What is a Postural Analysis?

A Postural Analysis is a short examination of the body that informs you and your instructor of your muscles’ strengths and weaknesses. Having a P.A. can help find alignment and tracking issues. The process helps both instructor and client determine what exercises are best for your body type. Following a session at Personal Euphoria Pilates, you will receive a personalized worksheet to help you as you continue your training.

What Types of Things Will You Discover from a Postural Analysis?

Our body is pulled out of alignment all day. We can also be born with our body out of alignment. Pilates strives to balance the body so that the muscles are less strained and work more evenly. Pilates exercises work against daily activities like working at a computer all day, which can make people roll their shoulders forward and hunch over. A pelvis that is tilted, rotated, or shifted could cause hip problems or low back pain. During a postural analysis all your major joints–ankles, knees, hips, shoulders–will be reviewed to see where they are in relationship to each other. We’ll look at […]

When Joseph Pilates designed his exercises, he didn’t call them Pilates. He called his method Contrology. The theory behind the name and the exercises were that you were learning to think about and be in control of your body. You engage the muscles. You adjust them and move them in very specific and subtle motions at times.

I think it is very empowering. And the skills (which you take 45-minutes to an hour to focus on whenever you practice Pilates) are tools you can use while doing anything in life or while doing any exercise. Whatever you do during the day you can focus on engaging the kegel and the belly button for a period, building to “controlling” the muscle for longer periods of time. When you walk, run, or even use and elliptical, you can look at your legs to see if they are tracking properly and in a parallel position.

In everything you do, you can think about your feet and whether your weight is evenly distributed across the whole foot of favoring one part. Every part of our body is connected, and when we learn to control one part, it improves others. When you notice […]

We tend to think about exercise as physical and mainly pertaining to our body. When taking yoga or other mind-body types of exercise there is a connection between the mind and the body, but there is a spirituality involved that sometimes doesn’t appeal to people.

I think we need to look for another mind-body connection. Exercise is clearly good for the mind; it’s proven to increase self-esteem, reduce stress, and lower anxiety. There is no doubt a connection between the body and the mind. You’re body’s chemistry effects your mind, but it works the other way too.

Not everyone likes to exercise and even if you do enjoy fitness sometimes you need to convince yourself to get up or head out after work and do it. That is a mind game, which can take willpower. Sometimes an exercise burns the muscle (not in a bad way, but in a way that is working); it is your mind that has to convince your body to keep going. When you give up, that comes from the mind.

Notice the difference between bad pain and good pain. When you feel good pain tell yourself you like it–trick your mind into […]

When I finish a class many people thank me, which I appreciate. It makes me feel good of course, but it is also important to remember to thank yourself.

You are the one who pushed yourself through a challenging workout. You are the one that made time to get yourself to class and do something good for your mind and body. You are the one that is improving every time you try an exercise (even if you don’t notice from week to week). You are the one who is brave enough to try something new every time you learn a new exercise. You deserve a lot of thanks.

I was raised to say thank you too, and I think it’s a wonderful way to show your appreciation. Thanking someone makes the receiver feel good. But we rarely show thanks for our self. Sometimes it’s important to let ourselves know we appreciate our own choices and that we are proud of ourselves. It will make us feel good and help us to continue to make positive choices.

It may sound silly, but I think it is important to believe in ourselves, feel good about ourselves, and thank ourselves […]