Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Join Us! Prevention-Palooza - Sat, Nov 1 8:30A-12:30P at Citadel Holliday Alumni Center

Any Body's Pilates will be exhibiting at the Food a& Fitness Fair and presenting brief Pilates Mat workshops at Prevention-Palooza, hosted by Dragon Boat Charleston. 


Citadel Campus, Holliday Alumni Center 
69 Hagood (across from Citadel Football Stadium)
November 1, 2014 
8:30A-12:30P
Join us for a light breakfast and peruse the Food & Fitness Fair. At 9am Dr. Ann Kulzerenowned author and motivational speaker will deliver her Just Say Whoa to Cancer program. At 11A there will be a series of exercise demonstrations including Pilates on the Patio with Any Body's Pilates!
Bring a yoga mat, come in your work out clothes, bring your friends and enjoy a day of information and inspiration! Click here to buy tickets for $10 (will be $15 at the door).
DBC has been paddling hard since 2003 with the mission of promoting physical and mental wellness among cancer survivors and their community. 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Control the Body with the Mind - Contrology

My first fitness love is group fitness classes. I loved the music, the people, and the fact that I couldn't think about my to-do list or anything else, unless I wanted to bump into other people or look like an idiot. That's how I got hooked on gyms and gym memberships, and it's how I got started as a fitness professional (part-time, while working a career corporate job). One of the most difficult aspects of learning to be a group fitness instructor was learning to give instructions, while doing the workout, and synchronizing with the music, while helping the attendees by giving specific cues. 

Leg Springs - Tower
When I went to a Pilates studio, there was no music. The instructor was not demonstrating the exercises. It seemed strange, and strangely quiet. Soon, I was too busy following instructions to notice. 

Bingo! I was too busy following instructions to notice there was no music. I was too focused on what I was doing to have been able to see (or follow) a demonstration by the instructor. And my mind had been quiet -- I'd only been thinking about each exercise.

That's a large part of the mind-body connection in Pilates. Clients focus on the instructions, how the movement feels in their bodies, and controlling the body with the mind. No distractions. That's why Joseph Pilates called it "Contrology."  Control the body with the mind.