Pilates Style

Welcome to the Pilates Style monthly newsletter. Each month we bring you a calendar of the must-know Pilates events around the country, updates on our conferences, Pilates-related news, original feature articles and bonus material from the current issue of Pilates Style magazine. We want to hear from you! If you have, or know of, a Pilates event, or have news to share with your community, email us at newsletter@pilatesstyle.com.

Whether you’re a Pilates teacher or a Pilates devotee, you’ll find plenty to learn in our more-than 40 classes, clinics and workshops.

Our stellar line-up of classes will offer an in-depth look at POLESTAR®, Power Pilates®, STOTT PILATES®, Peak Pilates® and Yamuna Body Rolling. You can also choose from an array of golf clinics and business workshops, as well as classes on the Reformer, Chair and Mat. Not-to-miss presenters include Mari Winsor, Lolita San Miguel, Kyria Sabin, Chrissy Romani-Ruby, Julian Littleford, Michael Michael Fritzke, Ton Voogt, Kelly Kane, Bob Murphy, Yamuna Zake, Gerard Hinderlich, Clare Dunphy, Michael King, Lynne Robinson, Sarah Christensen, Elizabeth Larkam, Kathy Corey, Siri Dharma Galliano, Shari Berkowitz, Ana Caban and John Garey.

In addition, we’ll be holding four special evening Pilates classes just for Pilates devotees!

Long and Lean

In the current issue of Pilates Style, Mejo Wiggins tells us how Romana made her face her enemy: the sidekick series. As Romana told her, “It’s usually the exercises you don’t like that your body needs the most.” And she was right—after three months of doing Sidekicks religiously, Mejo’s legs were noticeably long and lean. See the magazine for the whole story, but here are a few exercises we saved just for our newsletter subscribers.

To prepare (for all except kneeling Sidekicks)
Lie on your side with your body in a straight line from your head to toes as if you were leaning up against a wall. Place one hand under your head for support, the other in front of you for balance. (Make sure the elbow does not come forward—stay against the imaginary wall.) Bring your legs two feet forward, so they are at a 45-degree angle. Keep your hips stacked, your legs long and your top leg turned out.

Bend your top knee toward the ceiling and hold your ankle.
Lift your bottom leg and slowly circle your inner thigh.
Keep the leg turned out and do 6 small circles forward, then reverse.
After the small circles, do 6 large circles in each direction. Switch sides and repeat.

Lift your top leg 45 degrees off the floor.
Lower your leg just in front of the bottom foot, and tap the floor 3 times with your heel.
Repeat moves 1 and 2 but this time tap your heel behind your foot 3 times. Perform 10 repetitions to the front and back. Switch sides and repeat.

Tip: Quickly lift up off the leg and keep it reaching longer than the bottom leg as you tap.

Kneel with your knees hip-width apart.
Place your right palm on the floor under your right shoulder.
Raise and extend your left leg so it’s parallel to the floor.
Place your left hand behind your head.
Swing your leg forward and back without moving the rest of your body. Don’t lean into the standing leg. Perform 6 to 8 repetitions, forward and back. Switch sides and repeat.

Note: If this movement is a challenge, start by just holding the position without any kicks. Progress by drawing mini circles with your foot, forward and then reverse direction. When you’re ready to add kicks, start small and gradually make them larger.

What’s In Your Gym Bag?

If you think you can learn a lot about a lady by looking in her purse, just try taking a peek in her gym bag. We asked master Pilates teacher (and dancer, choreographer, yoga devotee and author) Jennifer Kries to spill the goods and tell us what she’ll never leave home without. Here’s what she had to say:

1. My ipod loaded with amazing music to inspire.

2. Eucalyptus toothpicks—great little tools for a quick tooth fix, to massage the gums and refresh the mouth.

3. My own homemade aromatherapy spray for clearing energy and lifting mood, containing clove bud oil (great antibacterial oil that’s also perfect for zit-zapping :), lavender, geranium, sandalwood, and vetiver. I spray it all over my face when I need a boost.

4. My favorite Lululemon light-green turtleneck jacket with super smooth zipper for post-workout warmth.

5. A colorful notepad and easy-writing pen to jot down great thoughts and random numbers or things I need to do.

6. My favorite Burt’s Bees lipshine in watermelon or guava.

7. A sandalwood and hematite mala to keep my energy field clear and alive and ward off unwanted negative charges.

8. Dr. Hauschka Quince Day Cream because it smells and feels so good!

9. Weleda Sage spray deodorant in case I need to freshen up.

10. Alba Organics Kukui Nut Oil for body and hair. I have super curly hair, and especially since I cut it short, I use this oil to style and calm my hair and it smells intoxicatingly good—very warm and delicious.

11. Eco-Dent peppermint mouthwash—very zippy pick-me-up for the mouth and spirits.

12. Collective Well-Being Chamomile and Aloe weightless moisturizer--very lovely light day cream.

13. A watermelon tourmeline pendant I made myself to promote compassion, open-heartdedness and good fortune.

14. Polycarbonate water bottle with the words “love and gratitude” written on it, following Masaru Emoto’s Hidden Messages of Water theory: that words change the vibration of water quality and integrity.

Sounds like someone who knows a thing or two about balance, no? That’s why she was the perfect person to write the truly inspiring story/workout, “Waking Energy:

Timeless Exercises for Balance, Strength and Energy,” for our November/December issue. Check it out soon; your mind, body and spirit will thank you.

Piazzas, Pizza and Pilates

Balanced Body University’s Pilates on Tour, known for small classes, excellent instructors and plenty of equipment, will hold its first international conference in Rome, December 7–9, 2007.

Sign up now and expand your practice with sessions like The Pilates Chair for Strength and Grace, Creative Reformer Choreography, Flowing on the Wunda Chair, and Pilates Studio Programs for Improving Gait. The all-star line-up includes Elizabeth Larkam, Julian Littleford, Ellie Herman, Ken Endelman and many more.

For more information, visit bbu.pilates.com/pilates-on-tour/pilates-on-tour.html.

Close-Up: Hip Circles
By Linda Farrell (lindafit.com)

Hip circles challenge the abdominal, back extensor and shoulder muscles to stabilize and support the torso while the pelvis and legs move dynamically in space.

Set-up: Sit up tall on the back of your sitz bones with knees bent, feet flat and arms extended a few inches behind hips, palms and fingers facing back and pressed into the floor. Engage your abdominals in and up and slowly extend the legs diagonally up into space about 60 degrees. Make sure your torso is in a long, extended position with the energy reaching out through the crown, keeping your lower spine slightly rounded. The body weight should not collapse up into the shoulders or down through the wrists.

Begin the move: Inhale and shift the pelvis and legs slightly to the right. Exhale to circle them down, around and up and back to center. Inhale and shift the pelvis and legs slightly to the left, then exhale to circle them down, around, up and back to center. Continue to alternate circles for a total of 3 sets while maintaining stability in the spine and shoulders as the pelvis and legs circle. For a variation, circle 3 times in one direction, and then 3 times in the other direction.

Modification: Legs can bend at the knees for tight hamstrings and to shorten the lever load. Elbows can bend, or exercise can be done on the forearms with bent elbows for wrist issues.

Visualization: Imagine a corset wrapped snugly around the lower back and abdomen as the pelvis and legs shift and circle together. Keep lengthening up through the spine so the corset fits even more snugly around the waistline.

Tips:

The abdominal, back, arm and shoulder girdle muscles must engage and coordinate to maintain a strong support base.
The cervical and thoracic spine extend, while the lower spine is slightly rounded.
Keep the body weight toward the back of the sitz bones and draw the abs in and up to avoid low back hyperextension.
Do not let the body weight crash into the wrists. Maintain axial lengthening through the crown instead.
Draw your shoulder blades gently down and toward your spine, stabilizing as the pelvis and legs circle.
Do not let the shoulder girdle hike up into your ears or the spine collapse and round back.
Stabilize the distance between your ribs and pubis throughout. Do not let your spine hyperextend.
Control your pelvis as it shifts subtly side to side—don’t let it fall over precipitously in the direction of the legs. If done correctly, the legs should stay relatively even.
If control cannot be maintained, draw smaller circles or bend the knees slightly.
Breathe deeply throughout, focusing the exhale breath and abdominal engagement on the downward part of the circle.
On the down swing, your legs should move with control, resisting the downward pull of gravity. On the up swing, they legs should move faster and more energetically, working up against gravity.

Lower your legs only to the point that spinal stability can be maintained.

Stream Yourself and Boost Your Business
By Lisa Johnson

When you think of Pilates media resources, you probably think videos and books—and big budgets. It doesn’t have to cost a lot to broadcast yourself, though; emerging media (think podcasts) is a fantastic way to drive business to your door. For a few hundreds dollars, you can create audio and video files that will draw new clients, establish an international reputation for yourself and open doors you didn’t even know existed.

According to Jill Ross, co-owner of Collage Video, a fitness exercise distribution company, “The industry is predicting that in five years downloads will be 7 percent of the video market in general.”

Ready to get up to speed on high-speed media? Start by learning the lingo, courtesy of Jose Castillo, owner of ThinkJose.com, a podcast education and consulting company:

Streaming video: A video file uploaded onto a web site for anyone to see. Sites like YouTube exemplify the Wild, Wild West of streaming video.

Audio files: These are cheap and easy to make, you just need some simple editing software a half-way decent microphone and you’re good to go. Audio files can be uploaded to sites to enhance a product or service offering, or they can be used in a serial format, such as a weekly on-line “radio” show.

Podcasts: Subscribers sign up to receive podcasts. Increasingly common in the fitness arena are monthly or weekly workouts in either video or audio format that subscribers download onto their iPods or computers.

A foray into media can be a very smart business move, but it can also be daunting. One way to make it a bit easier is to work with a company that specializes in this sort of thing. PodFitness.com, for example, is a web company that allows users to fuses fitness podcasts with their own music. “Each workout is customized and always changing,” says Alan Winters, the company’s executive vice president. The trainers who work with PodFitness.com gain exposure, and they can even earn revenue through per-download royalties.

Another way to use emerging media has been employed successfully by the Corp twins, Kimberly and Katherine, co-owners of Pilates on Fifth in New York City. The Corps have been posting weekly videos on their web site demonstrating a simple move. “The videos have helped our business tremendously by both increasing our web presence and by generating interest in our certification program,” says Kimberly.

The Corps work with a videographer/editor who comes into their studio, shoots eight to 10 segments at a time and then goes back and edits the product. When you do your first shoot, it can seem like it takes forever, says Katherine. “But as with anything, one becomes more efficient with practice.”

Hiring a professional will save you a lot of trial and error. Decisions about lighting, camera angles, editing and formatting are all second nature to a professional videographer. They can, however, be hard to find.

“The market is crying out for guys like that,” says Castillo. “There are still a lot of old school production companies that are very, very expensive for someone looking for a few minutes of video to put on a web site. It’s hard to justify spending up to $30,000 on a video shoot and not necessarily see any direct sales results from it.”

Less expensive options do exist, though. If you live in an area with film schools, you may be able to get help from a film student for as little as $30 an hour. Or you can look for a videographer who specializes in web video, but expect to pay up to $2,000 for a finished product.

If you’d prefer to go it alone, Castillo encourages you to experiment. “You can make a halfway decent video from your cell phone,” he points out. “Dump it into editing software and see what you can do.” Castillo recommends programs like FinalCut Pro, iMovie or Windows MovieMaker to edit your masterpieces.

For the audio, it’s even easier. “You don’t have to worry about lighting or any of the visual stuff, and the files are smaller, easier to work with,” Castillo says. “You can purchase a voice recorder at your local computer store for between $30 and $100, and a halfway decent mike is another $100.” Castillo recommends the software GarageBand or Audacity to edit audio files.

The future of new media is wide open, and the web offers countless opportunities to connect with potential clients. It can be a great way to reach new customers, so go ahead, smile for the camera!

Maple Vanilla Bean Flan

Warm up after your fall Pilates classes with this tasty (and sinless!) dessert, courtesy of Cal-a-Vie resort in Vista, California. To read about our recent visit to the spa for Pilates Week—and to discover more of their world-famous recipes—check out the November/December issue of Pilates Style.

Serves 12

Flan
4 cups 1 percent milk
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 egg whites
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apple topping
1 red apple, minced
1 green apple, minced
¼ cup apple juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 mint sprigs, for garnish
12 raspberries, for garnish

For the flan, scald the milk in a saucepan and add the maple syrup. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and the bean to the milk mixture. Let stand for 25 minutes.
Beat the eggs with the egg whites in a bowl then add them to the cooled milk with the nutmeg and cinnamon, blending well. Strain and remove the froth and vanilla bean.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spoon the mixture into custard cups and place in a water bath in a baking pan. Bake for 1½ minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
For the topping, combine the red apple, green apple, apple juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan. Cook just until the apples are tender; do not overcook.
Invert the flans onto serving plates and top with the sauce. Garnish each serving with a mint sprig and a raspberry.

Nutritional info per serving
156 calories, 28 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 3 grams fat, 1 gram fiber, 76 milligrams cholesterol, 81 milligrams sodium