Another awesome session at IN & UP PILATES in Silverlake, Los Angeles today! I had a private session with studio owner Stephanie Herrman who was so warm and delightful to work with! She is a Power Pilates teacher, and trained under master teacher and mentor Niedra Gabriel. Niedra also teaches at IN & UP PILATES, and Stephanie raves about what an inspirational teacher she is… I of course immediately went home & booked a session with her next week. I can’t wait!
So Stephanie was wonderful - she let me interrupt her with dozens of questions and geeky Pilates comments and was so incredibly knowledgeable, all the while staying in tune with my body and what I needed from our work. Our session was a little less “classically” formatted, thanks to my enthusiastic request to hit the Wunda Chair: we began with a 15 min mat warmup followed by 40 minutes of wunda chair heaven and a stretching cool-down.
Here are some highlights and thoughts from our session:
Mat Work
Roll Over (Challenge): Ok Pilates Rockstars, see if you can do this! Hover and reach your arms a few inches off the mat (like preparing for the Hundred) for the entire execution of the Roll Over exercise. I know… Holy Abs!!! I definitely did not master this challenge today, but it did make me realize just how much I’ve been relying on my arms for strength and control in this exercise! I will be working on this challenge for sure!
Spine Stretch Forward (Ah Ha! Moment): It’s just one of those exercises that is so easy to get in your head about. I remember when I started studying Pilates & thinking “What’s up with Spine Stretch Forward… I don’t feel a thing!”, and then at some point it transforms into one of the hardest exercises in the series because your abs are scooping so hard, and your body is working in such vigorous opposition. Stephanie brilliantly reminded me what the point of the exercise is, which is to STRETCH your spine! I really went for it today, and felt a wonderful stretch through my spine.
Wunda-Chair
Tendon Stretch (Modification): Tendon Stretch on the Chair has always been a problematic exercise for me because my body proportions - short arms and long torso - makes getting leverage with my arms an impossibility. Nothing is less fun than scraping your hamstrings and bottom along the top of the chair!!! Stephanie gave me a wonderful modification to accommodate my funky-proportions: instead of placing your toes on the pedal, place your heels on the pedal instead! This gave me just enough room to execute the exercise!
Swan (Cue): Swan is always a tricky exercise for me to conceptualize. Perhaps it’s because I know so many similar back bending exercises - Combre Backward from the ballet world, Cobra from the Yoga world, and Swan from the Pilates world. While doing Swan on the Chair, Stephanie cued me to “pull” my heart center forward, which immediately helped me engage my upper back, release my low back, and find length and support in my abdominals… voila!
Pull Ups (Variation): This was a Pull Ups extravaganza! In addition to the variations I know (Pilates Stance, Heels, Side) we also did the following:
“Knee Stretches”: Same setup as “Pilates Stance” except the feet are parallel & inner hip width apart --- when the pedal is lowered 1/2 way down, bend both knees and pulse the pedal up and down vigorously without moving the rest of the body. (It’s sort of like a crazy version of Mountain Climber!)
“Leg to the Side”: A variation of “Side” --- Extend outside leg to the side with a flexed foot, keeping toes facing forward - leg is parallel. Do Pull-Ups here, keeping the extended leg reaching out and lifted!
Hamstrings (New Exercise): Position a mat in front of the Chair. Lie on the mat with your knees bent, bottom close to the pedal, feet parallel on the pedal of the chair, and knees inner hip width apart (teacher will press the pedal down for you to begin). (1) Roll your hips off the mat and come to your shoulder bridge position. (2) Keeping your hips high and still, lift the pedal and push it 1/2 way down 3-5 times accenting the UP (3) Press the pedal all the way down (4) Roll the hips back down to the mat. (5) Repeat This is a great way to really work the hamstrings with the resistance of Pilates equipment for a client who cannot work belly-down!
Teaser on the Chair (Prop & Challenge): We did Teaser on the Chair with the assistance of the Stability Ball - heels resting on top of the ball throughout the exercise. First of all, trying to keep that ball from wiggling around requires really nuanced control from the abs to keep your balance and pelvic stability - it’s hard! Secondly, the ball provides just enough support to really relax the hip flexors and get deep into the lower abdominal work of the exercise, which is great! Finally, the ball also made this cool challenge possible: (1) On the last repetition, as you return the pedal up to it’s starting position, lengthen through the abdominals, lift the head and chest towards the ceiling, arch the upper body back into extension (2) Return to starting position.
Saw on the Chair: (Prop & New Exercise): Keeping the same setup as Teaser, we went right into Saw. In this version, the feet stay glued together on top of the stability ball. (1) Arms come to a T-Position (2) Twist Spine to the Right (3) Tuck the tailbone and begin to roll backwards as your right hand finds the pedal. (4) Keeping your twist & arms in t-position, press the pedal down using your lower abdominals. (5) Then scoop the abdominals to return pedal to it’s starting position (6) Stack spine until you are upright (6) Twist to the left and repeat.
This is such an awesome exercise! It’s like Side Sit Ups meet Twist Series! You really have to engage your abdominals in the pressing and lifting of the pedal & the stability ball gives you support and keeps you honest, if you aren’t grounded through both hips it will roll away!
1/2 Foam Roller: We finished class today with some stretches assisted by a small 1/2 Foam Roller. I was so delighted by this little piece of heaven that Stephanie actually gifted me one to bring home!!! This is a great little prop for opening up the hips and stretching the calves and back of legs. I won’t give away all the awesome stretches, but let’s just say that I brought it to work to show off to my friends, and there was literally a line of people waiting to try them!
I felt fantastic after class... thanks so much Stephanie! Can’t wait to come back next week!
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