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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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?
You do not need to tuck your tailbone in order to strengthen your core!
Joseph Pilates placed a strong value on understanding and connecting to a TALL back in standing exercises to help one understand proper posture. Having awareness of a TALL back posture is essential before going into any movement and especially into a round back(tucking) posture.
*in fact, it was quite common for Joe Pilates to have his clients “stand” for their whole lesson. He would encourage them to focus on their posture. When their posture was ‘good enough,’ Joe would invite them to progress with the apparatus and other exercises.
Whenever you are standing, you want to connect to a TALL back posture. A tall back is when you –
Respect the natural curves of your back. Lordotic curve in lumbar and cervical spine and kyphotic curve in thoracic spine.
Connect to a neutral pelvis(aka – not tucked) When your pubic bone is level to your hip bones on the sagittal plane.
You stack your body! Where the center of your skull lines up to the center of your ribs, lines up to the center of your pelvis, lines up to the center of your knees and finally ankles.
Posture is an action and never just ‘sits’. Meaning that, you need to be attentive and present to sustain a tall back posture:). Its takes steady presence, effort and sometimes some softening to find and maintain a well balanced posture. For me personally, I have a very flat back and my head pushed forward and down for many reasons!!. Knowing this, I focus on lifting my low back in and up, I also try to create more width and expansion in my mid thoracic spine by using my breath, and I have learned over may years to pull my throat, skull back and up which has helped me not only achieve better alignment, but consequently allowed me to build better strength in my upper back and neck.
*Most people (I observe) have super tight hip flexors (maybe from too much sitting or too much exercising and not enough stretching). Tight hip flexors will push their thigh bones forward in their hip sockets. If this is you, you’ll need to soften your knees, to draw the top of your shins forward to help you draw the top of your thighs back! Another common issue is rib flaring in the front body. To help with your ribs you need to consider expanding and breathing more into the back of your rib cage and use your exhales to connect the front ribs in and down toward the pelvis to expand the back ribs back and up.
What are you working on in your posture?
If you practice Yoga, you can think of Tadasana/mountain pose as your TALL back posture! This posture is not just ‘standing there’… On the contrary, Mountain pose in yoga is a demanding, dynamic standing posture. Although you may look still on the outside you are working hard on the inside to oragnize your body as you integrate every part of your body from your feet pushing into the earth to ground, all the way up to the crown of your head. You should feel strong and stable like a mountain, yet also light and lifted like a puffy cloud. In other words, no one would be able to come by and push you down because you are strongly rooted, buoyant and resilient connected bottom to top, top to bottom, and side to side!
Are you attentive when you stand still?
So why then do we tuck the tail bone…
In round back positions and rolling position we need to tuck the tail to help us with articulating our back bone by bone. Think of rolling-over, rolling like a ball, open leg rocker, seal on the mat or stomach massage round back, elephant, and kneeling knee stretch with a round back position on the reformer.
There are some exercises that transition in and out of round back such as the roll-up on the mat and the short spine on the reformer. When lying flat on the mat you should aim at having a neutral pelvis and when you are up in your c-curve you should have a round back where you stay slightly behind your sit bones as you roll -up. This is a subtle yet powerful awareness to build as you progress in your practice!
When we are rounding our back and our tail bone is tucked we also want to be sure our whole spine is in a c-curve so our spine is in harmony and not performing 2 separate opposing actions! Therefore, our chin should be at our chest and our gaze at our abdominals/ribs pulling and sternum pulling back and up to expand and broaden the upper spine to the lower spine. If you practice yoga, you should think Cat back not Cow back!
*I find many, including myself, have a difficult time rounding without collapsing. It is essential to keep your inner lift!
Although there are more spinal shapes (twist/side bend), the tall and round back are the 2 spinal shapes we use in the sagittal plane.
The round back is useful to teach us how to connect more deeply, to our whole spine. As a reminder when strengthening our center it involves our whole spinal body as one part will affect the other part! That is Pilates…everything is connected! Be patient and use your breathing as your guide and tool to create more width and space where your body needs it. That said when we round our back, we want to try to pull in our front body and our side bodies to support and expand our whole back side. When transitioning back to a TALL back posture (as we do several times in our pilates workouts)we should try to keep that “connection and fullness” in our back, as we reconnect to our Tall back posture.
How about the teaser?
The teaser exercise is a strong and very challenging pilates exercise. Although this exercise requires a whole lot of BALANCED core strength, it also is essential that you have a flexible spine and open hips! There is a lot going on in this exercise, and it is not for everyone, especially if you have a boney tailbone…
For me personally, I have a very stiff low back and rolling up and down is tricky for me. If I move too fast, I will miss my whole lumbar spine on the way up and down. I have learned to slow down to feel more and take my time. Using my exhale will also help me cinch my waist more to help me better articulate.
This is just one scenario…There are many scenarios!! Whatever your issue/issues are – please remember it is not the destination of ‘sticking’ the posture or finding perfection – rather, it is the journey and process in how you work with your body with accepting what is first…there will always be another issue and always more work to do. Listening and paying attention to what is and making honest adjustments to support ourselves is always the best way forward…
Teaser. – Tall back or round back position?
Its actually both! There needs to be lift and length so when in your teaser position you are not dumping and collapsing in your lumbar and thoracic spine. That said there is a subtle c-curve. Meaning you will be behind your sit bones with the low back slightly rounded to support a posterior tilt especially if you are going to articulate your spine.
Careful that you are not collapsing in your lumbar spine… For example, if you are rounding too much in your low back, most cases you will be too round in your upper back and therefore not able to find your lift and length in your tall back and be able to widen your collar bone and open your chest! On the flip side, if you have too much extension and perhaps are positioned in front of your sits bones, most cases your ribs/chest will be pushing forward too much and you will not be able to connect well to your subtle c-curve and your power house muscles.
The bottom line is that there is always an element of TALL back. It is essential that you find your tall back first, especially before you round.
AND…
Remember to be gentle and patient with yourself! Pilates is not as easy as most people think. It’s sweaty hard work and always involves the WHOLE BODY. The practice of Pilates requires one to stay present and give a lot of effort! This attentiveness and hard work will increase your strength and overall well being. Any successful practice is generative:)
We get good at what we practice, not what we know:)
Check out my latest teaser tutorials on my YouTube channel!
Just a few simple (not easy) tips for your Pilates workouts!
In the above workout preview, I highlight staying ‘on top’ in several ways as I work on the electric chair and on the reformer.
Connecting with the apparatus is like any other relationship. First you have to FEEL and touch base with yourself and the other person involved. If the relationship is a good fit, it will lift you up!
I have this whole class on my youtube channel. Check it out.
Learning something new is hard! The idea is always fun, but it does take some work!
Pontus and I just started taking Salsa lessons together. We have only had 3 lessons and understand that we have a ways to go… In our learning we are counting aloud to synchronize with the music and each other and trying to perfect every step we take as we move! The music doesn’t stop and that means we don’t either! The instructor moves fast and we are doing our best to keep up.:) With each lesson we gain more knowledge, awareness and have many shared laughs along the way!
I feel that learning salsa is similar to learning the Pilates. In salsa, there are several basic salsa steps that are precise and meant to be executed within a certain rhythm. In Pilates there are certain exercises to be done in order while maintaining a certain amount of rhythm and flow as well. Also, in salsa and Pilates transitions from one step and/or exercise to the next are just as important as the move/exercise itself!
One difference between Salsa and Pilates is the music. Music is intrinsic to salsa dancing, it helps with everything! In Pilates, although we do not have music to encourage us to stay at a reasonable tempo, it is still important to maintain a fluid rhythm. I feel that because there is no music in Pilates it is easier to stop, sometimes maybe for too long, in an effort to get the exercise/posture perfect!
It is given that you need rhythm to dance salsa, but it is also very true for Pilates. If you can master your transitions and flow you are more ‘advanced’ than someone who can perform the posture or exercise but does not understand how to flow in and out of it. Learning the rhythm and experiencing smoother transitions takes practice. That said, practice does not have to be perfect. Practice is practice. The practice is to pay attention as you move and breathe. To feel yourself and your surroundings (partner and music in salsa – apparatus in Pilates), all to make better connections with yourself and your surroundings.
My hope for all of you taking lessons is first that you are enjoying yourself or at least feel better when you leave:). I also hope you are gaining knowledge and more awareness of the practice and yourself. Last but not least, for those of you who have been practicing with me for a while, I hope you are discovering more rhythm and flow within the exercise and having fun while you work to find more connection in your body.
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