Session 29

Today marks Session 29. Wow, what an amazing journey this has been so far. Before I wrap things up with my 30th session I want to take a moment to express my gratitude and thanks!

First to the followers! Thank you for following my journey. I am so grateful that you have taken time to read my blog and discuss it with me. Your kind words have meant more than you will ever know.

Second to my family! Thank you for your love and support! Thank you for helping watch Natalie when I had evening sessions. Most importantly, thank you to my husband, Charlie and daughter, Natalie. Hon, thank you for your support as I came up with this idea and searched for a studio that would allow me to start my journey, thank you for the encouragement and understanding as I took classes. To Natalie, it warms my heart when you ask “Mommy, how was Pilates?” or “Mommy, watch me I am doing Pilates!” I cannot wait until you are old enough and we can go to Pilates together on Saturday morning.

Lastly, this all wouldn’t have been possible without the permission of BodyMind Balance owner, Julie and the instruction from Kelly. Julie, I want to thank you for working with me and helping me as I started on this journey. I have enjoyed my experience with at your studio with your staff. All of the instructors I have worked with have so much passion for Pilates and truly care about the student’s health and well being. Kelly, I want to thank you for instruction over the last ten weeks. You always seemed to know when I needed a little push in my practice or encouragement.

Thank you all!

Mary

Session 28

When I am in my Pilates classes it is so important to stay focused and not let my mind wander and think about other things. I find if I am not concentrating 100% on the exercises then I do not hold the position as well. As much as I try to stay focused though sometimes find I compare myself to my other classmates. I was particularly frustrated because I have having trouble doing The Rollover. I thought to myself, “I have done 27 sessions of Pilates; I should be able to do this.” Thankfully before I let this frustration spiral out of control and affect the rest of my session, I was able to put myself in check. It is important to remember that so much of Pilates working at your own ability that often times not everyone in the class does an exercise the same way. Nearly every Pilates exercise has some sort of modification to fit an individual’s ability. And one’s ability may change from day to day depending on how there body is feeling; just because I can fully do an exercise today doesn’t mean I will do it the same way tomorrow. I also had to remind myself as I looked at the other members of the class that some of them have been practicing Pilates for over a year or maybe even over five years. Instead of looking at those students and saying “I should be at that level and do the Rollover too” I need to tell myself, “When I have been practicing as long as they have, I will be able to do The Rollover.”

Session 27

The Teaser is one of the most challenging exercises in Pilates and it is one that I am determined to master. I have already seen big improvements since I started Pilates nine weeks ago, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.

There are a lot of modifications available for this exercise, but ultimately my body should be in a V-shape with my both my torso and legs at a 45 degree angle to the floor while being balanced on my tailbone. The Teaser improves balance and coordination, works the powerhouse. There is a lot happening when doing this exercise. Not only is the power house engaged, but it is important to keep the chest lifted, arms strong, and the legs strong and “glued” together. As I am able to improve my Teaser I know that I am improving in my practice of Pilates altogether

Session 26

Some of the exercises in Pilates are just plain fun. I must admit the first few times I did Rolling like a Ball and The Seal I felt a little silly. But now that I am more familiar with the order of the Pilates routine, I look forward to these exercises. Rolling like a Ball works the abdomen, improves balance and massages the spine. It seems easy enough, but the key is not using momentum to complete the roll and making sure each vertebra touches the mat. I start by sitting on the mat with my knees bent toward my chest and hands on my ankles. I lift my feet off the mat and balance and tuck my chin to my chest. My spine will be nice and rounded. As I inhale I pull my abs in and up and fall back and at the exhale I roll back up using my abs to pull me up and not momentum. When I come back up I balance on my tailbone again. There is another exercise that is very similar to this one, it is the Open-Leg Rocker and instead of being tucked into a ball, my legs are straight and I try to hold onto my ankles. The other rolling exercise is The Seal. This is often done in the cool down phase of the class. The purpose is to massage the spinal muscles, work the powerhouse and test balance and coordination. For this exercise I sit with my knees bent to my chest and heels together. I open my knees the width of my shoulder and dive my hands through my legs and hold onto the backs of my ankles. On the inhale I have roll back pulling my feet with me and roll to my shoulders. Then I clap my legs together like a seal clapping its flippers. On the exhale roll forward tucking my chin to my chest, when balancing on my tailbone I clap my feet together again. These exercises are usually repeated five – eight times.

Session 25

On Thursday I had my usual session with Kelly, but instead of being a private session there was another student in the session as well. It is very common for studios to offer duet or even trio sessions along with private sessions. It was nice change of pace to have a partner for the session; she has been practicing Pilates for a few years. I liked being able to see her do the exercises and see the proper form and technique. It was a good way to gauge whether or not my body is positioned correctly and also to push myself a little further in my practice.

Session 24

There is another series of exercises that I do during every mat session. It is the Side Kick Series. It consists of the following: Front/Back, Up/Down, Small Circles, Inner-Thigh Lifts, and Bicycle. The body position for all of these exercises is the same, lie on my side with elbow, shoulder, midback, and buttock aligned with the back of the mat and my legs position at an angle toward the front of my mat. The core should be engaged to keep the torso stable, and lengthen the back of the neck away from the shoulders and the top hip toward the feet. The first exercise is Front/Back. Start by lifting the top leg to hip height. Then inhale and swing the leg to the front and pulse it twice on the exhale swing the leg back. The torso should stay completely stable and do ten reps. Move into Up/Down on the inhale lift the top leg to the ceiling and the exhale resist gravity on the way down stretching the leg long. Complete five sets and prep for Small Circles. For Small Circles lift the top heels just above the bottom heals and begin circling the leg from the hip in a forward motion. Complete five circles and reverse. For Inner-thigh lifts I lift the top foot and cross it in front of the bottom with the foot flat on the floor. I extend the straight leg out long and raise it off the floor, turn the heel slighting toward the ceiling. Lift and lower the without letting it touch the mat. I do this five to ten times then do ten small pulses upward then five circles in each direction. The next exercise is the Bicycle. I swing my top leg back as if pushing on the pedal of a very large bicycle, bending my knee behind me and bringing my heel to your buttock for a stretch in the hip and knee. Then bringing the bent knee past my outstretch knee and toward my shoulder. Extend my leg out in front of me as if pushing forward on the pedal and cycle by swinging your straight leg back to repeat the motion. I usually do this three times in each direction. After these series is over, I switch and exercise the other side.

Session 23

So in mat class on Saturday I was moving through exercises like Single Straight Leg Stretch and Open Leg Rocker where I have to hold on to my ankles. First thing I noticed was that I was actually able to grab my ankles!!!!! I have definitely noticed increase flexibility since I have started. I also noticed that my calves look different. The calf muscles are definitely toned and look leaner. As exciting as that was though, as I was doing the double straight leg stretch I also noticed that I looked slimmer in the hips!!!! It is very exciting noticing these changes.

Session 22

I have a new appreciation for the “Ab or Stomach series” of exercises. This is a series of five exercises called: Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, Single straight Leg Stretch, Double straight Leg Stretch, and Crisscross. The common goal for all of these exercises is working the Powerhouse, staying lifted and perfectly still in the torso while your arms and legs move. Typically in my sessions I only do five to ten sets of each of these exercises, but with all Pilates exercises, if I focus and do the exercise correctly I find that number to be quite effective.

I start each of these exercises the same way, lie on the mat and bring my chin to my chest, lifting my back and keeping my eyes on my belly. For Single Leg Stretch I pull my right leg towards my chest with my left hand on my knee and my right hand on my shin or ankle, simultaneously I extend my left leg out toward the opposite wall. Then I exhale and switch legs. Once I have completed the reps for this exercise I bring both legs in to my chest for a stretch and move into Double Leg Stretch. Double Leg Stretch is similar to single leg. I inhale deeply and stretch my body long reaching my arms back by my ears and my legs long in front of me. Again my torso should remain firmly anchored and head lifted. At the exhale I draw my knees back to my chest while circling my arms around to meet them. I end by pulling both knees to my chest then move into Single Straight Leg Stretch. In Single Straight Leg Stretch, sometimes this is referred to as scissors I extend the right leg toward the ceiling and grab the ankle and my left leg is long toward the opposite wall (I still modify this exercise so both legs are relatively straight toward the ceiling.) As I inhale I pull my right leg toward me twice, exhale and switch legs repeating the same movements. For each of these exercises there can be modifications made to them, starting out you can keep your head and shoulders on the floor or even your legs straight up towards the ceiling. The fourth exercise in this series is Double Straight Leg Stretch, this is where I find things get really challenging. Again I start with my chin to chest and torso anchored to the floor. I extend my legs to the ceiling and squeeze my inner thighs together. For this exercise I place my hands behind my neck, but remember all movement is coming from the Powerhouse. With my Powerhouse engaged I inhale and lower my legs toward the mat for three counts. I stop lowering them when I feel my back arch off of the mat. Then I exhale and raise my legs toward the ceiling. Once I have completed these reps, I prepare for Crisscross. In Crisscross I keep my hands behind my neck, extend my right leg out long and twist my upper body to reach my armpit to my left knee. The goal is to lift and twist from the waist to work the obliques, keep the elbows extended out (don’t fold them in to reach the knee) and try not to rock from side to side, keep the torso steady. Typically after the series is complete, I have to do the toughest roll up so that I can move into Spine Stretch Forward.

As challenging as these exercises I appreciate them because I realize how far I have become since I started practicing. During my initial sessions, we only did the first three in the series, now I do all five. Initially I was not able to keep my head and shoulders lifted for the entire series, now I can. I also feel more comfortable with the transitions between each of the exercises as well.

Session 21

Throughout this process I have talked to many people who said that they would love to try Pilates, but they feel nervous about going to a studio or mat class alone. So this is my invitation to you…I think the best way to experience Pilates for the first time is a mat class. I will be at the Saturday morning mat class on the following Saturdays: April 9^th, April, 16^th, April 23^rd. If you want to try Pilates and feel more comfortable knowing that you will know at least one other person in the class then join me! Visit the BodyMind Balance website to register and pay for the class or click here and go to the classes tab to register. Since I have been doing the Saturday morning mat class, it has become my favorite way to start the day. I find that I have more energy throughout the day when I begin with Pilates.

Session 20

“…you’ll look better in twenty…”

I can’t believe I have just reached my twentieth session. Wow the changes I have seen. My posture has improved so much that I do feel like I am walking taller. The other big change I noticed is that I feel like my torso has more definition to it and my waist has gotten smaller. I have increased muscle tone in my calves and my arms as well.

While I hope to eventually lose weight that is not my ultimate reason for practicing Pilates, so I haven’t been obsessed about watching that scale. With that said, I have noticed that several pairs of my pants are baggier than usual!

Session 19

For this entry I have asked my instructor Kelly to tell a little about herself, her training, and thoughts on how our sessions are going...

Hi, this is Kelly Planck, Mary’s Pilates teacher. I have been practicing Pilates for over 8 years and have been focusing and practicing classical Pilates for almost a year now. I am an apprentice at Body Mind Balance, now 300 hours into my 600 required hours. I will test out of 300, 400, and get certified after testing at 600 hours. All of my tests include a practical and a written part. When approached with the opportunity to work with Mary on this project, I am excited. What better testament to my teaching, right? Yikes, all of the worst case scenarios also went through my head. What if I am not inspiring or effective? Well, I am only getting my feet wet with teaching but I was up for the challenge. Good or bad, this is what it’s all about.

When I met Mary she was nervous and excited to get started. We started with Beginner system, focusing on precision and abdominal connection. I can see she is determined to do well and I admire her enthusiasm. After about 3 to 4 sessions, I can see she is improving. She is able to keep her head and shoulders up throughout the ab series. She no longer has to stop for water between each exercise. She has told me her lower back pain is gone. This is inspiring in itself and we’re both excited to see progress.

We’re now about half way through Mary’s experiment. I am noticing so many improvements in Mary since our first session. She is definitely getting stronger and moves with more fluidity through her workout. The best and most promising thing is, she is truly connecting with her powerhouse and moving correctly through each exercise. While doing a roll up last week, I had a small celebration in my head watching her. She rolled up her spine with control, lengthened her spine long over her legs, pulled her abdominals in and up, all while maintaining shoulder connection. She then rolled all the way down her spine one vertebra at a time, keeping her abdominals in an up the whole time. “Woo Hoo!” I then watched her move correctly through several other exercises in our system without my having to cue her. This is so exciting. My job as teacher is to help people move correctly in their bodies on a consistent basis. Once a client is able to connect with their powerhouse and is conscience of how their body should feel moving and sedentary, they will continue to improve no matter what. Mary is able to connect and understands the correct movement of each exercise. This allows us to progress and challenge her even more.

I see Mary at the mat class on Saturday’s along with our two sessions. She can hold her own in the class and I am so proud at how far she has come. Last week, while we were talking, I noticed a physical difference in her as well. She looks smaller and more defined. Yay!! I am so happy for her. While Pilates is not in itself a weight loss program, it most certainly is a gateway to a healthier body and lifestyle. It is a life change and will give more energy to the body and mind. As a mother of 3 young girls, I can attest that Pilates gives me the energy and strength I need to keep up with them. One of Mary’s goals and reasons for taking on this challenge is to have more energy and to be a better example for her daughter. She is achieving that. I know she will continue to grow and will inspire others with her testimonial. I am so happy to go through this with her and hope I can continue to encourage her as she moves forward.
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