Anthony is the author of Innovations in Pilates. A student and teacher of Pilates for 25 years, he has qualifications in Philosophy, sports science, exercise medicine, mind/body medicine and clinical anatomy. Anthony has presented his workshops in various parts of the world to Pilates audiences and runs his practice in Melbourne Australia. His workshops are known for their good humour and relaxed but thorough approach.

DVD is on sale now of this book $54 (tax included)
Pregnancy Workshop
Sun Date: 6/10/2012 From: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
with Joy Puleo $250 Early Bird Discount by 6/1 $230
Understanding the stages of pregnancy and its effect on maternal movement and exercise protocols. Applications will be made to Pilates and fitness.

Working with Clients with Back Pain using Pilates Repertory
With Lesley Powell
July 21, 2012 2-5 PM  $120  Early Bird Discount $110 before 7/1

Developing Pilates programs for adults with back pain associated with ruptured, herniated, bulging and/or degenerative discs.

Pilates teachers are often engaged in preventing or improving chronic or intermittent back problems. Some of the most commonly diagnosed causes of back pain relate to disc pathologies. To be effective and not put clients at risk, it is important for the programs we design to contain relevant, customized exercises with intentional, flexible goals.

This workshop will focus on disc problems and basics of how they might affect the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Attendees will review related trunk anatomy and spinal biomechanics. We will then actively apply this focus to specific Pilates repertory, determining whether an exercise is indicated or contraindicated.

To register and more info for Teacher Workshops

To register and more info about Franklin Workshops


By E.Yen Zak and Dr. Martha Eddy  In Epoch Times

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who would cut you off and respond to what they thought you were saying? Have you tried to have a conversation with someone who wasn’t listening?

In observing the relationship between the mind and body, it often becomes apparent that similar patterns happen—the conscious mind is not listening to the body.

Listening to and caring for the body are important. With the fitness revolution, there is a blossoming wealth of knowledge about the body and endless voices suggesting how we should exercise and take care of our bodies.

Even if fitness is prioritized and consistently scheduled into the day, caring for the body is often relegated to just those limited times—a handful of hours per week when the body gets a workout. During those times, the body is often forced and strained into some kind of preconceived “shape“ or into attaining a goal such as besting a time or winning a game.

This is to say we can actually stifle the beneficial effects of exercise by being obsessively goal-oriented in activities. Sayings like “no pain, no gain” still permeate attitudes toward physical fitness, and there is an idea that the body needs to be forced and disciplined into conforming to how it should look or perform.

How many people do you know who have injured themselves lifting weights, running, playing sports, or even dancing or doing yoga? Although the health benefits of an active lifestyle are undeniable, injuries during sports and working out are disturbingly common. They make up over 15 percent of all unintentional accidents leading to emergency room visits and over 3 million sporting injuries annually.

Injuries speak to a cultural habit of abandoning the body for goal-oriented use, often unconsciously. Our bodies can do a lot without conscious control. It is possible to let the deeper brain centers take hold while working, studying, shopping, or cleaning as well as while working out or pursuing sports. This is a good thing.

If we set healthy intentions, the body can flow into patterns that are controlled by our “low brain” but meet positive, right-brain goals. With a focus on the end goal, productivity, fitness, accomplishment, winning, or finishing, we are letting the left brain take an unbalanced, dominant role.

The end goal becomes more important than the means in which we treat our bodies. The results are harsh movements, repetitive use of the body, activities that are often not in accord with the structure of the body.

These rituals and practices lead the body to getting worn out or breaking down. Repetitive motion and stress-based injuries resulting in bone, tendon, ligamentous, and muscular strains all result when the quantity and intensity of activity or a goal are seen as more important than quality of technique and the experience of doing.

We don’t want to discourage anyone from working out or engaging in physical activity but rather to encourage the possibility of turning inward (tuning-in) and listening to the body’s cues as we move at work and at home, in leisure, household chores, and fitness or sports activities.

Embodied practice, in our case Dynamic Embodiment TM and BodyMind Fitness is an activity that places the felt, first-person experience of the body as primary. This process is a somatic process.

Somatic education techniques such as Alexander, Bartenieff, BodyMind Centering, Continuum, Feldenkrais, and the like all teach people to enhance their proprioception as well as their kinesthetic sense—two senses you may or may not know you have.

Proprioception is our ability to register the body’s positioning. Kinesthetics is the ability to feel how we are moving. Somatic education relies upon each and therefore teaches skills to heighten sensitivity to these systems.

What does somatic education have to do with fitness? Being “fit” can refer to meeting a predetermined set of criteria, or it can imply that there is a good match between an activity and the person engaging in it. We contend that true fitness increases by paying attention to bodily cues while engaging in any or all of life’s activities.

Somatics teaches you to listen into your body and respond with informed choice (freedom) based on the information coming from within. Dynamic Embodiment includes practices to transform any daily activity into an opportunity to feel and experience yourself with more consciousness.

Whatever the activity, we can support ourselves, enhance our systems’ function, and feel better by deepening the awareness of our body, allowing moments of self-inquiry to permeate our days and empowering us to take care of ourselves more fully.

Noticing your body, asking questions, and listening to it brings awareness to bodily cues. How does this relate to actively working out?

While working out, you can ask yourself: Is that sensation a discomfort of pushing the edge of my strength in a good way, or is that my joints, tendons, and ligaments sending warning signals, or is the sensation simply information and energy passing through the system?

It helps to have a baseline, to know what is “normal” and comfortably familiar. Somatic exercise is designed to be integrated with your life. Setting aside time for the body is vital to health and wellness, but it’s also important to check in again and again to cultivate this relationship with your body.

The work is slow and subtle. Slower and more-subtle movements allow the sensitivity of the nervous system to deepen and become more receptive toward internal cues. Fitness levels increase as we are respectful of our bodies and work more deeply within our healthy capacities.

Activity 1. Take a moment to feel the forces (muscular, energetic, skeletal) holding you up right now. How would you describe your breathing? Gently turn your body to look over either shoulder. How far you can see easily? Are you holding onto any part of your body that doesn’t seem necessary? Is there any particular sensation that stands out for you?

This can be done any time (right now, sitting at the computer; at work, home, waiting in line) whenever you notice your body feeling a little tense—or particularly good!

Activity 2. Here is an exercise to build coordination and neurogenic strength while staying somatically aware. Use a small 0.5- to 10-pound weight. A book can even work. The light weight is specifically chosen to provide a small amount of resistance to assist in locating your body’s space.

The emphasis is on ease of breathing and the subjective quality of movement. The goal is to disengage from habitual strain patterns and to access an awareness of the fluid self to support your activities. Once this baseline starts getting established, vigorous exercise will be more effective and safer.

1. Holding the weight in one hand, slowly and gently draw it close to your navel center where it may be held with minimal effort. Notice the support of the earth pouring up into your feet, through your skeleton, and into the weight.

Gently allow that flow of support to slowly push the weight further from the ground as high overhead as possible without straining. Balance the weight on your palm. Feel that vector of force from the center of the earth pushing up into the weight.

2. Shift your coccyx (tailbone) to point at different areas of your feet shifting weight from side to side and drawing tiny figure eights. Allow these small movements to travel up your spine. Notice where you feel the cleanest path of support rising out of the earth, through your skeleton, and into the weight. Allow this to be easy and only do as much as you can without holding your breath.

3. Slowly draw the weight in the direction of your core, allowing your elbow to continue to point downward. Check to see if you are keeping your elbows released. They may feel heavy. Repeat three times on one side. Place the weight down and take a small walk to feel the difference between the two halves of your body. Repeat on the other side.

4. Now how would you describe your breathing? Gently turn your body to look over either shoulder. How far you can see easily? Are you holding onto any part of your body unnecessarily? Is there any particular sensation that stands out for you? Exhale deeply with a soft sound. Pause.

5. Drawing up from the earth through your legs, with breath support, feel your head float upward as your shoulders widen and release downward.

How can this quality of deep listening carry into whatever you are doing—work, leisure, or exercise?

Activity 3. Many people find that music is a fantastic support for exercising. We do too. Music can be carefully selected to support different goals. A disc jockey mix created with the intention of supporting a half-hour workout can be found at http://soundcloud.com/somatic-eye.

The first 7 to 15 minutes are quiet and offer space for a personal check-in like the one described above. Then you can feel how the music will support you to progress toward a more active mobilizing energy.

The second half has a slightly elevated heart rate for whatever else might feel good to you—using cardio equipment, dancing, or working out in a whole-body, rhythmic way on your own. Enjoy!

E Yen Zak is an exercise physiologist, movement educator, martial artist, and disc jockey practicing in Berkeley, Calif. He studies with Dr. Eddy and can be found at Somaticeye.blogspot.com

Dr. Martha Eddy, CMA, RSMT, is an internationally renowned author and lecturer who founded BodyMind Fitness and Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Training and currently directs Moving On Center-NY.

MovingOnCenter.org/DynamicSMTT

Innovations in Pilates is a landmark work expanding the Pilates Method in an entirely new direction. The Pilates community is genuinely excited by this new development with programs and workshops now running to teach this additional focus to students and teachers of the Pilates method.

We are now selling a dvd of the book at Movements Afoot.  Since the book is being published in Australia,  the dvd is a more affordable way of getting this info.  It is only $54 (tax included) compared to $105 for the book.  I have this book on hand at the studio.  You are welcome to come by and see it to get an idea about the dvd.

I am also excited to announce Anthony is coming in April to teach.

Therapeutic Muscle Stretching on the Pilates Equipment

With Anthony Lett
When; April 14, 15, 16,  2012. 9-5
Cost $800   Early Bird special Register by 3/15/2012  $750.  To Register, click here

Anthony Lett, author of Innovations in Pilates will present a  three day workshop covering all of the theory and major stretches selected from his popular Pilates book.

Workshop includes;

• Joseph Pilates philosophy and stretching
• Relationships between core strength, good posture, dynamic exercise and flexibility
• Case studies and Flexibility interventions
• Anatomy revision-muscle function animations and experiential practice
• Deep and effective Therapeutic Muscle Stretching for the Calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, adductors, gluteals, trunk, arms shoulder and neck.

The workshop will leave you with new insights into Pilates, new class formats, and a whole bunch of new and exciting repertoire. Backed up by 3d muscle function animations and a mostly practical content, your Pilates teaching will feel invigorated and so will your clients!

About Anthony; Anthony is the author of Innovations in Pilates. A student and teacher of Pilates for 25 years, he has qualifications in Philosophy, sports science, exercise medicine, mind/body medicine and clinical anatomy. Anthony has presented his workshops in various parts of the world to Pilates audiences and runs his practice in Melbourne Australia. His workshops are known for their good humour and relaxed but thorough approach.

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com

by Peter Mei

As a football player, I suffered numerous injuries especially in the joint area such as ankles, knees and shoulders. The recovery period was even tougher! Pilates help me tremendously during the rehabilitation, not only regaining the range of motion but  I became more flexible and agile. It taught me how to prevent injuries before it happens.

I also increased my explosiveness by having a stronger and healthier core muscles, agility and speed improved as well.

Pilates has been a big part of my training regiment not only for myself, but more importantly, for my personal training clients. It teaches mind over body and move muscles that we never knew existed. Pilates can change a person’s overall posture, improve core strength, and build those long, sleek and sexy muscles we all crave for. I would recommend Pilates practice to anyone from de-conditioned to athletes, it is suitable for all ages and genders.

Bio

Peter has always been passionate about sports and fitness dating back to his teenage years and played collegiate and semi-pro football. He is a personal trainer and owned a full service fitness center. Four years ago Peter discovered Pilates to rehabilitate his own Injuries from playing football and became a enthusiast instantly. With the help of Lesley Powell and BBU certification course, he realized the importance of mind body practices. Peter has a unique Pilates teaching style and specialize in rehabilitation, injury prevention and tonning. “I believe in balance, there are no such thing as one style of training is greater than other, every practice and training program should be tailored made to suit the needs of each individual. Look beyond the methods, it is the result that matters.”

Pilates teachers do not realize the tremendous influence Irmgard Bartenieff had on our work.  Eve Gentry, a second generation Pilates teacher, took  the BARTENIEFF FUNDAMENTALS into her pilates practice.  Many Pilates teacher certification programs have been influenced by this work.  

Eve Gentry was one of the founders of the Dance Notation Bureau.  She had studied with Irmgard Bartenieff when she lived in New York City.

Come Experience these principles to enhance your practice and your teaching with Dr. Dianne Woodruff.  Last year at Movements Afoot, my body went into heaven using the Bartenieff Fundamentals to enhance function.

INTRO TO BARTENIEFF FUNDAMENTALS: MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES FOR LIFE

With Dianne Woodruff  CMA, PhD

November 5 & 6   9-5 PM.  $450  Register by 10/15  $425  To register, click here

Take this workshop to learn how your body is designed to move. In this course, understand the basics that keep us moving elegantly and efficiently on two feet. Teach them to your clients for lifelong readiness to move. Wake up and tune up your muscles, nerves and connective tissues for movement. The basics of movement organize your body so it is responsive to your wishes and needs. 

Re-vamp your exercise life If your exercise program is not working there’s probably a reason. Your body is organized in patterns that support everything you do but most conventional exercise programs skip over this. When you lack these patterns your exercise program may be a struggle. Maybe you drop out and think you are just not suited to exercise. You could be right. You need something else. 

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com

Working out with certain kinds of pain can weaken the nerves and/or exacerbate the injury.

When a client has back pain that is not disc or nerve related, I look at their posture and how they move during their sessions.  Many injuries are caused by poor habits, repetitive motions and poor support/mobility of the body.  I use the Bartenieff Fundamentals/movement principles to evaluate their form and teach better function.  Teaching extension exercises of the spine and hips are very important.  Most lowback clients are very weak in their backs and legs.

Sometimes when teaching extension work, clients complaint of pain.

A lot has to do where the movement is being initiated.  For instance, neutral pelvic bridge is an excellent exercise for backs.  Because they are weak in their legs, they will push from their backs.  Too much posterior tilt at the beginning of the bridge can kick out important muscles of the hips and legs that help extend the hips.  These muscles are important in standing.

Another big problem is getting clients of understand pelvic stability with leg mobility.  Some clients unleveled their pelvis to lift their legs.  This could lead to back discomfort.

Differentiation of thigh bone

Irmgard Bartenifeff’s Thigh Lift is a precursor to all Pilates mat exercises.

Can the client differentiate the thighbone from the pelvis?  So many are tight around the hip sockets.  They lift the leg up partially from unleveling the pelvis.  My goal is to teach them the amazing hip socket as the hinge for movement instead of the disks.

with Lesley Powell
Dates: Sun   10/23/2010
Time:  10 AM – 4:00 PM
6 hours PMA approved $200

We take walking for granted. When we lose the ability to walk comfortably, we lose our freedom to do things. Poor posture, lack of strength and mobility and diminishing balance skills affect our gait. This course is an introduction to how the body moves in gait and how as trainers we can plan a workout that encourages better walking skills.

We will learn observation skills about how the body moves and applications using the Pilates repertory to improve mobility and strength in relationship to gait. Applications to the Pilates repertory will also include modifications with diminished range of motion.

Section I The spine Posture is key in walking. Poor posture can affect the mobility of our hips and legs in walking. We will look how the spine moves in an ideal healthy walk. Learning observation skills about walking and simple movement exercises can help us evaluate our client’s movement patterns. Lesson plans will evolve around how to increase mobility, coordination and strength using the Pilates equipment and balance tools.

Section II The lower body This is an introduction how the lower body moves in gait. Pilates is a wonderful way to train for better tone and mobility. The coordination of our muscles is different with closed chain in standing than open chain and close chain lying prone, supine or side. Observation skills and program development will be learned to help the senior improve their gait skills.

To Register

Pilates Lab for Teachers: Muscular Imbalances

Shelley Studdenberg returns again with a series of learning how to see and make changes using Pilates repertory.  I have studied w. Shelley for years.  Observation is a skill.  Each time that you work w. a master teacher like Shelly, you get to new layers of seeing and understanding the body.
$60   Register by the 1st of the month $50 * see overview date

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com

Shelly Studdenberg brings to this workshop her amazing knowledge of being a Pilates teacher, a certified Rolfer and advanced studies about the body. She will teach you the skill of observation, and how to use the Pilates/ other movement repertory to make positive changes in your client’s well-being. Shelly has influenced the master teachers’ careers at Movements Afoot
Mondays 1:30-3:30  Click here to register

• Overview – Structural overview 2 parts   9/26 & 10/24 must sign up for both  $120  Sign up before 9/16 $100
• Spine   11/28
• Pelvis   1/16/2012
• Lower extremity – knee and foot 2/27/2012
• Upper extremity shoulder  3/26/2012
• Disc  4/23/2012
• Neck  5/21/2012