In March 2012, Studio³ will be introducing a 2-streamed Pilates Continuing Education program. Designed for the Pilates professional, we are committed to providing workshops that are informative, affordable and time-efficient.

The Studio³ Cornerstone Series^® are workshops aimed to inspire instructors to go deeper with what they’ve learned in prior educational programs. The workshops are designed to provide a more thorough understanding of how to find new programming ideas and focuses within a time honored repertoire of Pilates exercises. Additionally, the Cornerstone Series^® will present workshops that focus on the business and time management aspects that are vital parts of the Pilates industry.

Our March Cornerstone Workshop will take a better look at the Introductory Pilates Session.

In our April Cornerstone Workshop we’ll work on creating a more exciting and diversified Intermediate Equipment-based workout.

The Studio³ Specialized Programming Series^® will focus on providing instructors with workouts and programs that place an emphasis on the individual client. Specifically, this series will serve to further educate Pilates instructors so that they are prepared and equipped to work with a diverse clientele who demand specialized programming.

In our March Specialized Programming Workshop we’ll focus on how to program in order to strengthen and stabilize the hip joint.

And please join us for our April Specialized Programming Workshop as we discuss programming options for the feet and lower legs.

To register: Please send an email to Carla Hales at carla@studiopower3.ca to secure a spot in your selected workshop.

A 25% non-refundable deposit is needed within one week of your registration.

Full payment is due on the day of the workshop. Please indicate in your email the name and date of the workshop. Studio³ reserves the right to cancel and/or reschedule workshops. In the unlikely event that a workshop is cancelled, all deposits and payments will be fully refunded.

Studio³ also invites instructors to take a look at our blog geared towards the Pilates practitioner. Extend is an easy way to gain information pertinent to your profession and stay connected with interesting approaches and insight into teaching Pilates and being a Pilates instructor.

As well, please visit Connect, a blog site maintained by the instructors of Studio³ that aims to keep clients and enthusiasts informed and educated about Pilates, Yoga and much more.

1)   Follow up
Whether it’s a new client or one you’ve worked with for a long time, it’s a good idea to follow up after the session with either a quick email or text. By asking them how they feel after the workout or congratulating them on completing a particularly challenging routine, you’re reinforcing your commitment to both their workout and your professional relationship with them.

2)   Recollect, recall and KEEP NOTES!
Regardless of how long the client has been working with you, keep an updated file on their progress, injuries and limitations. This not only helps you in making wise workout choices, but it also reflects your professionalism and your attention to the individual. At Studio³ we keep files on each client which hold their workout charts and notes about certain physical issues and goals. It’s not only great for a progressive workout, but it’s the ideal way to communicate to other instructors with whom the client is working with.

3)   Do your own workout
This one cannot be stressed enough. It is the mantra of “practice what you preach” and as a Pilates practitioner, there ought to be a commitment not only to your own Pilates workout, but also to get out and do other activities. Regardless of whether you’re signed up for a spin, yoga or tennis class or taking your dog for a brisk Sunday morning walk, it’s important to commit to a routine and find ways that your knowledge of Pilates can apply to it. All the instructors at Studio³ are committed to doing something “extra-curricular” on a regular basis. And in this way, it not only keeps you fit, it adds some variety to the way you choose to move your body, which can and ultimately always does, transfers to how you teach and educate your clientele.

4)   Know your limits
Recently, one of our clients injured himself in a skiing accident. While thankfully it was a stable fracture, we knew that he would need proper rehab as directed and applied by a qualified physiotherapist. While the exercises and approach to his basic workout was similar to what we do in the Pilates studio, none of our practitioners are qualified to guide clients through an initial rehabilitation program when the injury is in its acute phase.

The point here? As a Pilates practitioner, own what you know, but recognize your limits. There is no way we can be experts on everything there is to know about the physical body. Rather than tread into territory where you’re playing a guessing game as to what’s appropriate, establish a referral program between you and a fitness rehabilitation team that you trust and respect.

5)   Do one thing really, really well
Okay – maybe in this industry, we can expand this to do a few things really well. After all, there are many who crossover their Pilates into yoga, dance or personal training. Continually educating yourself is key to longevity in this industry (both as an instructor and retaining a clientele). Therefore, it’s wise to draw from other sources to enhance and broaden your understanding of the one or two modalities of which you have extensive knowledge. But instead of stretching yourself over many different approaches to fitness, why not go deeper with the one or two types of fitness that you enjoy and with which you’ve started to establish a clientele?

6)   Take the initiative with other practitioners
Quite often, a client may decide to commit to two or more sessions a week. Sometimes, the best way to keep it interesting for them as well as for you to stay fresh with programming ideas and variety is to offer them the opportunity to work with another instructor. Not always possible or ideal. But by having your clients work out with another instructor you are giving them an opportunity to experience the Pilates with different cues and programming and to appreciate what you bring to their workouts.

Now, a lot of instructors might balk at this, as it risks losing a client or at the very least a working hour. But, I believe there are more advantages to this then the concern of losing an hour.

First, if it is an instructor that you know and trust, you open the door to establishing a strong business relationship. As mentioned above this not only keeps the workouts varied for the client, but it also makes you more available to take on new clients.

Taking on new clients and having a weekly schedule of as many different clients as possible is essential to keeping a relatively steady income. This is the second reason why working with other practitioners might be a good business decision. Because, if your income is based on let’s say, nine or ten clients you see two or three times per week, it undoubtedly will suffer when two or three of those persons decide to take vacation, head north for the summer or have family obligations that take precedence. Something to think about as you build and maintain your client base.

In our next blog we’ll continue on with other points and tips of how to be a better instructor! Stay tuned and thanks for your interest!

I first toyed with yoga when we were living in Greenwich, CT. Suddenly, after those first frantic years of child rearing, I had a few precious hours of free time on my hands and wanted something meaningful to do with them. Delivering shirts to the laundry I noticed a flyer on a community advertising “Gentle Hatha Yoga”.

Eureka.

Completely ignorant of almost anything about yoga, let alone the meaning of “Hatha” I purchased a mat and wound my way up a steep hill towards a house perched like a birdcage, precariously teetering at the summit. The studio itself was filled with glorious light thanks to a glass wall beyond which an idyllic garden monopolized the landscape. The setting itself assured me that if nothing else I would find peace in my new métier.

As it turned out, the yoga happened to be a little too gentle for my needs although the teacher was delightful and the surroundings serene. I do however fully credit the elfin 70 year old teacher with inspiring my yogic journey and ultimate goal of becoming a teacher myself.

Having ruled out Hatha until a later date, I followed my nose, literally, into the depths of a basement studio under a swanky shop on Greenwich Avenue. For many months I had noticed women emerging from the underworld, drenched, puce-faced, yoga mats rolled under their arms. Taking in their clearly exhausted profiles I figured that this form of yoga might well be worth further exploration.

Bikram Yoga is a practice of 26 postures, each repeated twice, in a sequence that never changes. The postures and their associated rigors aside, the intensity of the heat is quite simply – extreme. Being a native of a sweltering climate I had little problem with the temperature, even somewhat relishing it as the snow fell on the street above. I flushed my body with litres of water and cleansed myself literally and figuratively. I could almost see the toxins sliding down the sweating length of my arms. I still practice Bikram occasionally when the mood grabs and am ever comforted that no matter how long it has been since I took a Bikram class, I know exactly how the 90 minutes will be spent.

Eventually, as we moved further south in the States, a new studio came into my life, although the temperature remained hot. For a long time I practiced Power Yoga in a heated room which resulted in the same soggy clothes but more leeway and range of poses. I found the fast pace and intensity of the practice addictive. I thrived on the flow and the loud decidedly un-yogic music, but realized that I had taken a somewhat unconventional sidestep.

Since moving to Toronto I have been fortunate to discover Anusara Yoga, which has slowed down my pace allowing me to focus microscopically on principles of alignment. This in turn has taken my own practice to a new level. Where once I thought I had mastered a pose, I now know I was merely moving through it without understanding the fundamental principles. To add zest to the yogic recipe I take a Flow class once a week, which satisfies the dancer deep within, and allows for posture play.

The point I’m trying to make is that yoga is made up of a multitude of options. And just like finding a mate there truly is a practice out there for each and every one of us. It’s just a matter of trying until you find a combination that fits your needs on and off the mat. Best of all, if you find a teacher who can open you mentally and physically to the benefits of a regular practice, it won’t really matter what you call it, it’ll become just plain yoga, and fulfill all your needs.

In many ways, this is exactly the goal we aspire for them to achieve; as we cue a client to engage their abdominals and keep their hip bones pointed directly ahead when standing, we want them to take those images and integrate it into their everyday activities. But, by falling into a habit of overusing common cues and corrections we can lose sight of how they are interpreted and might limit their progress.

For example, when working with clients at Studio³, I often cue a client’s breathing pattern as they do an exercise –and like breathing itself –it is often done without thinking about it. When I do want to draw their attention to how a breath is used, I usually focus on the exhale, because this tends to be the most efficient (and easiest) section of a breathing pattern that can assist clients in recruiting their abdominals and in feeling the sensation of connecting to their core.

When a client begins their Pilates workout, we cue the exhale to move and the inhale to remain still (ie: Hip Rolls). Or we use the exhale on the exertive part of the exercise where stability is crucial (ie: Essential Footwork). And yet, as we progress their workouts, we switch over to exercises that require movement on the inhale (ie: Long Stretch, Neck Pull) and we begin to have expectations that a client will ‘use’ the inhale so that their stability is not lost (ie: Back Rowing 2, Flying Eagle with Leg Springs, Handstand 1 on the Chair).Indeed, as a client incorporates more of the advanced Pilates exercises into their workout, the inhale becomes as part of the movement as the exhale. It represents the idea that as the physicality of the exercises advance, so does the use of the breathing patterns and the awareness it takes to properly integrate both.

But how can we emphasize the inhale as much as the exhale so that clients can appreciate that the value of the inhale lies well beyond the generic cues of “inhale to stay” or “inhale to lengthen”?

One way is to become aware of how you’re cueing and correcting their breath…easier said than done. But, if you go back and review certain exercises that are at a basic level, you may find that by cueing them to inhale in order to “expand the ribcage” or “lengthen the spine and keep the abdominals gently engaged”, creates a better opportunity for them to transfer such cues into the more advanced exercises.

Below are some of the exercises that I have gone back to in order to revisit the purpose of the inhale. As they progress in difficulty, I have found that a consistent and yet different emphasis on the inhale has helped clients with their breathing. This has resulted in an inhale that expands the ribcage rather than one that is held. In turn, it has made their overall breathing pattern more efficient and part of the entire workout.

From the Matwork:

• Hip Rolls
• Cat Stretch
• The Saw
• Roll Up

From the Barrels:

• Side Breathing
• Port de Bras (prep and full exercise)
• Prone Leg Work

From the Cadillac:

• Push Thru on Back
• Punches
• Port de Bras

From the Chair:

• Swan Dive (prep and full exercise)
• Sidebends
• Forward Press Down

From the Reformer:

• Essential Footwork (progressing to Intermediate and Advanced)
• Short Spine Prep
• Hip Lift
• Side Splits 1 2
• Mid Back Series 2 3 (without and with flexion)

The idea is that as clients move through basic movement patterns that require them to either mobilize or stabilize the spine they are being cued not to ‘stay’ which can invariably result in holding the breath. Instead, these exercises encourage them to engage in the inhale so that they return to the basic principle of inhaling to expand the ribcage so that when they exhale, their ribcage has a place to return.

Good luck!

Here are 4 easy actions that can be done in-flightto keep you limber!

Spine Stretch Forward
Sitting away from the back of your seat, with legs hip distance apart and feet firmly planted on the ground. Hands on the front of thighs, weight evenly placed on your sits bones and lengthen through the top of your head

Inhale: Lengthen your spine to sit up tall

Exhale: Roll forward,starting at the head, one vertebra at a time.

Inhale: Pause in forward bend position and breathe into the back of your ribs

Exhale: Sequence from the bottom back up.

Repeat 3 – 5reps

Breathing
Sitting tall on top of your sits bones, away from the back of your seat. Place your hands on either side of your ribcage.

Inhale: Breathethrough the nose allowing the ribs to fully expand

Exhale: Release the breath through a pursed lip while gently drawing the pelvic floor muscles up and contracting the abdominal wall by drawing it in towards the spine.

Repeat 5-10reps

Spinal Rotation
With yourhands on your thighs, sitting away from the back of your seat with legs hip distance apart and feet firmly planted on the ground.

Inhale: Lengthen through the crown of your head

Exhale: Rotate to the right

Inhale: Return to center

Exhale: Rotate to the left.

Repeat 3x each direction.

Side Bends
With hands on your arm rests,sitting away from the back of your seat, legs hip distance apart.

Inhale: Lengthen through the crown of your head

Exhale: Side bend to the right allowing head to gently drop sideways and keeping eyes forward.

Inhale: Allow the side ribs to expand

Exhale: Lengthen spine back up to centre.

Repeat 3x each side.

Running*
Sitting with feet hip distance apart, away from seat chair, feet firmly planted into ground.

Inhale: Lift right heel pushing forefoot into the ground

Exhale: Lower the right heel while simultaneously lifting left heel

Repeat alternating heels 20 – 40 times.

*Ankle movements and getting up and walking around are key to keeping your circulation and joint movement regular – particularly on long haul flights

These easy steps; repeated once, or more during your flight, will help you arrive at your location feeling less restricted and ready for any adventure!

In-Room Simple Exercise Routine
Looking for something a little more rigorous to keep you in shape over the holidays? Use your in-flight movements as a warm up and add on these exercises to keep you fit and feeling guilt free!

Ab Prep
Lying on your back, knees bent /hip distance apart, hands cradling back of the head, elbows wide and head down.

Inhale: Lengthen the back of your neck

Exhale: Flex your upper body off of the floor
Inhale: Sustain position and breathe into the sides of your ribcage hold

Exhale: Lengthen upper body back down

10-12 repetitions

*Add a rotation to each side instead of holding the flexed position to work yourobliques!

Hip Rolls
Lying on your back, knees bent and hip distance apart, arms long at the your sides

Inhale: To prepare

Exhale: Roll your spine off the ground, beginning at the tailbone, one vertebra at a time

Inhale: sustain the bridge position and breathe into the sides of your ribcage

Exhale: Lower down to floor starting at the top of your spine

5-10 repetitions

*Add small pulses of the pelvis at the top of your bridge to work the gluts!

Push Ups – Facing the floor with hands under shoulders and knees behind hips so that body is in one long line from head to knees. Legs together, spine is straight with head aligned with neck. Shoulders are stable.

To get into full plank position, use an exhale to engage abdominals and extend knees off the floor so body is in one long line. Or, simply hold the knees down position.

Inhale: Bend the elbows out to the sides and on a slight diagonal to lower the body down to the floor

Exhale: Press back up by straightening the elbows.

5-10 Repetitions

*Angle the elbows straight back to emphasize yourtriceps!

Squats
Standing with feet shoulder distance apart, arms crossed out in front or hands pressed together in front with elbows either straight or bent. Back is straight and hips are extended

Inhale: flex your hips and bend your knees reaching your sits bones back behind you and keeping your chest upright

Exhale: engage the gluteal muscles at the back and top of your legs to press back up to standing, making sure your hips are fully extended

10-12 repetitions

*Pay attention to your knees during your squat. Keep the knees as much as possible behind your toes in order to engage the back leg muscles. If possible, do sideways to a full length mirror to watch your form.

Enjoying the holidays doesn’t necessarily mean throwing your workout routine out the window! Keep fit with these simple, effective movements that can be done just as easily in your hotel room as onthe beach!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

As with many situations in life, I find increasingly that one of the greatest obstacles to almost anything is a lack of flexibility of thinking, and certainly yoga is the purest form of a practice to stretch one’s conceptions. This, if for no other reason, is motivation for me to convince the non-believers that the misnomer of springy hamstrings and a predisposition to doing the splits are not prerequisites for a satisfying practice. An open mind – perhaps, but Barbie-doll elasticity is by no means mandatory.

Yoga above all has taught me to observe my body from the inside out.  Partly because I have acquired in some moderation a degree of patience: it is after all a discipline developed centuries ago to prepare the body to sit in a meditative state for long uninterrupted periods of blissful time.

When using the verb ‘sit,’ bear in mind that the lungs have to be open, the heart lifted, the shoulders back, the spine straight, the tail bone tucked, the inner thighs spiraling in, back and apart…. all of which after the first ten minutes is frustratingly difficult to maintain. One is sitting after all – the possibility that it takes work seems counter-intuitive.

Tremendous strength of muscle and stillness of mind are required. Hence, the practice focuses on building the physical ability to sustain the vigor needed to forget the physical and focus on the mental. Whether one chooses to tackle the complexities of the mind is a purely personal decision. And onewhich,despite being a rather dictatorial person by nature, I do not meddle with as my training is in the physical and here it must remain.

Yoga is essentially a huge learning curve and an unraveling of the tremendous toll life takes on one’s body. Where one rolls ones shoulders forward to muscle through the daily tasks, yoga opens them and clears the tensions’ that tug them downwards. Where running to the finish line tightens the hamstrings and jars the lower back, yoga releases and lengthens. Where cycling contracts the hip flexors, yoga expands. Where coping with almost anything shortens ones breath, yoga deepens. Basically it is a panacea for the very act of living, and just standing in Tadasana(mountain pose), which is to say, firmly, completely, entirely on ones feet can make a small world of difference.

Anyone can do that.

Create a circuit
Many instructors rely on set workouts that focus primarily on 1 or 2 pieces of the Pilates equipment. Additionally, Pilates has always mandated that the focus is quality over quantity and therefore, the number of repetitions are limited to around 8-10. But, why not mix things up a little bit by including a rotation through 4 – 5 exercises after you’ve properly warmed up your client? A smart way to select the exercises is to think about what you want to focus on and then find several exercises that target it. And there’s nothing stopping you from increasing the intensity during round two if you feel your client is up for it. For example, let’s suppose I want to emphasize the gluts and hamstrings. I might do the following exercises in a circuit:

• Four Point Kneeling: kick backs with one leg using flex-band (10 reps on each leg)
• Knee Stretches on Reformer in Neutral: Knees Down (10 reps)
• Squats at Cadillac with Arm Springs (10 reps)
• Alternating Forward Lunges with 8-15 lb. Arm Weights (10 reps on each leg)
• Forward Step Up on Stability Chair (5 reps on each leg)
• To increase the second and third circuit, I might decide to:
• After 10 reps of the kick backs, keep the leg straight and do lower and lift for 5 reps
• Intensify the Knee Stretches by taking it to Knees Off (10 reps)
• After the last repetition, stay at the bottom of the squat and add in 5 bicep curls
• Start holding onto one weight with both hands. At the bottom of each squat rotate the torso over the front, bent leg
• After the last repetition, step halfway down and transition into Backward Step Down for 5 reps

Don’t be afraid to do more with your Pilates tandems
It’s always been good practice to get your duets (2 person workouts) moving through the same exercises. The more the workout is identical for both, the quicker the pace is apt to be and the harder the workout. But, for those tandems who are familiar enough with the exercises and have a strong awareness of their body and alignment, you might decide to mix things up a bit by working both clients through a different exercise each and then switching them. The trick is to keep the exercise choice simple enough so that your cueing is clear and concise. However, simple needn’t be basic. Below are a few examples of exercises that might work well for your duet/tandem sessions:

• Lat Pull Standing at Cadillac with Push Thru Bar/Long Stretch on Reformer
• Knee Stretches with Round Back on Reformer/Elephant on Stability Chair
• Torso Rotation Kneeling on Cadillac with Arm Springs/Side Bends on Ladder Barrel
• Ports de Bras on Spine Corrector/Port de Bras on Cadillac with Roll Down Bar

Add in weights
Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but a rack of light hand weights (at Studio³, we have 5 – 15 lbs.) can add in some traditional weight training moves that are complimented by the Pilates awareness and focus. Keep the weights light and make sure that you do a weight lifting exercise on its own rather than attempting to add weights into a Pilates exercise. So, one idea would be to go back to the circuit suggestion (see #1 above) and perhaps add in:

• Shoulder Rows: with left knee and hand on Reformer carriage and right foot on floor hold weight in right hand. Keeping back straight and in neutral, begin with the arm long. Gently retract right scapulae and flex elbow to pull weight up to front of shoulder. Lengthen arm with control. Repeat 15 times on each arm.
• 1 or 2 arm overhead press with biceps curl: Before you do this exercise, make sure your client has the biomechanics of it, without the weight. Select the appropriate weight for your client and having them stand in neutral with soft knees, start with a weight in each hand.
• In: bend right elbow, palm facing shoulder
• Ex: press arm overhead and rotate palm to face inward
• In: bend elbow and lower weight to shoulder
• Ex: lengthen elbow and lower arm to side
• Repeat on opposite side and alternate for 10 reps or do both arms for a total of 5 reps.

Exercise of the day/week/month:
A great way to get yourself through a busy day and keep each workout fresh and creative, is to pick an exercise that can be broken down and adapted to most of your clientele. What about something like the Leg Pull Front? Here’s an exercise that could be done starting from four- point kneeling and just hovering the knees, progressing towards a plank and eventually the full exercise. For those clients who can’t bear weight on their wrists or don’t quite have the shoulder girdle endurance to hold the position, try propping their forearms on a long box, pressing the hands together to make a V with the lower arms. Use this position for either the prep or the full. And if you really want to get your clients and other instructors’ involved, why not post a weekly or monthly exercise that describes the goals and target muscles involved?

Commit to your own workouts:
For instructors, sometimes the hardest commitment can be to our own workouts. It’s important to remember that your own Pilates workouts are not a luxury, but a required staple of your weekly schedule. It is a requirement so that you can connect into exercises and gain some insight into different ways to cue, correct and guide clients to feel the more subtle connections that make a Pilates workout that much more rewarding. If you can’t find an instructor class (see www.studiopower3.com for our monthly instructor classes and workshops), then work in time each week to bring yourself through a workout. One of the best ways to do this is to plan ahead not just with scheduling, but also with your workout. Rather than planning to go into the studio on your down time, plan on going into the studio on your down time with a specific workout routine that you’ve put together for yourself. Perhaps it’s just a classical mat workout. Or maybe it’s a series of exercises that you want to review so that you can add it into your clientele’s routines. Better yet, maybe you’re looking at ways to add in weights or develop a circuit and have created a routine that you’d like to try out!

Become inspired:
As instructors we are constantly giving to our clients. Sometimes the best way to access new ideas and approaches is by becoming the student. And this by no means is limited to being a Pilates student in another instructor’s class. Instead, think about things you’ve always wanted to do or learn and try to commit to taking that time for yourself. Maybe it’s learning a language, or taking a night class in philosophy or world issues. Or perhaps it’s exploring another form of fitness altogether such as karate, yoga or dance. Whatever works for you and your time, being a student and learning how to learn and listen is often the best way to develop and retain patience, communication skills and a greater appreciation of the dynamics that are so key between client and instructor within the Pilates studio.

Often times, Pilates instructors are at a loss of how to program innovatively. Whether you’re a new instructor looking to add new programming ideas or an experienced instructor who is stuck doing the same exercises (but in a different order) for each client, this workshop is meant to give you the tools to challenge clients safely and progressively.

Our hope is that you’ll learn how to work them through a series of exercises that moves them from a focus of stability to mobility within the same workout. The goal of this workshop is for participants to understand the value of the global stability systems within the body and how they can be a great source on which to focus your programming.

Instead of following a routine that moves a client from one piece of equipment to the next to fill up the session, why not bring in these systems that can allow for a workout that adds diversity and keeps you as well as your clients interested!

This topic was chosen to stir debate, prompt questions and clarify a few common misunderstandings about stretching!

With the professional insight of Joanna Speller, we hope this 5 hours workshop will shed some light onto commonly asked questions about stretching. In our experience, most clients’ setup incorrectly for a pose or stretch and the outcome is very often “I don’t feel it”.

More often than not, they are stretching the incorrect muscles, which over time can defeat the purpose of adding stretches into a workout.
For example, how often do clients reveal that a stretch meant to target the hamstrings is ending up in their lower backs? We’re hoping that you’ll leave with a greater appreciation of the value of stretching and some inspiration on how to add them safely into a workout – whether at the beginning, during or at the end!

We look forward to having you there! See you soon!