The Movement Studio Pilates

Jonathan Urla, MFA, PMA and Power Pilates Certified Pilates Teacher and ACE Certified LWMC wrote an interesting article recently.  In it, he addresses many common questions that folks ask instructors every day. Thanks Johanthan!

It seems that I hear about a “new” fitness term or trend every week. These words usually come from the scientific community, but they often take on new meanings when the media and general public start using them. I started noticing that most of these words could be used to describe Pilates exercise, so I decided to dig a little deeper.

I compiled a list of the terms that are currently in fashion in the fitness world and media and looked at the relevance that each has to Pilates training. I hope the result is as illuminating to you as it was to me. This exercise reiterated to me that the techniques of Joseph and Clara Pilates are still proving to be years ahead of their time. As instructors in the health and wellness field, it is important for us to be aware of these trends and be able to explain to students how they relate to Pilates.

1. Functional
Definition & Popular Use: “Functional” has several definitions, some relating to medicine, algebra and linguistics, but the most relevant for fitness would be to indicate a practical use: “having or serving a utilitarian purpose.” “Functional” is definitely the go-to term of late for fitness articles and seminars. Numerous fitness experts are labeling exercises as functional and claim they have a practical application in everyday life. The truth is we do all kinds of movements in everyday life, and one could make an argument for any exercise as having a practical application. Giving the term some credit, “functional,” when it comes to exercise, could be applied to exercises that help strengthen muscles that atrophy over time, and stretch or release shortened muscles that impinge everyday movement and reduce ROM. One could argue that this is a clear distinction from sports training in that the goal is simply to maintain a healthy working body as opposed to improved athletic performance.

Pilates Relevance: If the meaning of functional exercise is to maintain a healthy working body, then Pilates is a synonym for functional exercise and goes way beyond what the newest exercises and techniques are designed to do. Think of all the functional aspects of living that Pilates training benefits: breathing, awareness, spinal articulation and elongation, core strength and stability, coordination, balance, etc. No system of exercise is more about improving everyday function then Pilates. Quite often, I see exercises from Pilates being co-opted by fitness instructors into regular workouts. However, not knowing the technique behind the exercise, they leave out the instructions for the breath and how to achieve proper shoulder, ribcage and pelvis alignment integrity. The point is that an exercise alone doesn’t give someone all the training they need to maintain healthy function. Pilates goes to the next level by teaching people to be more aware of their neutral alignment, and by then providing a detailed system of movements that will make them more body intelligent—and that is the best function: mind and body integration!

Insurance is one of those costs that we would all rather live without. Most of us will never use it, but for the few that do, they are glad they did their homework when purchasing their coverage. Our new studio insurance peep, Lauren Santos of Sports & Fitness Insurance Canada writes…

Every time you train, instruct or consult with any of your clients, there is risk involved. As a professional in your field, you need to protect your clients by serving their needs in a safe environment, as well as protecting yourself by purchasing quality insurance.

As the fitness industry has some unique requirements that are not included in a standard general insurance policy, it is important to ensure you have the best coverage possible. Some key points in our coverage include:

Professional Liability:
Most liability policies exclude professional liability coverage. If a court was to deem that your services are professional in nature, a standard liability policy might deny a claim. Our policies include both commercial general liability insurance and professional liability insurance pertaining to personal training and fitness instructing.

No “Participants Exclusion”:
Some policies exclude coverage to participants. An exclusion like this, which is common in the fitness industry, would not be good for you, as all of your work involves the participation of your clients.

24 Month Business Interruption Coverage:
In the event of major claim, such as a fire, the studio’s membership is greatly reduced due to closure. This coverage provides the ability to still receive what would be lost revenues while your space is being repaired or rebuilt. As you know, the loss of members/clients may cause a loss of income for a substantial period of time even after you have reopened, which is why our business interruption coverage is 24 months.

All in all, insurance is a part of your business that can be frustrating and difficult to understand. Check out our Studio teacher Training page for details. http://pilatesatthemovementstudio.com/InstructorTraining/InstructorTrainingFAQ.html

This workshop for me was WONDERFUL! It was comprehensive and detailed,
yet interesting and practical, allowing me to explore and learn
everything that encompasses my shoulder girdle by touching, feeling,
asking, listening, watching.

I spend about 7 hours altogether sitting in front of a computer almost
every day. I also love playing tennis and try to do so 3-4 times a
week. Needless to say, my shoulders / neck / back suffer a great deal.

Danielle’s workshop allowed me to understand and gave me more
awareness about my entire girdle. I came out with a couple of
movements that I have now incorporated into my regular warm-up before
tennis and stretching afterwards, and do also throughout the day while
I take breaks from the computer.

In addition, I now give more importance and have a different focus on my breathing and posture, and feel I have a better understanding of certain cues when doing pilates, taking a reformer or a chair class, and during regular walking and sitting activities.

Thank you, Danielle!!!!

Rebecca Lau, Studio Client

Here’s some feedback from one of the workshop participants…
What most stood out for me after attending this workshop was how much
more clearly I could visualize and understand the positioning of my
shoulder blades, the bones of my arms, my ribcage, and my spine – both
at rest and during movement. I especially appreciate how this has
enriched and improved the familiar movements I typically use in ballet
class.
It has been very exciting to apply the tools Danielle shared to my
dancing. I now have a deeper knowledge of how to control and work with
the movements of the shoulder girdle. I am finding I can create more
symmetry in my arms and more freedom from tension. This workshop
cleared up a lot of the clouds in my proprioperception of my shoulders.
It also gave me many new, and better choices, on how to approach
port de bras. Jane Hamaker, dancer and Movement Studio client

The Movement Studio is excited to be hosting Trish Kazun this Fall for a workshop on Gait and Running Injury Free. Trish is a physiotherapist at Envision Physiotherapy here in Vancouver and an expert on gait.

The Importance of Running Technique, by Trish Kazun

As some one who didn’t run for years because “I have bad knees”, I can state firsthand that that is a lousy excuse. Once I became a physiotherapist and started learning about the biomechanics of movement, I realized that it wasn’t that I had bad knees…it was that I had bad technique. The following is a discussion of some of the common problems that give people shin splints, knee pain, Achilles tendon problems, etc (the list is endless!) when they run. read more….. http://envisionphysio.com/blog/category/running/