Drama. Who needs it? Simplicity. Who wants it? Choice. Who gets it? As my dad always said:  Life can be easy or hard. You choose. Somethings are out of CONTROL (or out of OUR control). MInimizing the emotions that surround decisions is manageable, though.

Physical fitness should evolve around drama-free simplicity and choice. Luckily, each person has a choice as to which physical program they pursue. Pilates creates calm with simple exercises involving full engagement of your mental faculties. Activating specific muscle groups while breathing provides the body with necessary blood circulation to keep its organs functioning. In flow rational thoughts and out flow irrational (better known as emotional) thoughts.

Successful actors learn that making simple “acting” choices create better drama. Successful Pilates devotees learn that making simple “practice” goals create better bodies;, thus, choosing a Pilates core strengthening program is simple and drama free.

Simply,
Sandi

Pilates, Patience and Passion, the three “P’s”, are not completely compatible. Pilates requires mental patience and physical passion. Passionate people possess a low threshold for gradual progress. But, gradual progress creates lasting results. Passion flames. Patience fuels. Pilates focuses. As … Read the rest of this entry →

Uttering the two words, ‘trust me’ to my clients sometimes seems insincere and slightly arrogant. In a world demanding quick fixes and fast results, Pilates appears to be the horse and buggy of exercise programs. It takes time to feel results and longer to see them. Emphasizing the long term benefits of core strengthening without the immediate body inhibiting soreness of free weights and hard pumping cardio work is important. Applying creative accents to the abdominal series and supplying clients with fancy new workout toys is imperative for maintaining your client base and for increasing the fun quotient.

The improvisational skills applied in choreography translate to the Pilates studio. Unique body types lend themselves to creative variations of traditional exercises. By carefully observing the differences of each client, I can design a program that addresses their posture, strength, flexibility, and control (of the body, not the chocolate craving) issues.

Along the way, Pilates will lengthen and strengthen the body into a beautiful silhouette for those trendy leggings and skinny jeans. ‘Trust me’, I can create a body yearning to shop for new clothes not just shoes. ‘Trust me’, the shoes will fit better too. ‘Trust me’, Cole Haan has lovely boots this season with the Nike Air system included. The longer the leg the more lovely the boot. Pilates enhances the appearance of length, even for those of us (me included) who are vertically challenged. How did I birth a daughter that is five foot eight?  ‘Trust me’, I have no idea.

Sincerely Yours,

~Sandi

Cry Me A River

Justin Timberlake or Ella Fitzgerald. Either way, this is the crying year, the year of lasts. This time next year, my husband and I will be empty nesters. Daily as my son leaves for school, I cry. Just the mere thought of coming home and not seeing him at some point during the day convulses me. How do I cope? Obviously, I’m not (or I wouldn’t be writing this blog). Luckily, my group Pilates classes include some soon to be empty nesters with whom I slyly reveal my sadness amidst my ebullient surface. Welling up is typical. Whether I am watching a toddler stagger around while washing my car or staring as a mother tries to corral her brood at Target, for the first time in my life, I feel depressed.

I catch myself nurturing my toy poodle puppy, Harvey, like I did my children. Do I dress him as a pumpkin or bat for Halloween? Which embroidered stocking does he want for Christmas (Pottery Barn Kids [potterybarnkids.com] has the best)? How many toys is too many? Should I rotate them so he doesn’t get bored? Is he spending enough time outside? Is he eating enough? You get the idea. Pathetic. Crazy. I am both.

When my daughter left for college four years ago, the house lost its vitality and drama. I shut her door and cried; but, I still had her brother to replenish my spirit. Now, I am lost. The anticipation of sending another bright and talented child into the world is scary. As many mothers experience, you lose your identity in your children. Now, my job is to redefine.  Filling the void and refining my person sounds the call of creativity. THIS I can control.

Pilates and Dance. As I meander through my personal therapy session, here is the essence. Pilates and dance intertwine, both creatively and physically.  Channeling my grief and confusion into a stronger body and a more creative spirit might impact my mental stability. Imagine. Mind/Body/Soul. This time next year, life could be renewed, fulfilled, and complete. My new Pilates advertisement campaign just wrote itself. Crying really is cathartic.

Sandi

Wild Card anyone? In the midst of the baseball pennant and wild card races, the Boston  Red Sox are hoping to hold their 4 1/2 game lead in the wild card race over the Texas Rangers. The New York Yankees seemingly have an insurmountable lead in the American League East pennant race, so my beloved Sox must go to the post season by besting the Rangers. Surely, you are scratching your head wondering what baseball has to do with either of my blogging subjects, dance or Pilates. Wonder no more. Since my son turned six, our family has revolved around cheering and cursing the Red Sox. From the chants of “maybe next year” to the World Series wins of ’04 and ’07, even my daughter, a self described sports hater, who wrote her college essay about our families obsession, has been afflicted.

My secret desire is to be the personal Pilates instructor to the Sox. I can alleviate their hamstring pulls, back spasms, and quad strains. Running 90 feet from base to base, sitting on the bench, and waiting in the defensive ready position causes the aforementioned bodily injuries to occur. Yes. I can do the job.  At my ripe old age, my confidence is reaching heights not seen since my teenage years. Yes. I did know everything back then. But, that was “ignorant” knowing. This is “wise” knowing. Loving the way life has regressed in a positive manner, the Red Sox will claim me off of waivers. Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz, Ellsbury, Lowell, Bay, Drew, Martinez. These players need me. Theo, call me.

Go Sox!

Sandi

As Martha Graham famously declared, “The body never lies.”. She was an observational genius. Whether slumping or lifting, posture reveals all. Good day. Bad day. OK day. Doesn’t matter. Life is a story told through our bodies. Pretending to be happy has helped my posture. Tricking my outsides by believing my insides. Having a physical mantra is important.

Giving my advance level ballet students their weekly modern class today, brought this idea to the forefront. What are their physical mantras? Why do some students resist inverting their heads? Why do some students restrain from locomoting forward? Why do some students refuse to change their focus? Observation shows that the brain is reeking havoc on the body. Really, these deficiencies crawl out of the brain and into the body little by little. Tension, stress, negativity, to name a few, could be the cause. These signs show me that something is not right. Positive reinforcement and continued movement repetition are part of the cure.

In my adult Pilates clients, shoulder tension is the biggest physical issue. Throw family, work, health and financial stresses into a big pot and out come neck and shoulder problems. Being a victim of shoulder tension my entire dancing life has made me an expert in this area. Strong lower abdominal muscles allow the body to release the overworked shoulder and back muscles. The same goes for the neck.

Sandi

Defeat the feet. Life is constantly beating them into the ground one toe at a time. Just another body part to turn on us as we age but perhaps the last one we notice. I have a client whose feet are stuck in the “Barbie” position. Fifty years of living in high heels (love the look, hate the pain) have tormented her feet. Literally, they DON’T bend. If the three points of the foot (heel, ball, toe) don’t articulate, your balance and posture are kaput.

Dancer’s know the aesthetic of the fully arched foot; but, sometimes this “beautiful” foot is weak. Runners buy expensive running shoes to support their feet; but, do they stretch and strengthen them out of the shoe? Probably not.  Therabands, Miracle Balls, Magic Circle, and Bosus are a few of the “toys” I use in my Pilates classes to create strong, flexible feet. So, why don’t athletes, dancers, fitness freaks and Publix shoppers designate part of their daily exercise regiment to these wonderful body parts that we must buy shoes to caress? (Nordstrom’s anyone?) Answer: They, as we all do, take them for granted, except when we are buying shoes, which reminds me of one of the many reasons I teach: to buy shoes. Sorry. I have no control over my stream of conscious shopping moments.

Remember: the key to correct posture and perfect balance: DE-FEET.

Please use refer to “The Wizard of Oz” and “Sound of Music” to sing the following verse:

Shoes. Handbags. T-Shirts. Oh my! These are a few of my favorite things. When the dog (your feet) bites. When the bee (bee-hind) stings. When I’m feeling sad (because I haven’t purchased any shoes lately). I simply remember my favorite things (shoes, handbags, t-shirts) and then I don’t feel so bad.

Heels to you!

Sandi

Now that the painful first blog is behind me, my bee-hind is feeling lighter, lighter and higher. Now I am wondering: Why do “pila-tites”  (my word for people who study Pilates, not sure it will catch on) always have such rounded and lifted tushies? Actually, I know the answer…after 14 years I should.  Colleen Smith, the owner of The Esther Center and Artistic Director of Florida Classical Ballet Theatre, constantly reminds her ballet students to create an apple tush not a pear tush. Overusing my gluts (bee-hind muscles) in modern dance, think those “angry puppet” dances called contemporary dance on the popular television show, “So You Think You Can Dance”, helped this process along; but, the pelvic lift exercises of Pilates redefined them. Combined with the side leg springs on the tower, cadillac, or magic circle (those are the most difficult), those bee-hinds will burn and lift in a few months.

Coming to Pilates in my mid-thirties from a dance background (BFA in Modern Dance from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts), where overused muscles are the norm, has allowed me to correct old injuries and prevent new ones. Age is never kind; but, Pilates keeps me choreographically creative and technically able. So when the call comes to participate on “Dancing With The Stars” (let’s just pretend I am a celeb for a moment …remember the band/breaking into song story?), I won’t be one of those stars that injure themselves during the first week of rehearsals, how embarrassing! Need to keep the bee-hind lifted for those skimpy costumes. More rhinestones, please?

Stay Lifted,

Sandi

I’m a  little hesitant to throw my thoughts and emotions out into cyberspace; so, I shall sing and sometimes dance them. My web guru/photographer/tushy kicker, Amber, assures me that I have a voice. Soprano so I’ve been told. MEMOMEMOMEMO….This  bit of vocalization brings me to my initial thought: Why don’t more people sing during Pilates? The whole idea of breathing in to gather enough air to do physical work on the exhale is ideal for singing. In college, my modern dance teacher used to make me sing “Oklahoma” during partnering class to keep me from holding my breath and killing the guy trying to pick me up. Little did he know that I held my breath because I was so scared of him, the teacher, not the partner.

Singing (probably the career path better suited for my talents; but, I had to become a dancer-” Gotta Dance. Gotta Dance”) has always been a part of my life. Growing up in the small town of Hickory, NC, I watched a lot of musicals/beach party movies. Unfortunately, submersing myself in this fantasy world created the unrealistic expectation that an orchestra/band would magically appear to accompany me as I broke into song walking down the street, brushing my teeth, or standing in the deli line at Publix.

Well, of course, this never happened. But, I have an imaginary band appearing every morning at 9 am to guide my Pilates classes. I must admit that I don’t always break out the tunes, especially if I have a new client. I prefer not to scare them the first class. But, nothing makes a straight leg stretch across the center line less painful than a rendition of “Summertime” from the great musical, “Porgy and Bess”. Life has never been as good as hearing a class of 40-70 years olds painfully belting out “…and the living is easy. “

Sharing my “special” take on Pilates and how it has enveloped my life over the past 14 years is my mission. Sometimes I will chat about clients, family, dance, musicals, or my other passion, thanks to my son, the Boston Red Sox. Mainly, I will try and inspire my followers to embrace Pilates for better posture, health, and sanity.

Here’s hoping that your living is easy!

Sandi