Home, Studio or the YMCA?

When creating your Pilates practice, you may wonder if you should just work out at home with DVDs or books, go to the Y or some other gym where the classes may be included in your membership fees, or whether you should invest the money to go to a Pilates studio.

A combination of these three options should help you create a balance that is great for both your balance and your pocket book. A home practice is absolutely essential because there are going to be times when life is going to get busy and not allow you to go to the gym or studio like you would like. BUT, a DVD or a book is never going to be able to give you feedback or correct your form, two things that are essential for your success in Pilates.

Pilates studios are expensive, but will give you an experience that you will not find at a gym. The people at the studio are there for one reason- to do Pilates and to connect with their bodies. When finding a studio, find out about where the teachers are trained. Ideally, they should have a national certification which recognized by the Pilates Method Alliance. PMA certified teachers can be found by visiting the PMA website. Studio teachers will also be trained and better equipped to deal with special conditions such as back problems or pregnancies.

Programs at gyms are nicer for the pocketbook, but the teachers are likely to not have as much training as the teachers you would find at a studio. (This isn't always the case, many gyms have great teacher training programs and many teachers teach at gyms for extra money, just do your research.) The environment will be different than you would find at a studio though.

Bottom line- do what works for you, just do it. Ideally 3 times a week or more. Visit www.pilatesformommies.net and click on resources for a list of books that I have enjoyed in creating my practice, and feel free to contact me for other suggestions!

Functional Scoliosis

Sorry about the delay between posts, had family in town and life just got a bit away from me.

So, in these last few weeks, did you pay attention to how you carry things and how you stand? Do you find yourself using one side much more than the other? Do you lean a bit? When you carry your kids, are they always resting on the same hip? These things and a host of others, like laying on the same side every night or sitting in an un-supportive car seat for hours on end, can all lead to scoliosis.

Yes, scoliosis is that spine thing that you were checked for by the school nurse growing up. I bet you thought when those checks ended, so did your risk of developing it, right? Unfortunately, not so much. Heather Herald Cole, MSPT, describes functional scoliosis this way: "Due to postural habits, single handedness, leg length discrepancy, posture, nerve root irritation, hip tightness, etc. This form of scoliosis can be corrected by exercise if caught early."

So, that's the good news. This CAN BE CORRECTED BY EXERCISE (not surgery!) if caught early. Unfortunately though, this isn't something that's easily corrected on your own at home. You need to either go to a physical therapist or a knowledgeable Pilates instructor. Either way, it should be someone who has experience working with clients with scoliosis and someone who is supportive of a non-surgical solution. You cannot attend group exercise classes (not even group Pilates) and expect results- this is a very personalized, very intensive exercise regime created just for you. And you must be patient. Some of the movements will feel small, and like you're not working very hard at all. YOU ARE! You are learning to use muscles that have, for whatever reason, decided that they'd rather not. Learning to fire all of your muscles evenly will eventually, hopefully, pull that spine back into correct alignment.

For more information on scoliosis visit www.scoliosis.org or just Google it- there is a wealth of information available.

A preivew of what's to come...

Today's entry is to get you thinking about how you carry all of the items that we as moms lug around- your purse, the diaper bag, toys, CHILDREN, etc. Over the next few days, try to take notice if most of it gets placed on one side of your body, or if you're always lifting your kids with the same arm, etc. While walking with my daughter recently I realized she is almost always in my right arm, so I switched her to my left. I could barely hold her there. Try to start taking notice of your body imbalances, so they can be corrected.