by Lesley Powell, Director of Movements Afoot

They’re back… two December workshops with two great teachers.

John Chanik & Lisa Love return to teach at Movements Afoot this December.

Lisa Love returns with a workshop about assessment. Learning how to assess is about the art of seeing. Lisa Love, Ed.M., R.M.T., has an Advanced Master of Education in Motor Learning from the Department of Movement Sciences & Education, Teachers College, Columbia University with additional graduate studies in biomechanics and clinical
kinesiology at NYU. She has taught movement reeducation for over 20 years, and maintains a private practice in Pilates in NYC. She has been researching and working with MS clients for 15 years.

John taught this wonderful workshop 2 years ago about the spine. John brings his expertise as a trainer and a personal injury to his back lifting a dancer in his dance career. The Spine workshop this 12/18 is about understanding the function of the spine and the newest research about stabilization. 2 years ago we had a variety of students from those with back problems and teachers. I still use the material in all of my sessions with my clients.

The Wrong Fork in the Road

The connection of Bodymind Spirit and Pilates
By Kim Fielding

I had big plans. I felt my whole life was ahead of me. My career as a Health/Fitness and movement professional was coming together, I had big plans but on December 24th, 2003 my plans ended. Eating and my weight were never a problem. Movement, exercising and staying fit was my whole life. I was once your everyday girl struggling to stay within that ever-daunting 5 pounds, more or less. I wish all I had to struggle with was my 5 pounds weight loss goal and achieving my big plans.

On December 24th, 2003 a traumatic event took place and from that moment on my life spun out of control. I did not have the coping skills to deal with what had happened to me. I sank into a deep depression with emotional eating as my coping mechanism. I resigned from my job…my friends…I resigned from life.

I stayed inside and compulsively binged on food. I gained 80 pounds. I was no longer superficially struggling with my self-image it was a real problem. Mind you…I tasted nothing…I felt nothing I didn’t know who I was and no sense of my spirit. I wanted to become invisible…to disappear…the irony of my growing size doesn’t escape me. I didn’t think, I just kept eating and protecting myself with layers of skin and fat. No one would know who I was.

I finally completed my mission to destroy myself. My brother took me away to Florida and no one looked at me. Not a soul. Not a man or a woman. I was not acknowledged. It seemed strange, but I felt better. I didn’t have to deal with any one. I could push everyone away…the cat calls, the looks…the predators.

It had been months since I felt my spirit. A friend of mine asked me to be a student of hers while she completed her hours to be a certified Pilates instructor at Movements Afoot. I walked in and right away I knew I was in a healing, supportive environment and it would become the right place, right time and right people to help me start my recovery.

In that first Pilates session my friend was teaching me and to my shock I felt something in my core…

I felt something that reminded me of me…
I felt the essence of me…
I felt the real me.
I felt my spirit, twinge to a small degree.

…it was time to journey back from the depths of my depression.

After connecting to Pilates in this way I made a conscious choice to become a Pilates Instructor through the guidance and support of my Master teachers Doris Pasteleur Hall and Lesley Powell; I found myself on the most profound journey of my life.

My Pilates journey didn’t stop my emotional eating. I was still gaining weight probably another 20 pounds.

During my Pilates Certification training, my teacher had asked me how my ‘teaching’ was doing?
I said my teaching is doing great. I can teach people things like engage their pelvic floor muscles, but I can’t engage my pelvic floor muscles. She said sometimes when a traumatic experience happens, we disconnect. I couldn’t believe it, it was right in front of my face. I completely disconnected from parts of me - Body, mind and spirit.

I felt so self-conscious about my body. Especially being the biggest one in the program and of course I thought the biggest one in the world.

I found out that my weight had nothing to do with my movement. It had a lot to do with my fear…my self-esteem…and my negative thought patterns…my self-loathing…my self-judgment…my feelings of inadequacy and my anger.

Pilates and movement were the answer for me. Pilates connected me to my strength inside and out. It helped me focus on what my body can do, and not what it looks like to others or myself. I discovered that I am a great mover even with being overweight and still dealing with emotional scarring. It has changed how I see my own body image. It has helped me to appreciate my body’s ability to learn and move regardless of my size. I like how I look.

The December 24th, 2003 traumatic event was an experience that hurt me deeply. Please know time and movement will heal.

While teaching at Movements Afoot I want to help all voluptuous, curvaceous, women and big men to know the beauty of their own body.

by Lesley Powell, Director of Movements Afoot

When teaching clients with hip replacements, it is important to find out what kind of hip replacement did they have. At the moment, there are 2 different type of surgeries: the incisions are in front of the hip or in the back. Because of the incisions, this leaves the hip vulnerable to displacement due to weakness and the incision. I highly recommend that you and the client talk with their Doctor about their surgery and contraindications for training. With new advances in hip replacement, things are changing.

For instance, surgery from the back, movements of deep hip flexion is contraindicated. That means not to push hamstring flexibility by trying to bring the leg close to the body. Training the posterior hip is very important. Building strength of all the muscles of the hip and legs is important. In Pilates, diminished range of leg circles are great. Full short spine is not recommended. (Some of range of motion depends on their fitness before the surgery. Dancers have a unique range of motion.)

The most important thing to remember with hip replacements is not to push extreme range in the hip. Building dynamic strength is essential. Some clients, who tried to avoid surgery, developed compensation habits around the painful hip. Part of your teaching might be teaching your clients better function of using their legs.

by Lesley Powell, Director of Movements Afoot and faculty of BalancedBody University

Take Your Pilates Certificate to the next level

Balanced Body University offers an opportunity to easily bridge over to their program.

The advantages:

• Full classical repertory of the Pilates Mat and on the equipment: reformer, cadillac, wunda chair, barrel, step barrel, toe corrector and magic circle
• Beautiful manuals with detail information about the function of the body, how the machines work, newest research about function, teaching skills and contraindications for specific injuries
• Examples of workouts from different points of views.
• Education in anatomy especially the unique courses of Anatomy in Clay
• Continuing education with any Pilates company and courses relating to the body

Requirements for the bridge*

• Full certificate from another Pilates Teacher Certificate Company
• Enlist in Mat I, Reformer I, and Apparatus I
• Purchase of all the manuals

I taught to the staff of Movements Afoot and prospective students for BBU the movement principles of Balanced Body University’s underlying concepts. The material is so rich. The principles takes you to understanding how the body moves 3- dimensionally, principles of lumpopelvic and scapular humeral stability as well as connecting to the rich material of Thomas Meyers, the author of Anatomy Trains. This material goes beyond simple anatomical principles. The body is dependent on dynamic changes of stability and mobility for all activities from walking to our movement loves of sports and dance.

For instance,  my Pilates education included the sequential bridge and a neutral bridge.  The neutral bridge from my education at the Laban Institute was called the pelvic shift forward. BBU’s movement principles include many variations of the bridge in many planes.

Why is this important?

Bridging in many different planes helps trains the legs and pelvis for all the movement activities that we do.  In healthy walking, the pelvis moves in many planes.