My baby is now 9 months old and appears to have inherited the movement genes from me, early to crawl and now already raring to walk. She often ends up in part of my Pilates classes and by the looks of her in this photo she has been taking notes! Who needs toys when you can chase a roller then roll over it. And who says you can’t exercise with your baby too?!
So next week in post natal pilates maybe we should get the babies doing a workout too.
Skimming through a fitness magazine this morning whilst feeding the baby and this phrase leapt out at me.
“In fitness, one size does not fit all”
I LOVE IT.
To me that is completely how I like to teach. I always have a rough lesson plan but am ready to adapt the session dependant on who attends, how the class are feeling, how I am feeling and how many are there. I also adapt each exercise to a certain level dependant on the class and may have different people doing the same exercise at different levels. That way everyone gets the workout they want. Individuality is the key in my mind. We all have different bodies and different personalities so surely we all need different ways of exercising too. With Pilates you get that. Everyone works at their own level, some may add in an extra lever (arm/leg), some may have their head, neck and shoulders raised off the mat, some may use a ball as an aid. Others may take a break and have a snooze (its allowed, the break that is, maybe not the snooze!). In the case of post natal Pilates we also work at the need and request of the babies!! Mums dip in and out to feed or cuddle babes as needed. In my case yesterday with Little Miss Grump I had to feed and cuddle whilst teaching the class. Thank goodness I’m a woman so can multi-task 🙂
So however you feel today and whatever type of body shape, size and personality you are, get active in some way. Dance around the kitchen, go for a walk, go kite surfing, do some gardening…..or come to Pilates 😉
Contentious statement huh. It’s certainly an interesting thought.
The clever people at http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/sitting-kills/ tell us that people are now sitting for an astonishing average of 9.3 hours a day! I find that fact amazing, I’m not sure I could sit for that long in one day, but then I’ve never been a fan of sitting still for long, ask my husband. He’s always telling me to “just come and sit down”.
So whats the problem with sitting….observational studies suggest that it is linked to obesity and heart disease. This is pretty obvious as being inactive is a known factor in these chronic diseases. The interesting idea from studies is that sitting still is the problem as it slows your metabolism down, so even those who exercise regularly but then sit still for long periods will have a slower metabolism and consequently gain weight. So sitting needs to be interrupted with periods of activity.
Part of the problem from a Pilates perspective is that sitting places your body in a position thats just not good for your alignment. The more time you spend sitting, the tighter your hamstrings become. The tighter your hamstrings, the more they pull the lowest curve out of the spine and tuck the tailbone under. You get lower back pain…..sound familiar?! If so come and see me and we’ll find some exercises to help 🙂
The other issue is all the curves and bends in the body affect your blood flow. Your blood likes to flow freely in a straight line. Sitting in a bent position for a long period of time stops it from being able to do this. And…..you say…..well this leads to blood cells bumping into things and getting damaged, which leads to plaques building up obstructing blood vessels which links us back to heart disease. Ouch.
The answer…either have a standing workstation (lovely idea and great if it works for you but it isn’t going to work for most people) or break up your sitting with lots of activity breaks – make a drink, walk up some stairs, go and chat to someone instead of emailing them…you get the idea. Standing instantly makes your body work harder and puts you in a better alignment, especially if you’ve been to my Pilates sessions and have learnt how to stand 🙂
Fascinating stuff. It certainly means those hours of baby rocking and sling walking combined with my inability to sit still is all good. So all of you sat down reading this…STAND UP!
Osteoporosis International Journal has written a guide for health professional working in rehabilitation for patients with Osteoporosis. The techniques described are basically Pilates showing how spot on the Pilates technique really is.
There’s a summary of the journal advice here…http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/health/28backsb.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper
It talks about avoiding stomach crunches/sit ups done in the way typically seen in gyms and other fitness classes, lots of repetitions, done at full speed where the back is jerked up off the floor putting pressure on the lower spine. The internal organs are pushed aside and the stomach compacted. Doing lots of repetitions means good technique is lost and the head is often pulled up by the arms. It is of course possible to do a good sit up but its not often seen in a gym/large class environment, in fact as an ex gym-bunny myself I can truly say I used to do sit ups all wrong! In Pilates a curl up would be done in a much slower, controlled way, lengthening the spine, peeling up off the mat bone by bone and replacing the same way. Only a few reps would be done as we look for quality and not quantity.
Other tips talk about maintaining good core strength when picking up objects and moving the body and maintaining a good posture. Again Pilates will help with this. I know that I am now so aware of my posture and the way I move that I tend to auto correct myself at points in the day. So if I bend to pick up the baby moving from my waist I tell myself off and practise doing it moving from the hips instead. Over time it becomes a habit. My shoulders used to be hunched up by my ears and after a while of working on that I now keep them pulled down properly (most of the time!).
So…not only is Pilates good for toning and building that all important core strength but the Pilates lifestyle is recommended for bone health. Fab news.
So my baby is pretty amazing in my book. Tuesdays are always a busy day as I have a one to one Pilates session, a post natal Pilates class and Step Aerobics. Normally Daddy day care is around all day, he keeps the babe asleep whilst I go out to teach in the morning and he looks after all the babies for our post natal class. So I was a bit anxious about the day without him, especially running post natal pilates without him around. However the baby was amazing, she ended up coming to all 3 classes. She slept in her sling for most of the first session, then slept a bit of the second and played/had cuddles and finally came to the gym for Step Aerobics as Daddy was stuck in traffic! Not many babes get to as many classes as she does.
And my concerns about Post Natal Pilates were unfounded, it rocked today. It was a lot of fun. We only had 4 mums today, 3 of the lovely ladies who have been coming for months and have slightly older babes who tend to amuse themselves now, so we put them on a large playmat in the room.
Then it was lovely to welcome a new mum with an 8 week old baby who sat in his car seat, looking generally gorgeous and made us all broody. The babies were all stars and they actually seemed to enjoy watching the mums, the older ones spent quite a bit of time staring at me, the funny looking woman doing strange things with her arms and legs! What was even lovelier was hanging out with some of the mums at the end for a cuppa, sharing news and tips. I really do love teaching this class.
Pilates is an exercise method that was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920′s, he called it “Contrology”. Joseph Pilates suffered from various serious illnesses during his childhood and doctors warned his parents that he would have a short life expectancy. He was determined from a young age not to succumb to the doctors prognosis and began to experiment with a wide range of health and fitness regimes in his attempt to rebuild his body strength. He studied yoga, martial arts, gymnastics, skiing, dance, weight training and even circus skills,
Then in the 1920’s he ended up in a German internment camp, it was here his Pilates techniques were birthed. He used easily available objects as athletic equipment to strengthen core muscles. He soon started training his fellow detainees with fitness exercises as a form of rehabilitation from injury and disease, using bed springs and beer keg rings, to create resistance exercise equipment for his patients.
In the mid 1920′s Joseph Pilates emigrated to America where he and his wife, Clara, set up a studio teaching Contrology to, among others, members of the New York City Ballet which was located nearby.
It was only after his death that Contrology came to be known as Pilates; and as his students spread across the world they took the method with them and developed it further.
Pilates that is now taught is a largely modified version of Contrology as modern day bodies are slightly different to Joseph’s. But the benefits and principles are the same. Pilates is based on anatomy and physiology, it looks at how the muscles work and has works with your body. By this I mean weak muscles will be strengthening and over tight muscles stretched out. Through doing the exercises you become more “body aware” which means you learn about your posture and your bodies imbalances, after a few classes you’ll find yourself standing taller, looking straighter and feeling calmer. Come and give it a go!
Pilates has just got some great press from the Royal Wedding – did you see it? This link should help you out…
A quote from Pippa Middleton :
“Whether it’s 7am in the morning or 7pm at night I always leave feeling calm, refreshed and invigorated. Over the past few months I have noticed a huge difference in my core strength and posture and couldn’t recommend M more highly as an instructor.
“From breathing techniques, muscle toning to overall flexibility and relaxation, my Pilates sessions have become something of a weekly necessity that keeps me fit, happy and energized.”
A perfect sum up of Pilates! Though I’d add that a few sessions Pilates won’t necessarily give you Pippa’s figure, healthy eating, cardiovascular exercise and hard work alongside Pilates is the key to that. Pilates will help you tone up your body, strengthen it and show you how to use your core muscles and correct your postural imbalances.
Finally the day came when my beautiful baby slept all the way through a post-natal Pilates class NOT in a sling but on a bed! As much as I totally love my baby girl, it did feel good to have the freedom to teach the class and take part a little bit without having a baby attached to me restricting my movement. Plus, Pilates with a baby in a sling is HARD WORK! I wouldn’t recommend it as it definately alters your posture and puts extra strain on your back. I only demonstrate 1 example of the exercises and in some cases don’t demo at all but talk the exercise through and correct people as we go.
Even more amazingly all the babies who came to the class yesterday were angels and happily played in the lounge with Mr Daddy day-care (James). He does an amazing job keeping the babies happy, changing nappies, giving cuddles, helping them sleep, wearing them in a sling, singing, whatever is needed! It was lovely to hear a few notes of a song and gurgling babes. This meant the mummies were happily able to do do a whole hours Pilates session with no interruptions and I was able to work them quite hard (I hope they are all feeling ok today!). Mummies you all did a excellent job. Let’s remember this session when we get a week when all the babies are grizzling!!!
So the past 2 weeks has had rather a lot of bank holidays leading to lots of people being away and lots of cancelled classes. Also a bout of sickness meant both my post natal pilates class was cancelled and one of my regular one to one clients had to cancel her session. It’s therefore been a very odd week with no pilates being taught in my little studio. However it has meant I’ve had more of a chance to do Pilates myself as well as some dance practise, which has been just so enjoyable. Personally I find Pilates refreshes me, strengthens me and challenges me yet leaves me more relaxed and ready to face the world than when I started. It’s a great way to exercise, listen to some great music and unwind all at the same time. Dancing is a little more energetic if you are me and is something I do as part of worship. It helps me express what is inside of me. Having said that I love any form of dancing and movement.Thinking about movement, Saturday morning saw my first return to an aerobics class (by that I mean one not taught by myself!). Usually I can’t leave the baby on a weekend but had a window of opportunity….it gave me great pleasure to find I can still more than keep up with a fast paced class taught by a good instructor, my fitness levels seem to be back up to their normal levels. I’ve also managed to fit in 2 runs, 1 with the baby in her pram, our first run together…she slept, I ran, it was all good. The second a slightly faster paced version minus pram and baby on Good Friday. It was lovely running in the early morning, watching all the other runners out in the park and enjoying the beauty of the trees and river.
So what have you been up to over the bank holidays?
For those of you who find your feet get cold yet you need the grip with your toes for some exercises….
http://shop.toesox.com/full-toesox-with-grip-p5.aspx
