Pilates For Two

In case you missed this in our newsletter . . .

Much has changed since the days when medical doctors would advise against any type of abdominal exercise during pregnancy. (Doctors used to tell women to avoid massage during pregnancy too! Can you believe it?) As more research is done and more knowledge is gained about the body, about pregnancy, and about how various exercises affect the body, it is becoming apparent that Pilates can not only be done safely during pregnancy, but can also help a woman to have a more comfortable pregnancy and a more quick and easeful delivery. The key is to know what changes are occurring in your body, don’t push yourself, and work with an instructor who is educated in the necessary modifications.


The Power of Positioning: Once you are in your second trimester, it is no longer safe to lie on your back for extended periods of time, as the uterus can press on the vena cava, cutting off the flow of blood returning to the heart. This could cause depleted blood and waste materials to remain with the fetus, obviously far from ideal conditions for your developing child. Exercises from a seated position or from hands and knees are a great alternative, and can often be more comfortable.

Keeping it Together: Diastasis Recti is the separation of the two halves of the rectus abdominus that happens during pregnancy in most women. The condition itself is completely normal and nothing to cause concern. Caution should be taken, however, to ensure that the separation is not unnecessarily increased. Exercises to avoid are those that "require the rectus abdominus to contract strongly against gravity." (Goodman) While this includes a large portion of the Pilates repertoire, there are plenty of modifications and alternate exercises that your instructor can guide you through.

The focus of your work during pregnancy should be on the deeper abdominal muscles, the trasversus abdominus in particular. The transversus abdominus runs horizontally around your abdomen. When it contracts, tightens the waist like a corset. Strengthening this muscle helps to keep the rectus abdominus from separating too far and can actually help pull the two halves closer together where diastasis has already occurred. It can also make labor easier as you are strengthening one of the major contributors to "pushing."

Stretching the Limits: During pregnancy a woman’s body secretes a hormone called relaxin. Relaxin softens connective tissue, allowing greater mobility. This is the body’s brilliant way of accommodating the many changes happening in the body, and eventually allowing the widening of the symphesis pubis, which is necessary for the baby to pass through the birth canal. Along with those many benefits comes the responsibility of being very aware that you are not overstretching your body beyond its healthy range of motion.

With good awareness (concentration, there it is again) and proper guidance from an instructor who is versed in prenatal Pilates, you can continue your workouts throughout your pregnancy and reap the benefits of a strong healthy body to help you through labor and recovery.

Getting in Gear (Bad Pun Alert!)

Cycling is such a fun and functional way to exercise. I love cruising around town, to the grocery store, to work. I save gas, I get to breathe and be in nature (sort of), and I get a workout.


It can be a major pain too, literally. Low back pain is extremely common among cyclists, and I know this from experience (from my pre-Pilates days of course ;-) The good news is that the core strengthening and alignment gained in your Pilates workouts translates to your cycling, both to prevent pain and injury and to boost your performance! What's not to love?

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/health-protect-yourself-from-back-pain-22868

To Your Health - BPA No Way!

You've probably heard about how bad your plastic water bottle is for the planet, but did you know how bad it is for you? Read on and find out why you may want to pick up a Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottle.

BPA (Bisphenol-A) is a substance commonly found in plastics. Almost every brand of water on the market that is bottled in plastic is bottled in a container that contains BPA. Soda bottles have it too, as do many packaged food containers. So what's the big deal?

BPA leaches into your foods and beverages, especially when the container becomes warm. Have you ever left your water bottle in the car? What about microwaving that instant soup in a bowl? Even at room temperatures BPA is seeping into your foods, and it is dangerous at levels far below what the FDA still considers safe.

BPA is "estrogenic" which means that it mimics estrogen in the body, disrupting your body's delicate hormone balance and setting off a cascade of health concerns, most notably reproductive function (in both women and men.) It is linked to "inflammation and oxidative stress," the latter of which is a risk factor for cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.

"BPA has been connected to a wide variety of other adverse effects, namely: Increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; links with serious health problems based on over 200 studies which found it to have negative effects at doses lower than the FDA’s current standards; retention in the body longer than was previously believed; leeching into liquids being held in containers regardless of the containers’ temperature; and longer lasting damage, which can be passed to future generations." http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/11843

The FDA will be reconsidering a ban on BPA this November. If you have the time, why not tell the FDA just what you think about an agency that was formed to protect consumers allowing such an insidious toxin to be used in food and beverage containers. Until this chemical is banned, make wise purchases: buy foods packaged in plant based cellulose rather than plastics, avoid water, juice, and soda in plastic bottles, and buy your own reusable container* to pack water with you. It's better for the environment, and just might save you from a whole host of health issues!

* Stainless Steel is my recommendation. Who knows what other contaminates are leeching out of even BPA free water bottles, and aluminum will react with any acidic juices, teas, or even lemon water -- aluminum is thought to be a contributor to Alzheimer's disease.

Time for a new job?

Consider teaching Pilates! There is no other job that I know of that allows a flexible schedule with the ability to do what you love and work around wonderful people. After finding a career in pilates I knew I had to look no further. And I have had a lot of different types of jobs working as a nanny, in retail sales and promotion, corporate fundraising and even at a temp agency. After thinking of my co-workers in the pilates studio, I realized that they had had a variety of jobs too! At BFP there are two instructors that have had careers in the legal arena, another as a pharmaceutical sales rep, a bartender, barista, choreographer, teacher, consultant and even one in an adult entertainment shop (I'll never tell and you'd never guess!). Did I mention that one worked in the circus?! Yes, we are a unique group of passionate women at Bella Forma Pilates and we all share a deep love and respect for the work of Joseph Pilates. Sharing the benefits of a pilates practice with our clients and watching the journey unfold with a new student has each of us professing, "I love what I do!". If you are thinking of a career change, or just interested in learning how to become a certified pilates instructor, please let us know. Our BASI certification program is starting in September and it could be the beginning of a long and happy career for you! To learn more go to: http://www.bellaformapilates.com/san-diego-pilates-certification/default.aspx

Pilates To Go - What do you think?

What do you think of tools like this? Are they a great way for people to get in a workout on the go? Are they an accident waiting to happen?

http://www.examiner.com/x-19177-Home-Fitness-Examiner~y2009m8d18-Yoga-goes-hitech

The Principles: Concentration

In case you missed it in our newsletter . . .

The Principles: Concentration

Rael Isacowitz, founder of Body Arts and Sciences International (BASI) divides this principle into two parts, awareness and concentration. He regards "awareness as a state of mind -- of being mindful and feeling the movement" and concentration as "a more cognitive process of understanding the movement." (Isacowitz, 9)

Awareness is the initial realization of the body, where it lies in space, how it moves, and any tightness, misalignment, weakness, habitual movement patterns or other imbalances that we may have developed throughout our lives. That initial awareness is critical to achieve a baseline from which to progress. Our muscles and joints contain proprioceptors that tell our brain where we are in space and how far a joint can move before injury. Over time, we train our proprioceptors to feel that misalignments and limited range of motion are correct and representative of our body's full potential. In order to change those patterns, we must first become aware.

Concentration is viewed as the "bridge between awareness and movement" (Isacowitz, 9) Once you have established your baseline, it is essential to bring that same awareness into every movement. Checking in with your body periodically can help to develop your concentration. If you find yourself thinking about something other than your workout, scan your body, especially those places you are working to retrain, and notice if they are engaged, relaxed, stabilized, or moving as they should be in the exercise. By bringing your awareness and concentration to a particular muscle you facilitate the firing of that muscle. Where patterns exist, it can be difficult to work the correct muscle(s) even with intense concentration, but nearly impossible without that attention. If you don't know what you should be focusing on in a particular exercise, ask your instructor.

Remember to keep it light, you can over-think things. If you become tense or frustrated, let it go. Do your best, you can always move on to another exercise, one that is easier or more familiar to your body, and return to the more challenging exercise later.

Isacowitz, Rael. (2006). Pilates:Your Complete Guide to Mat Work and Apparatus Exercises. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL

Article by Tamsin Thoren

You can always check out back issues on our website www.bellaformapilates.com

Healthy Friday - Let go of Stress!

It's no secret that stress is anything but beneficial. You probably know that stress weakens your immune system, decreases digestive function, alters your sleep habits and mood, and causes your body to deposit fat in unflattering ways. We haven't even mentioned the effect on blood pressure, the load on your heart . . . The list goes on and on.

When you are stressed your body gets ready for "fight or flight" by dumping stored energy into the bloodstream so that you can perform super human feats of strength and stamina (fight that sabre toothed tiger, run from the grizzly bear). Today's stresses don't generally require any physical exertion, so the stress hormones remain present in our bloodstream, keeping the cycle going, and the calorie storage is deposited as fat, usually around our midsection (When the body is stressed we pull fat storage from the limbs and deposit it in our torso. This is bad for soooo many reasons.)

Enough about that. What can you do to manage your stress?

Remember to breathe! -- Taking deep breaths will help move your body out of "fight or flight" mode and back into a place where normal function can return and the body can begin clearing out all of the hormones produced by stress. The faster you can make that happen the better!

Get moving. -- Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. Make it something you enjoy, dancing, a brisk walk in nature, taking it out on a heavy bag (hey it can extremely therapeutic!). How about a Pilates class? ;-) Moving your body increases the depth and rate of your breathing, increases circulation, and burns off the calories your body has dumped into your bloodstream before they can be redeposited.

Take time for you! -- What do you enjoy? What brings you peace and happiness? A hot bath? A massage? Music? Give yourself permission to forget about everything stressful and immerse yourself into something pleasurable, a mini vacation. You deserve it! You will be better prepared to handle your responsibilities with a clear relaxed mind.

"Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff)" - Richard Carlson -- This is so true, and yet so easy to forget. In the moment there are things that can seem to be huge. When we step back and put it into perspective, how much will this matter in 10 days? 10 weeks? 10 years? Is it worth my worrying over it now? Will my stressing over this help anything? These are good questions to ask yourself to gain perspective. Here are more great tips for getting perspective. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/health_fitness&id=6958418

Here's to your health! May you have a relaxing and peaceful weekend!

Have you tried Circuit Class?

Circuit is a challenging workout that uses several different apparatuses (reformer, cadillac, wunda chair, bosu ball). You move through 20 minute sessions at each "station" to achieve a total body workout that is fun and interesting. This new twist on the Pilates method ups the ante on your workouts. See what people are saying about circuit. http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/08/pilates-circuit-training.php

Come try Circuit Class with Jenn, every Saturday at 7:00 AM. Start your weekend right.
Sign up on-line at www.bellaformapilates.com

It's Healthy Friday!

"Slow food" has become a new slogan for foodies, nutritionists, and localvores alike. Even MSNBC is catching the fever http://tinyurl.com/slwfd1 So what is it all about?

Simply put . . .

It's about knowing what you're eating, knowing what all of those ingredients are, where and how your food was grown and processed, and what your body gets out of it.

It's about buying foods that are fresh, local, and in season and knowing your local farmers.

It's about cooking your own meals, cooking with your family, eating with your family, and using meal time as a way to strengthen your family and your community.

When "multeatask" (eat in the car, at our desk, in front of the TV) not only do we ingest more calories that are generally higher in "empty calories (those with little to no nutritional value), we don't digest our food as well. We don't chew as well (necessary for carbohydrate digestion in particular), we produce cortisol from the stress of the road, our jobs, etc. (leads to fat deposits around the mid-section in particular), and we pay far less attention to what and how much we are putting into our bodies.

Who wants to feel bloated, heavy, and sluggish after a meal when you can feel energized, nourished, and vibrant instead? Maybe it's time to put down the take out, and dine-in slow food style!

MS eased by Pilates

A diagnosis isn't necessarily a life sentence. MS can be debilitating, but individuals diagnosed with the condition are using Pilates to keep themselves mobile. Many find that they are able to continue living their lives exactly as they had, and even do more than before, by using Pilates to condition their bodies and minds!

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/81/32665/people-walking-disability-turning-pilates.html

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