Nosy, that's me. I'm nosy when it comes to being aware of what's happening in our Pilates community. We are such a vibrant, motivated crew of individuals. You all are constantly coming up with new ways to market your studios, work with your clients, and celebrate movement. And I want to know about them all. That's why I signed up for Google's Pilates alerts. Notices are emailed to me whenever an article or press release or the like pops up on the internet.

I certainly expected my fair share of "This star and that star does Pilates". I even knowingly signed up for the obligatory "What is Pilates?" and "Getting a flatter tummy with Pilates!" alerts. It's easy enough to delete those without reading them. Don't get me wrong, getting 16 alerts a day basically saying the same thing really is annoying. But then again, if they spread the good Pilates word, I really shouldn't complain. However, what I didn't expect was the astounding number of classes being offered that can barely be recognized as Pilates. Classes like Pilates Pump that incorporates heavily weighted barbells with Pilates are a direct contradiction. Another example I saw was a cycling class that actually did Pilates on the bike.

My studio is in a health club. So if there's anyone open to being creative with class ideas, it's me. (Pilates for Triathletes, Pilates for Tennis Players, Bikini Blast Pilates anyone?) We have to use all sorts of tactics to get the "gym rats" to come into the studio. But no matter what we teach, it's always Pilates. Just Pilates. Not on a bike. Not with 50 lb. dumbells. Not in a house or with a mouse.

I want to know your thoughts. Do you agree with me? And I'm open - help me see a different way of looking at our business. Kerrie Ann

You may know about Modern Pilates Training special workshops, especially since we tweet them out frequently. What can we say? We are proud of the program.

So we were super excited that Pilates Style Magazine wanted to talk with us about our Obesity Workshop and our work with overweight and clinically obese clients. Be sure to check out their June/July issue before they are all gone! It's a well-written article with tons of insight. And, of course, be sure to read our contribution! Pages 88-89.

You can also see Kerrie Ann on @HellaSound's website. She's the athlete of the month as a runner, fitness enthusiast and Pilates pusher. We like to practice what we preach!

Hope you are having a fabulous summer!

Here's a good post regarding the obese client: http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1333/overweight-and-obese-participants-in-your-group/?utm_source=Certified%2BNews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=April%2B2011&utm_campaign=Certified%2BNews&CMP=EMC-CertifiedNews_0411

The inverted exercises got me thinking. I was on the Pilates Arc (love those things, no, not a paid endorsement) doing over the barrel work and it looked like I was walking on the ceiling. So, of course I started to play with that idea, imagining doing Pilates exercises upside down and just generally thinking...well...upside down. Then it struck me:

I've been encouraging instructors to take on all different types of clients - those with ADHD, those who may be obese, those on a budget, etc, etc.. Being open to the wide variety of clientele out there is great, but how do we get that clientele to want to be with us? If we don't know where to start to get an obese client comfortable or a teen with ADD to do breath exercises, what must THEY be thinking?

Being upside down gets my thought-juices following, apparently.

There isn't a magic bullet answer to this question. It's simply a matter of putting yourself in their shoes and thinking like a client. Have you ever been in a new situation? One in which you were totally, utterly unfamiliar? Maybe your first time in a foreign country where you didn't speak the language... Or maybe walking into your home for the first time with your newborn... Situations like these make us nervous, apprehensive and maybe even a little sick to our stomachs. This is how these new clients feel. So, what would you do to alleviate their nerves?

Smile. Nod. Welcome them in. Answer their questions. Show them around like you would your own home. Use terminology they understand (no, not everyone knows what her transverses is). Be inclusive. Make comments that show you understand how they feel: "I remember the first time I walked into a Pilates studio..." Ask them how their day has been up to now. Make eye contact.

Getting new clients - those with issues or without - in the door requires more than doing good marketing. It's about being a receptive, empathetic person. When we put ourselves in someone else's shoes, we understand where he is coming from and, most likely, how to help him relax. If you need to worry about potential situations like getting an overweight client on the reformer, make that your second priority. Your first priority is providing the warm, welcoming entrance so your new clients want to learn. And come back.

What other ways do you use to "think like a client"? Share! http://modernpilatestraining.com/invert-your-brain/feed 2 http://modernpilatestraining.com/tackling-distractions-and-ruts http://modernpilatestraining.com/tackling-distractions-and-ruts#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:00:19 +0000 kerrie http://modernpilatestraining.com/?p=962

Even if you're not riding the crazy wave, there are times when you will find yourself bored, repeating the same patterns in the same cues and with the same vocal intonations. What do you do to escape falling into complacency in your work? Here are a few things I've been doing lately to rediscover a sense of joy and purpose at work:

Watch things that inspire you. Clients, movies, animals, dancers, anything. I found a video of a portion of the Pilates dance that Valentin and Elizabeth Larkham did at Inner Idea a few years ago. href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTPEzBf-mpM"> It's a totally different approach to movement in the Pilates studio. Maybe it will inspire you.

Focus on a theme for the session or the week. For a few days, I had all my sessions revisit the breath and how to move with the breath. We played with breath during footwork, rotations and always during the warm up. I also had a Back To Basics week and a Butt/Gut Day. The themes gave everyone, including me, something to focus on.

Music. I normally don't play music in my studio. Having been a dancer a long time ago, I still find the beat in anything - grocery cart wheels, fans, windshield wipers. Having music in the background can be distracting to me. However, I played music for a few days and allowed myself to teach to the beat. It added a different element to the exercises and was fun for a little while. I'm back to a quiet space now, though. @JenniferPilates changes the music in her studio seasonally. How do you use music if at all?

Travel to the Dark Side. In case you hadn't heard, there are, at times, slight disagreements between Classically trained and Contemporary instructors. This is a discussion reserved for another blog, but worth thinking about for our purposes now. If you always do Classical Pilates and find yourself in a rut, it would be interesting to try a Contemporary teacher and vice versa. You aren't going to catch any cooties. You might, however, enjoy working outside your normal box of thought. Pun intended. And Contemporary or West Coast instructors might find something interesting in revisiting the Classical Repertoire. The point is, try a "new Pilates" that might invite your body to move in a slightly different way.

Actions like these get me through times when I either don't want to go to work for some reason or have a lot on my mind. I would really love to know what you do to break through teaching plateaus or conquer what is my nemesis: an overactive mind. Please share!

Kerrie Ann

http://modernpilatestraining.com/tackling-distractions-and-ruts/feed 2 http://modernpilatestraining.com/its-your-turn http://modernpilatestraining.com/its-your-turn#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:20:53 +0000 kerrie http://modernpilatestraining.com/?p=958

All this talk about training your obese client prompted me to rework my workshop and plan out some other things to come. But I am the first person to admit that I don't know everything and so I need your help:

What do YOU want/need to know about obesity, training an obese client, and working with health issues an obese client may encounter?

In an effort to be as thorough as possible, I'd like to make sure I've covered most of my bases and I am relying on you all to help me. No question is silly. No question is awkward. Please pass them along so that I can create the most comprehensive source of information for us all.

Post questions and comments here or feel free to email me at modernpilatestraining@gmail.com I'll get back to you asap. Thanks so much in advance!

Kerrie Ann

So consider this:

The force of 3 to 6 times a person’s body weight is exerted across the knee while walking. Not a problem if you’re a lithe dancer at 110 pounds. But for a person who weighs 200 pounds, the force on his knees while merely walking is 600 lbs. When squatting, running, etc., the force can get to 1,200 to 2,000 lbs. Experience that year after year and you can imagine the wear and tear on the joints, the pain and even eventually, the arthritis.

Your obese client already feels stress on the joints during the act of simply standing that you may never experience in your lifetime of strenuous exercise. In addition to what are the obvious places of joint stress and pain – ankles, knees – there is also a prevalence of hand osteoarthritis in people who are overweight.

Bringing our attention to the center, or core of the body, we need to be aware of the potential spinal problems. The weight of excessive adipose tissue (or fat) can cause compression on the spine, leading to both back pain and disc issues. Think about when you’ve worn an over packed backpack. It drags your posture down, causing lumbar compression and kyphosis. Know how that feels? Now triple or quadruple that weight and you’ll feel what it is to be clinically obese.

Our obese clients need some special procedures to get around these issues. Here are four ways to make working in a session easier for your client:

1. Give the client plenty of time to get up and down. Overweight students have difficulty squatting to stand or sit, and that includes getting on and off the reformer. Give your client plenty of time and adjustments as necessary to get comfortable. There’s no rush. You need to be aware of your client’s safety and your safety as well. You could both fall if you hurry to get him down. If your reformer is on ground-level and you intend to work with this population, I encourage you to invest in legs to get it up off the floor. Obviously a higher up, physical therapy type of reformer is the most ideal. I don’t have those in my studio so I offer myself as a prop to help them get on and off the machine. Stand close to your client and lend a hand or a shoulder for her to press into for assistance. Gondolas work well too.

2. When working on the reformer, keep the headrest up and perhaps even use a pillow as well. You want to avoid having the client feeling as if he or she is suffocating, which is a common complaint. If you’re a woman who has had a child, it’s the same feeling as being 9 months pregnant and trying to lie down. Another option is to put a solid Spine Corrector on the reformer and have the client sit and work from there in a more upright position.

3. Tell him where to put his arms and legs. An obese client isn’t going to be able to put his arms down long by the sides of the body because his body takes up the carriage and may even spill over. At this point, have the client hold his hands across his lower abdominals. This keeps the chest open and avoids stress on the shoulders. Another option is to allow him to hold the strap pegs by the headrest. If you do so, monitor how low his elbows go. You don’t want them dangling below the carriage. Keep them in line with the shoulders or slightly higher.

4. Work on the Cadillac and the Chair for a good portion of the session. The Cadillac is easier for your client to get on and the mat feels more supportive to him or her than a moving carriage. The Chair allows the client to sit up tall and not to feel compressed by the width of the carriage. The sense of choking is eliminated and the client is stabilized.

As we are getting in touch with how to work with the obese client and to understand how it may feel to be clinically overweight, what are some of your thoughts or concerns? Let’s make this an open forum for sharing. If we want to get our clients healthy and happy, we have to have the knowledge to do. So share!

Kerrie Ann

The amount of response I've received on the subject of working with obese clients really amazed me. So many instructors want to know how to work with their new obese clients or even just how to wrap their heads around the concept of working with that population. In the past 5 years, I've seen an increase in obese clients seeking out the benefits of Pilates. Ironically, I think because my studio is in a health club is the reason why. These people have made the commitment to themselves to work at getting fit and are including Pilates into that new gameplan. I didn't see nearly as many obese students when I worked out of my house or out of a stand-alone Pilates studio. Regardless, I can honestly say my practice and knowledge has grown tremendously thanks to this often overlooked population.

Assuming you've managed to get your clients into the studio and settled comfortably, you now have to get through the fundamentals and basic prinicples of Pilates just like you would with any other client. What will be different is the amount of time you may need to get through those fundamentals. Also, how you address them will vary as well. For the purpose of today's blog post, though, I want to stress one thing:

Do NOT expect your client to "get" the fundamentals or even basic exercises for several weeks.

The obese client may appear as if she understands what you're asking of her. She may even do a bridge that looks great. However, I can safely tell you that she is less worried about dropping her abs and fully articulating through her spine than she is about getting her seat up off the floor. What may seem simple to someone of an average size is a true challenge for someone else. As an instructor, you might be giving a great lecture on Footwork but your client is on the Reformer wondering where in the world to put her arms or how to get her legs in parallel when her ankles don't touch but her upper thighs do. Your challenge at this point, even as you are introducing the fundamentals and beginner exercises, is to be mindful of how the client may feel. Watch her. Is she constantly moving her arms? Is she scooting her tush left and right? Is she able to reach her arms overhead?

I'm not saying don't treat the session as you would any other session with a new client. I'm saying that you need to be even more aware than you are normally. Know that to an obese client, a forward flexion isn't just an opportunity for an abdominal contraction and a cervical nod, but that it may be impossible due to girth. You may be focused on imprint and she's focused on not feeling like she's choking.

Pilates is such a beautiful way to move and there's no reason why people of all shapes and sizes can't participate in it. Have patience with your larger clientele. Be creative in figuring out how to help her build strength to lift her seat up so that down the line she can roll through her spine and "get" the purpose behind the movement. After all, didn't we become Pilates educators to use our bodies and our minds?

I'll keep blogging on this topic for the next few weeks. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to discuss or have a question about. There's truly so much to address that one blog post can only introduce the idea. Have a wonderful day!

There is a physical therapy office in the health club where my studio is located. I’ve always wanted to make time to go in there, compare notes and try to work out a collaboration of some sort. Last week I finally made it in a few times and watched the main therapist manipulate people and carefully listened to his descriptions.

For the most part I was all over it. Mention “anterior tilt” or “lateral flexion” and I go professionally weak in the knees. So, I was happy to be there among the cushions and Therabands.

Then he mentioned “neutral pelvis”. And my ears really perked up. He defined neutral pelvis as “the place where you [the universal You] are most comfortable sitting, standing or lying. The neutral pelvis position may change as the patient gets stronger or is better able to hold the pelvis stable.”

Wait - what?!

So I listened again and sure enough, he said it again. And again. And to make sure I really heard him correctly, I asked him about it after the day was over. He confirmed that statement vehemently. In fact, he looked disturbed when I tried to explain how I approached neutral pelvis.

I was taught that the pelvis is neutral when the bony landmarks of the pubic bone and the ASIS are on the same plane. The pelvis is not in an anterior nor posterior tilt, no matter how good or badly it feels. Now, I’m not talking about where I would place a client to perform an exercise because so much depends on the body, the rate of conditioning or deconditioning, the exercise, etc, etc. All I’m talking about is the actual neutral pelvis.

This got me thinking about the neutral pelvis variations within the Pilates community. After all, I haven’t stirred up any trouble lately. So, what is “neutral pelvis” to you? Do you work in neutral or do you stick to flat back? Let’s talk.

Yesterday I posted this tweet on Twitter: "Ran 10 miles again today a little for an upcoming race but mostly to show my daughter I can do it. And so can she one day." It was kind of off-the-cuff and I promptly forgot about it after I wrote it.

But the response was lovely. People who normally don't chat me up wrote back with positivity and strength of their own. All agreed that there is no one else better suited than parents to set the example for good health. @Healthytravel even sent a link (click here to read it) with statistics backing up that statement. The discussion got me thinking...

As Pilates instructors, we are the inspiration to clients and potential clients. We are the motivators who encourage them to better health, good Pilates form and excellent physical fitness. If we don't make time to practice Pilates ourselves, it shows whether we like it or not. Our posture suffers and so does our core strength and aesthetic appearance. If we can't make time to get in our own training, how can we expect our clients to find the mojo to get through the studio door on rainy days?

It reminds me of when our insurance policy for our family changed a little while back. We had to find another primary physician and my husband and I "interviewed" some docs to see who would be a good fit. The first person I saw was a clinically obese man who vaguely smelled of cigarettes. (I have a nose like a deer - other people may not have caught it.) All I could was, "And I'm supposed to listen to YOU give ME health advice?" Needless to say, this wasn't the doctor for me.

Are you the Pilates instructor for your clients? Do you make time to take care of yourself and get in your practice? Or have your clients been thoughtfully questioning their commitment to you? Take matters into your hands and be the inspiration your clients need you to be!

So how are you going to do it? How do you become The Inspiration? We'd love to hear it! Share with us and we'll feature you on ModernPilatesTraining.com!