pilates

Ron Fletcher

Last weekend I had the honor to train under my third Pilates Elder: Ron Fletcher. I was one of thirty Pilates teachers participating in the workshop, and I was informed that this will probably be his final workshop that is open the the general Pilates public.

Ron Fletcher was a major inspiration. At eighty-nine (nearly) he still moves his body in ways many people half his age unfortunately can’t do. He still pays homage to Joe and Clara Pilates while he is teaching. He was also a student of http://marthagraham.org/center/Martha Graham and his style really seems to combine dance and Pilates. Ultimately, the movement and exercises are still about control–the intention behind Pilates.

He had many wonderful quotes, some were his own and some belonged to his teachers and colleagues (to whom he always gave credit). One of my favorites was, “And so to up.”

Ron FletcherMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:58-04:00

Personal Euphoria Instructor: Karen

Karen currently teaches in South Windsor. She has been teaching Pilates for two years and loves helping others achieve their Pilates goals. She started taking Pilates just for something to do after moving to Connecticut and after realizing that she did not know very many people. It did not take long, however, for her to fall in love with Pilates. Her favorite exercise is short spine on the reformer. She’s lucky to live with her boyfriend and her two cats, who like to help her exercise by providing unexpected weight resistance. When she isn’t teaching or practicing Pilates, Karen is working on a PhD in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies at UConn, and doing triathlon training. She enjoys eating and making sushi (although she admits her own sushi is not as pretty as what you’d fine in a restaurant), and if she could only eat one flavor of ice cream for the rest of her life, it would be Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip from Graeter’s in Columbus, Ohio (where she grew up).

Written By Katy Leahy, Personal Euphoria […]

Personal Euphoria Instructor: KarenMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:30-04:00

Fun Pilates Cartoons

Sue is a student in our Newington classes who has been taking Pilates classes with me from the very beginning. Occasionally Sue will bring me cartoons from the newspaper. I always get a kick out of them and thought you would too. They are all hanging on my refrigerator.

Fun Pilates CartoonsMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:31-04:00

Women’s Expo

Come see us at the Connecticut Women’s Expo in Hartford today and tomorrow. Maybe you’ll be the lucky winner of a free Pilates class. You might also have the opportunity to get a postural analysis!

Women’s ExpoMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:06:42-04:00

Willpower

New research has shown that willpower is just like a muscle. You have to train it to strengthen it and it can be overworked and exhausted. That means that by the end of the day it’s harder to have willpower since activities during the day have depleted it’s stamina. It’s not just about food choices and fitness. We use willpower to get up in the morning, not gossip at the office, and not speed in the car.

Try and help your willpower succeed. Use these two tips:

1) Get a good night’s sleep
2) Plan and make dinner in advance so that you don’t have to use your willpower later in the day. Having everything already prepared will mean you don’t have to make a decision to eat out or cook something easier and less healthy.

WillpowerMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:31-04:00