Tag: fitness

Karen Rico – Le Bureau’s client spotlight of the month Embracing Change and Positivity in Seattle

by lebureauetc, posted in client spotlight, Pilates, YOGA

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.” 

-Karen

Essential Warm-Ups before you practice Pilates

by lebureauetc, posted in breathing, Pilates

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.

Understanding Hip Hinge: Essential for Pilates and Beyond

by lebureauetc, posted in hip hinge, neutral pelvis, Pilates

Can you hinge at your hips?

What does that mean to hinge at your hips?

What should you feel?

What is the goal?

Why is it important to understand your hip hinge?

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.

 

Ladder Barrel encourages both spinal stability and spinal mobility

by lebureauetc, posted in Pilates, Uncategorized

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.

check this ladder barrel workout on my Youtube

Le Bureau Spotlight – Shawna’s Journey in Pilates: A Teacher’s Perspective

by lebureauetc, posted in Uncategorized

Shawna has been practicing with me since 2018.  I met Shawna at Atlas Pilates in 2017.  At that time, Shawna was doing her apprenticeship under Lori Coleman-brown and observed many of my sessions.

(I was practicing Pilates at Atlas 2x a week to keep my body well conditioned as I was undergoing The WORK, a master pilates training through Vintage Pilates out of LA with first generational teacher Jay Grimes.)

As a teacher herself, I am honored that Shawna has chosen me to share and enhance her practice with.  Its always exciting to have someone who already understands the method in their body to trust you to help guide them and find better connections. 

I appreciate her devotion to her practice.  She works hard, practices with an open-mind, and is curious to dig deeper and understand more.

Shawna is no stranger to movement.  She knows the demands of being a gymnast and has experienced first hand the consequences of dogmatic movement!  She also was an engineer for many years before she decided to pursue a career as a Pilates instructor, so she understands ‘lines of energy’ and how essential it is to feel these inner lines within our own bodies in order to integrate and enhance energetic flow within the human body.  

Soon, Shawna will be moving to Oregon with her husband Chris to start a new chapter in their lives and also have more time to care for her aging parents.  I will miss you Shawna (although I know its not goodbye) and wish you all the best in this transition.

“Pilates helps my body feel more balanced, healthy, and efficient. The exercises require me to move in the moment and to intentionally choose the path to move forward. This sometimes helps me to find ways to let go of tightness to discover strength from other places. Practicing offers me an opportunity to play with moving and it even occasionally gives me a reason to be upside down!”

“The studio at Le Bureau provides a beautiful, serene environment to focus on challenging exercises, to experiment with movement techniques, and to push myself mentally and physically with Brooke as a knowledgeable guide. Brooke’s expertise in Pilates exercises and body mechanics shines through as she is teaching. She’s patient and kind while offering insightful and discerning cues that make every session enjoyable and effective.”

-Shawna

Pelvic Placement for Better Balance

by lebureauetc, posted in Pilates, sel love, tucking, whole body

We stand every day and the simple act of standing should never be taken for granted. In fact, Joseph Pilates would often have his new clients stand for their whole session. He instructed his clients to pay attention to how they were standing to feel balanced and whole front to back and side to side, and breathe! when Joe saw that they were able to stand with this attention he would invite them to begin practicing the beginner system he created.

I find most times ‘we’ are unaware of how we stand. This lack of paying attention overtime can cause imbalance and structural/functional imbalance.

One postural habit I see a lot is the positioning of the pelvis…it shows up all the time! The pelvis often time is forward which not only causes tightness in the hip flexors and quadriceps but a lack of connection in the gluteals and hamstrings.

When this is the case, your bottom may feel like 2 squished raisons.

My hope for all of us is that our bottoms are more like 2 plump grapes than raisons:).

I believe, most times it’s building awareness in your body and being attentive to how we stand that will make the biggest impact on how we function day-to-day and move in our bodies.

Exercises can definitely help your build strength, but with everything, if they are done without attention to posture for the purpose of creating overall balance in the body, exercises can cause more imbalance and more unnecessary stress on your structure…its not what you do, its how you do it!

If you feel you have 2 squished raisons for your derrière, consider your pelvic placement when you are standing, sitting, and exercising…

Check out my beginner mat workout on YOUTube where I focus on Pelvic Placement and “standing in our body” with attention.

Meet Marilyn Heinemann: Pilates Enthusiast and Inspirational Client of the month

by lebureauetc, posted in Uncategorized

Marilyn Heinemann is Le Bureau’s spotlit client of the month.

Marilyn has been practicing classical Pilates with me for 14 years plus!  I met Marilyn shortly after I started working as the Pilates coordinator at Seattle Athletic club in Seattle.  At the time she was lifting weights and looking to try something new for overall strength and flexibility; I remember her enjoying the leg springs series on the Cadillac. She has been a regular practitioner ever since, practicing 2x a week when she can!

When she is not practicing Pilates at Le bureau, you can find Marilyn tending her immaculate garden, preparing new culinary delights to share with her family and friends, attending some ‘arts’ event, or just watching her favorite new show.  She is respectful of others and herself, always dressed to a tee, and stays up to date with the times!  Her positive attitude and mental/physical abilities reflect someone much younger than she is. Thank you Marilyn for inspiring me in so many ways.  I love working with you and learning about all the things you are up to.

“The things I gain most from Pilates is a sense of greater balance in my movements and it has enabled me to develop and keep strength in my body. I just feel more aware of how my body allows me to keep doing the activities I enjoy as I age.”

-Marilyn

How Pilates Reformer Becomes Your Best Friend

by lebureauetc, posted in Uncategorized

If you practice Pilates you know that the reformer or any of the other Pilates apparatus acts as a ‘good friend.’

Not only does a good friend listen and support you when times get tough, a good friend is also responsive and receptive to your actions and tells you when you’ve pushed your boundaries too far!

Building any sustainable relationship takes time. Nurturing our own friendship with ourselves is the most valuable relationship we will ever have. Investing in ourselves and the practices that enhance this relationship with ourselves is ALWAYS worth our efforts.

In this short clip, I use the reformer to be my ‘friend’ – to give me boundaries, and also something to reach, root, expand, grow, pull, push, lift into.

Feeling my toes connect to my nose, my crown to my tail, my left hip to my right shoulder, my feet to my seat, and my arms to my back etc etc…

Finding a ‘good friend’ is a good idea. Just don’t forget to love ‘it’ back.

See this Pilates workout on my youtube channel

John Saul’s Inspiring Pilates Practice: Age 77

by lebureauetc, posted in client spotlight, inspirations, Pilates, Uncategorized, whole body

Le Bureau client Spotlight – Meet John Saul, 77 years young!

He has been practicing classical Pilates for 12years.

His favorite Pilates exercises are anything that works to articulate the spine such as short spine and long spine on the reformer, and rolling stomach massage and airplane on the Cadillac.

When he’s not at Le Bureau, you can find John gardening, on his bike, or cheering for his favorite rugby team.

It’s a privilege to work with John.

I genuinely look forward to our sessions together.  He shows up, no matter what, devoted to his practice, and always open to learn something new.

Thank you John for being so devoted to your practice, you inspire me to keep going and showing up for myself and the things I love to do!

“Training (running, weights, etc.) has always been the foundations I did to participate and have more fun doing other activities (rugby, climbing, hiking, kayaking). Twelve years ago, I started Pilates with Brooke. What a foundation!”

“Pilates gives me the strength and limberness for other activities. And, Pilates keeps my gut from getting out of control, despite my big appetite.”

-John

What Makes a Great Teacher? Insights from My Journey

by lebureauetc, posted in Uncategorized

This picture was taken in 2005 at Shakti Yoga in Des Moines Iowa. It was my last class. I will always be grateful to this community and my first Anusara Yoga teacher – Brette Berlin Scott.

What makes a great teacher?

I have been reflecting on this a lot lately.  I have had many teachers over the years as I have moved several times since marrying Pontus in 2003 for his medical schooling/residencys etc.  Although moving around has been exhausting, especially when we started having kids (4 years after getting married), it has also been exciting and fun to start fresh, and connect to new perspectives.  I have been somewhat of a gypsy, finding my people along the way with no particular place to call home.  

 I have been curious what sets some of my favorite teachers apart?

One thing I know for certain, it’s not just what the teacher knows, it’s who the teacher is at their core that makes him or her such a powerful influence.

I also credit my personal struggles and experiences to be some of my greatest teachers (once I started to pay attention)!

I have been a teacher for many years…

In my youth I was a nanny in college and after graduating with majors in liberal studies and French at Seattle University, I continued for another year to earn a Masters in education.

Teaching school for me was short lived!  Moving around a lot, was a big reason.  Although, I did get a job teaching HS French for 6 months that was  temporary and substitute teaching was draining.

It was in Toledo Ohio, in 2005/6 that I decided to stop teaching school and start devoting my time instead to teaching something that filled me up with joy and inspiration.  Fitness and moving my body, particularly with the methods of yoga and Pilates was exactly that…

I dove into learning and have too many courses and training to mention over the past 22 years.  My goal has always been to share what I learn to help others to feel better in their body – ultimately feel better about who they are.

I was not always healthy and fit in my youth and suffered my junior year in high school.  I got sick and never got better.  I gained a lot of weight, experienced severe acne all over my face, and suffered a lot of shame.  I learned my thyroid was hypothyroid, and have been taking hypothyroid medication ever since.

Although looking back this was a horrible experience for me, it was also one of the best things that ever happened to me as it woke me up and I started taking more ownership of my life.

So here are some of the qualities that I believe make a great teacher…. 

-someone who is an inspiration.  Who walks the walk.

-someone who is encouraging.

-someone who is honest and truthful in who they are and what they say.

-someone who shares in their journey(we all have one) and continues to show up.

-someone that understands that everyone is different and may need a different approach and variations.

-someone who watches and listens with compassion and love.

-someone who acknowledges their mistake(we all make them).

-someone who is happy for your achievements and not jealous of what you can do.

-someone that believes in themselves and believes in you!

So what do you think? Who are some of your favorite teachers and why?