Pilates
When Will I See Results?
Has a client ever asked you, “How many times a week should I do Pilates?” You may have answered, “It depends.” Truthfully, both the question and the response are loaded. Many things factor into the ideal Pilates program, including the client’s fitness level and goals. While some use Pilates for rehabilitation, other popular goals include increased strength, enhanced flexibility and the sculpted “Pilates body.”
Benefits of Mind-Body Activities for Kids
Today’s fast-paced, digital world pressures children to grow up fast. Instead of running around grassy playgrounds, most of them live highly structured lives, shuttling from one organized activity to the next, often while playing with hyper-stimulating devices. For school-age children, homework, peer pressure, teasing, poor grades, bullying, parental demands and isolation can all trigger stress.
Inject Creativity Into Your Pilates Program
When you added Pilates classes to your schedule, you took the time to find the best instructors and invest in the right equipment. Sometimes, however, simply scheduling a standard Pilates class isn’t enough to get members to fill the studio. So, once you have a foundation you can trust, why not add flair?
Improving Chronic Neck Pain With Pilates
Pilates exercises may provide relief for clients struggling with chronic neck pain. Neck pain is among the four most common pains affecting Americans (following back pain); it’s also the second leading cause of work absences (Pleis, Ward & Lucas 2010; Albright et al. 2001). The problem occurs most often in middle age and affects women more often than men (Binder 2008).
Recovering From a Broken Pelvis
It was just like any other day. Renee was leaving for work, tote in one hand and lunch bag and coffee in the other, when she stepped over her dog gate and onto her flight of stairs. But this time, she missed her footing and fell down 15 flights of stairs.
Male Participation in Yoga and Pilates
While overall yoga and Pilates participation changes yearly, the ratio of men to women in yoga is holding fairly constant, while the percentage of Pilates practitioners who are men is increasing. Currently, of the estimated 23.3 million Americans who do yoga, approximately 26%, or 6.0 million, are male. Of the estimated 8.5 million Americans who practice Pilates, 16%, or close to 1.4 million, are male (Sports Marketing Surveys USA 2013a, 2013b).
Proven Benefits of Pilates
Did you know that Pilates continues to grow in popularity, and its practice is now familiar to people around the world? Maybe you’ve already experienced the effectiveness of Pilates or are thinking about taking lessons.
Good news! Researchers have proven certain benefits of this form of exercise. Shirley Archer, JD, MA, 2008 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year and IDEA’s mind-body-spirit spokesperson, discusses the benefits below.
Benefits Backed by Strong Evidence
A Growing Pilates Practice in Istanbul, Turkey
Based in the heart of one of Istanbul’s most affluent neighborhoods, Burcu Ozturk Salargil, head instructor and owner of Hero House Pilates, is at the forefront of Pilates growth in Turkey. Salargil, a STOTT PILATES®-certified instructor trainer, founded the studio in her native city in October 2009, after returning from a 10-year stint in the United States.
Props for a Great Pilates Workout
Pilates instructors know that the key to a stimulating workout is to challenge students by mixing things up, and small props are effective tools for injecting variety.
Pilates: Effective for Better Balance
If you want to add a valuable benefit for your middle- to older-aged clients, emphasize Pilates elements that enhance balance. You may very well save a life.
Case Study: Pilates for Chronic Pain and Osteoarthritis
Like most Pilates instructors, I’ve worked with many clients who deal with chronic pain. One of the most challenging and common conditions I see is arthritis.
What’s Your Pilates Brand?
Brands are very powerful. Pilates, like Starbucks, is a strong brand that can bring certain thoughts and images to mind in your potential customers. They may think of core strength, strong posture or the reformer; they might even think Pilates is too hard.
Practice Techniques For Pilates Instructors To Emphasize
Michele Olson, PhD, FACSM, professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama, and Cherie Wells, lecturer in physiotherapy and clinical education coordinator at the University of Western Sydney in Penrith, Australia, both lead investigators of multiple Pilates studies, offer the following research-based practical tips on what mind-body fitness professionals should emphasize to maximize Pilates benefits for clients:
Science and the Pilates Method
Pilates continues to grow in popularity, and its practice is now familiar to people around the world, with studios throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Enthusiastic marketers may claim that Pilates can solve everything from weight issues to problems in the bed- room, but we serve our clients well when we educate them about benefits of Pilates training that are validated by scientific consensus.
Promoting Pilates for Youth and Adults
Mandy Tik has been a registered physiotherapist in Hong Kong since 2001 and a Pilates instructor since 2002. Tik combines her passions for dance and sports performance to serve a clientele that is approximately 60% adult and 40% youth. In 2002, she established the first fully equipped Pilates facility for Singapore’s national athletes, with support from the Singapore Sports Council.
5 Tips for Teaching Multilevel Classes
Learning to teach multilevel Pilates mat classes can challenge even the most seasoned pros because we have to master so many specific movements and breathing patterns.
To simplify things, I devised the PESTT protocol—five tips for developing a plan that uses specific cuing and demonstrating techniques to keep classes challenging, engaging and safe at every level.
Working With Overweight Clients
How can the Pilates industry be more welcoming to clients who are overweight? We asked instructors how they create a comfortable and beneficial experience that keeps clients of all sizes coming back for more.
Growing the Pilates Market
Ken Endelman has not taught a single class in his 37-year Pilates career, but the Pilates world would not be the same without his leadership and contributions. In 1976, when Endelman was working as a furniture designer and craftsman in Los Angeles, a prospective client asked him to build a reformer—something with which he was completely unfamiliar.
Keeping Aerialists Flying Safely
Aerial, circus and acrobatic arts have recently seen an explosion of interest, thanks in part to the popularity of performance companies like Cirque du Soleil®. Combine this curiosity with the fun and variety that an aerial-based workout provides, and it’s easy to see what makes this an exciting fitness genre.
Pilates Blending
“Pilates has changed,” says Nora St. John, MS, education program director for Balanced Body®.
Today, she explains, many Pilates teachers are well educated in biomechanics. “An understanding of both anatomy and the mind-body connection makes you a better teacher and certainly a better problem solver.
“In the best situation, Pilates is taught with the idea of, ‘Who is the client in front of me? What are his or her goals? How can I use this environment to help the client achieve those goals?’ I think this is a good contemporary view of Pilates.”
