pilates

Mari Winsor Pilates

Mari Winsor was also presenting at the conference. I felt star struck when I saw her. Mari deserves the credit with getting me hooked on pilates. The first pilates I ever did was a Mari Winsor video, and I loved it right away.

I still generally prefer her pilates videos to STOTT videos. Her videos move faster, although her style, like Jay Grimes, is different than what I have trained in. I’m okay with that though.

On the second day of the conference I took a mat class with Mari. There were about 100 people in attendance. It is pretty cool to have 100 people together doing pilates. Mari didn’t disappoint. She is a hot ticket. More petite than I anticipated, but a little ball of energy with a fabulous sense of humor.

Personal Euphoria

Mari Winsor PilatesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:53-04:00

Jay Grimes–Pilates Elder

Last week I attended the Art of Control Pilates Conference in Purchase, NY. The presenters at the conference were all very famous pilates practitioners and teachers—Jay Grimes, Mari Windsor, Brooke Siler, etc.

In my attempt to train with all the living elders, I signed up to have time with Jay Grimes. He teaches a style of pilates that he claims is the same as Joe Pilates. Jay said that his goal is not to have anything in his studio that Joe wouldn’t recognize if he came back to life today. The work was challenging and hard especially because of the subtle differences in exercises I know a certain way.

He was a very helpful teacher, funny and encouraging. He gave good cues, although more often than not he told me which exercise to do and watched as I did it, critiquing as I went along. He was so hands on that by the end of the session I’d felt like I’d had a massage from the inside out. I was impressed (but I feel that […]

Jay Grimes–Pilates ElderMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:53-04:00

Pilates Instructor’s Journey: Maggie

My first experience with pilates was my first year out of college. I’d always had mild low back pain that would occasionally nag me. So I downloaded some DVD’s and tried it. I enjoyed the exercises and really felt the strength I was getting. I fell in and out of doing it. Working full time put a damper on my exercise routine and I was letting fitness fall to the wayside.

I started feeling stressed because I need exercise to calm me down, so Matt took a risk and bought me a membership to a gym—this could have been taken the wrong way, but I loved it. It’s funny how unexpected choices can change your life. I started attending a pilates class at the gym and a year later they asked me to teach it.

I loved getting to teach again—since that was my original career path, and I had somewhat strayed from it. I loved pilates so much that I got certified. From then on the ball was in motion and I was hooked. I […]

Pilates Instructor’s Journey: MaggieMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:55-04:00

Gas in Class

Okay—it doesn’t matter how you say it: fart, pass gas, or pet (as my Grandma calls it), it’s potentially going to happen in a pilates class. Sometimes on exercises like Rolling-Like-A-Ball it’s an inevitability eventually.

But not to fret. You are not the only one who has done it, and quite honestly, if you keep quiet, usually no else can pinpoint exactly who did it. So, while I know it can be embarrassing, try to cut yourself some slack if and when it ever happens to you. No one is going to remember in about ten minutes—pilates keeps you too busy.

It is something to stop and ponder for a minutes because while farting during a pilates class could mean that you had beans and rice before class (always a mistake, by the way), it could also mean that instead of gently pulling your belly button towards your spine and pulling up and in on your pelvic floor muscles, you could just be attempting to clench everything—attempting to get more control, but actually getting less as revealed by the escape of some unexpected wind. Next time it happens, after the wave of embarrassment happens, just try to relax […]

Gas in ClassMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:55-04:00

Back Extension–My Favorite Pilates

My favorite exercises change now and again. Lately, I’ve been enjoying any exercise that involves back extension—excluding the breast stroke prep. I’m not sure I’ll ever fall in love with that one. The exercises that have been feeling especially good in my body are the spread eagle, rocking, the full breast stroke, and even just lying over an arc barrel.

I’ve also been especially fond of anything that involves bending sideways lately—the aptly named side bend (both on the mat and the Cadillac), and almost every version of the mermaid.

Back Extension–My Favorite PilatesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:55-04:00