I have found in my own practice that strengthening my upper waistline, specifically my Serratus anterior has helped me. I have suffered from upper shoulder neck pain on and off for years. I was competitive swimmer most my childhood and into my first year in University and my shoulders were always literally pulling my weight unfortunately more than my waistline. My event was the 200 🦋 butterfly.
“The serratus anterior is a fan-shaped muscle along the side of your rib cage, just beneath your armpit. It wraps from the upper ribs to the inside border of your shoulder blade (scapula). It’s important because it helps the shoulder blade move smoothly around the rib cage, stabilize the shoulder, and rotate upward when the arm lifts.”
I have found sometimes just being more aware of this area of my body when practicing certain exercises can really help me activate this muscle!
Again, the goal is not to keep the shoulders down. Rather, how can we build more strength, coordination and integration of our hands into our back core muscles without creating tension in areas that don’t serve us.🦋✨💙
I have a few pilates workouts on my Youtube channel where I focus on Shoulder integration to help you connect more to your waist and less to your upper shoulders and neck. Check them out!
If you practice Pilates, you know already the importance of posture.
What is balanced posture?
“Good ‘neutral’ posture: The balanced alignment of bones, joints, and muscles that minimizes strain on your support system.”
And how do we find this posture? Is it something we can just arrive at and do? I would argue that it is something that we build and have to keep practicing moment to moment.
As a Pilates and yoga teacher I encourage my clients to explore their body and especially their hips! Experiencing safe range of motion in all sides- up,down, forward, back, and side to side will help one clarify their awareness and how to establish their balance in their center! Try not to get too caught up in ‘what is right’ and ‘what is wrong!’ The hips can be complicated! We all need to feel what is best for ourselves .. It takes patience to feel and build a loving relationship with our body. Staying curious, and exploring different positions will help you understand and feel what is right for you!
Not only does… Hips/pelvis connect our right & left side and lower & upper bodies being our focal point of physical stability.
But also… contains our internal organs, houses the base of our spine and our psoas…symbolizing life force, personal creativity, emotional flow, sexuality, and intrapersonal relationships.
Posture is something I have been working on for a long time and being hyper mobile really has not helped my situation. That said, having tight hips, which most of us have, can also be difficult for finding balance in our hips/pelvis too. With practice and building more awareness to this area in our bodies can help one learn and recognize what a true center should feel like.
Although there is much to consider and everyone is unique and has different scenarios in their own body, I have found that attention to my thigh bone placement has been a huge support in finding my balanced center in my hips/pelvis.
It’s common for the thigh bones to be pushed forward in the hip socket when one is both overly mobile and/or have tight hips. This limits our ability to engage our back body/posterior chain, our gluteals, hamstrings, and bottom of our pelvic floor.
When I practice drawing my thighbones back in my hips, not only have I found that I have better balance but I am able to decongest and open the front of my hips/front spine, and access my posterior chain which is crucial for good posture!
So I am here to encourage you to maybe consider how your thigh bones are integrating int your hips when you stand, move, sit! It’s an ongoing practice “for how we do one thing is how we do everything!”
If you are curious how i draw my thigh bones back in my Pilates practice check out the following YouTube video and apply it to everything you do.
Discover Karen’s inspiring journey from professional athlete to devoted mom, showcasing resilience and positivity during life’s challenges.
I met Karen in 2023 at LA Fitness in Seattle. She would frequent my weekly yoga and mat Pilates classes I taught there. Karen stood out to me right away. She is someone that just exudes inner beauty with her kindness towards others, her contagious smile, and uplifting positive energy. I always looked forward, and still do, look forward to seeing her in class!
Karen has had a lot of change over the past several years! I met her in a pivotal time of her life not to mention it had just been Covid where borders were closed and she was obliged to stay in Seattle! When I met her I learned that she had been a professional Ultimate Freesbie player for Colombia. She had recently suffered a knee injury requiring ACL and meniscus repair, and was in route to business school in Canada but was unable to attend University due to borders being closed at that time. Karens ability to stay positive and focus on opportunities instead of what could have been is inspiring and uplifting! Thank you Karen for sharing your positive energy and ‘go get em attitude’ with me and everyone you meet!
Karen is now living in Seattle indefinately, as she found love, got married, and became a mom! She has 3 stepsons and a daughter, Mille, who is almost 2! When she is not at Le Bureau she enjoys practicing and watching sports, reading and watching true stories, and of course being a mom!:)
“I met Brooke over three years ago when I was recovering from a knee surgery. Under Brooke’s guidance in both yoga and Pilates, I have grown physically, mentally, and spiritually. She has the unique ability to connect with everyone in the class, to meet each person where they are at, and create a safe space for everyone to meet their potential. Every class I can attend presents me different challenges with an emphasis on breathing, stretching, and the interconnectivity of the entire body to create body and mind harmony and balance. Instead of feeling drained at the end, I always leave feeling refreshed, thinking how to improve and how I can be a better version of myself.”
Join my Pilates class to master the basics before starting your ‘100’s.’ Enhance your posture and breathing for a safer, more effective workout!
In classical Pilates the ‘100’ is usually the warm-up, which is very effective warm up of course! That said, I think it’s better to start with some basic functional movements, and spend a little time softening our bodies and releasing tension and areas of stuckness.
The above video is a glimpse of some things you can expect to do before you dive into your ‘100’s’ if you come take my Pilates mat class.
I know starting a movement class, especially if it is new to you-can be intimidating.
Taking a few minutes to notice your posture, expand your breathing, mobilize your spine awareness to all parts of your body will help was you into your workout, keep you safe, and enhance your connections!
Please join me at Le Bureau every Wednesday 9-10am! Please email me to reserve your spot.
In the Pilates method, the kneeling knee stretches are one of the foundational exercises you learn on the reformer.
Although the kneeling knee stretches are part of the “beginner system” they are surely not easy! In fact, I am always surprised how challenging they are. I am always feeling the work in my whole body.
Similar to the stomach massage and the short box series in the “beginner system” you transition between 2 spinal shapes – round and tall.
In this video I want to highlight the importance of keeping a hip hinge, regardless if your spine is round or tall.
Understanding to hinge at your hips will help you not only in your workouts, but in your life!
Also, remember that the ’round back’ position we use in pilates is a TOOL to help us connect more deeply to our spine top to bottom and bottom to top! So when transitioning to ‘tall back’ from ’round back’ we feel more integrated front to back and side to side.
Meet Carolyn Higgins, Le Bureau’s client spotlight of the month! I met Carolyn at SAC in 2013; where she would frequent my weekly Pilates mat class. Soon after I left SAC in 2017, Carolyn frequented my workouts in the park and after that she started coming to Le Bureau! I am so glad she did! She always enters with a smile, she takes her time, stays curious, and sometimes experiences a good sweat! She has had some physical obstacles over the past 10 years, most recently a clavicle surgery, but she doesn’t let any of her ‘challenges’ get her down. Instead, she stays positive, looks on the bright side, and moves on!
When Carolyn is not at Le Bureau, she spends her time as a freelance writer. Some of her favorite things to do when not in the studio is make art quilts (designed to hang on the wall), learn Italian, cooking, snow sports, and visit art galleries. Thank you Carolyn for inspiring me to be more positive, curious, and finding the ‘light’ in even the darkest times.
“I love the energy and body awareness my Pilates practice gives me. Building strength is exciting, and the relief I have from years of neck and upper back pain that I thought I’d always have to live with is truly a gift. I believe many years of practice made a big difference in how well I withstood multiple injuries from a car accident a couple of years ago. When my collarbone fracture failed to heal fully, it had to be reconstructed. Brooke tailored our sessions to open the chest and back muscles, rebuilding strength and range of motion. My care team was so impressed! Brooke is a patient and supportive coach who also makes our sessions fun.“
How about in a squat or lunge position…can you find your hip hinge?
I’ve learned over the years that understanding how to hinge at my hips can make all the difference in my practice! Its empowering to experience this understanding in your body!
Understanding and experiencing your hip hinge you will also learn how your pelvis needs to participate. This understanding will further help you understand how our thigh bones drive pelvic placement! Therefore your feet and your legs need to participate and integrate start to finish. You learn how much your feet work, your legs work and the importance of unlocking your knees to connect your feet, to your legs, to your knees, to your hips etc etc. Your body therefore understands more and more that the WHOLE body participates in your movements.
As my clients progress with their Pilates practice, my hope is that they can understand more and more how their practice translates over to their day to day movements. AND understanding HOW TO HINGE at their hips is KEY. It’s never just about belly button to spine and squeezing your gluteals all the time! Its full body integration start to finish:)
Check out my Pilates mat class on YOUtube where I demonstrate and go over some hip hinging in various positions so that you can integrate the hinge in your pilates workout to enhance your day to day.
I have worked very hard over the years to build strength and more stability as by nature I am hyper-mobile. in my 47 years – I have broken my back, leg, arm, and neck…. I do not plan on any more broken bones and I feel very grateful to still be capable to move the way I do. As you may have guessed, I love to move as it makes me feel so free.
Too much stability can cause stiffness and tightness..and yes too much mobility can overstretch our ligaments, muscles, and joints causing strain. Both overdone could lead to compensation issues and imbalance.
In pilates method the goal is always to find balance. how can we both strengthen and mobilize our bodies to optimize our posture and feel our best day-to-day?
The ladder barrel is extra special in my opinion as it offers a firm, supportive curved surface that encourages spinal articulation in extension, flexion, and side bending to both strengthen and and create more space in all our sides – front/back/side body.
in this clip I am highlighting spinal articulating with some inversions. The support of the ladder barrel allows me to shine bright like the sun as I feel strong from the support of the barrel that allows me to radiate out through my whole body.
For years I wore my head forward of my heart center and even my heart center forward of my pelvic center. This lack of body awareness affected not only my physical body but also showed up in my choices and actions I took.
In 2017 I suffered a disk herniation that led to a disk replacement between C6/C7. It was a pain in the neck for sure!
Fortunately, this experience taught me the value of posture and the need for me to strengthen my neck!
So here is a simple routine I practice. It helps!
Before practicing neck isometrics it’s important to establish your center. Take time to align the center of your skull over the center of your heart/rib cage, over the center of your pelvic floor. Also, hold your heard up in its neutral position.
Wishing you all healthy necks and a string connection between your head and your heart.
Check out the practice in real time on my youtube –
Don’t be fooled! These are not just for your legs! These stretches are for your whole body!
In this short demo, I first demonstrate taking time to open up my back body, I transition to my side body, and end with opening my front body.
Like everything in the Pilates method, it is essential to ‘stand in your body’ already witnessing ALL your sides.
Take time to honor your own complexity and yes, asymmetry! We are not linear.
Also, for many of us, just standing can be enough of a stretch. It’s not always necessary to move much at all…listen to your body and breathe deeply in the places that feel stuck and stagnant. Also, be sure to ground yourself first, otherwise it will be very challenging to lift yourself up.:)
Please check out this video in real time on my YouTube channel
