|
Sign up for our May 19th workshop with Shari Berkowitz on Pilates and the Small Ball.
Click here to watch her explain the workshop and show you some cool moves you can do at home.
 | | A Sneak Peak at Pilates on the Small Ball with Shari Berkowitz |
Open to all!
May 19th, 3pm to 6pm
|
|
|
Greetings!
Once every few weeks I host a meeting for Pilates business owners and managers at my home. It is a lovely gathering of entrepreneurs who are passionate about Pilates and wellness. During our most recent luncheon I was reminded by a long time colleague of mine that she and I once taught Mat classes to a packed house in the West Village. Classes were between 30-40 people. The room was chock full of professionals of all sorts, many of whom were so changed and inspired by Pilates that they left their careers and enrolled in Teacher training courses. Classes were challenging, dynamic and most of all, fun. But then.... something shifted. For me personally, opening my own space meant I no longer had access to the wide open floor of a gym. Gone were the tremendous groups meaning we naturally focused on the use of the larger apparatus. And with that, Mat classes at Real Pilates went 'poof'. I took some time this week to re-read some of Joe Pilates first book on the Mat work. I realize he used the word "spirit" a lot. Whether he meant to imbue his work with a spiritual component or he just meant the joie de vivre that was always present in his work, something about going prop-less reminds me that the essence of Pilates can and should be experienced and transmitted simply through the Mat work. This month I've relaunched my first true Mat class in years. I'm very excited to recapture some of that early spirit that was always present in my first group classes and that ultimately inspired me to open my own studio. For those of you who have never really taken the time to experience Joe Pilates Mat work or simply want to find a new way to fall in love with Pilates, I invite you to join me. We're strapping the Towers up and hitting the floor to deepen our focus, sharpen our technique and dare I say it, -- elevate our spirits.
~Alycea
Hit the mat with me Wednesdays at 12:30 every week til' I say Stop! Teachers and Pilates lovers who want to hear me wax on (and on)about Pilates in a webinar I recorded can click here and pull up a chair!
What else? Well, keep reading for specials, classes and whether or not your Abs will still work after Abdominal surgery! |
|
Free Reflexology and Chair Massage this Week. | |
Victoria Cooper, LMT will be on hand with free chair massage!
Thursday May 10th 10am - 12pm
Friday May 11th 12pm - 3pm
Saturday May 12th 11:30-1:30pm
Sunday Mat 13th 10am- 12pm
Reflexologist Melody Rodriguez will be available for free mini-sessions on Wednesday May 9th from 11am to 1pm.
May Massage Sale! Use as a gift for Mom (or yourself!)
50 Minute Massage $80 (regularly $100) Buy here!
80 Minute Massage $120 (regularly $145) Buy here!
*Limit one per person. Must used between May 1st and June 30th.
|
|
So many new classes at Real Pilates!
|
Bikini Body Pilates with Jessi Albin - Sign up here!
Wednesdays at 7:30pm
Thursdays at 10:30am
Real Alignment Mat Class with Alycea Ungaro - Sign up here!
Wednesdays at 12:30pm, May 9th through June 20th.
Rock Your Teaser with Alycea Ungaro - Sign up here!
Put your fears to rest, and master the move.
June 6th, 3pm-4:30pm
Rock Your Swan with Lynda Lippin - Sign up here!
Conquer this spinal extension once and for all!
July 11th, 3pm-4:30pm
|
|
Robin is Back for a Visit!
|
 We know you've missed Robin, and she has missed kicking your butt. Book a private sessions with Robin Friday May 11th though Monday May 14th, or jump into her class on Sunday May 13th at 10am.
Email us for Private session with Robin.
Reserve a spot in class here!
|
|
I Had Abdominal Surgery and Yes, My Abs Still Work.
|
by Lynda Lippin
I have been doing Pilates and Reiki since 1986 and teaching Pilates since 1989 (Reiki teaching came later). In the decade from 1986-1996 I was diagnosed with migraine headaches, severe endometriosis, and pelvic pain, undergoing five separate laparoscopic surgeries and many hormonal and pain therapies before finally undergoing a total abdominal hysterectomy at the age of 30. The two things that carried me through that difficult decade - which also included earning a graduate degree in Philosophy, getting married, becoming a parent, and opening my first Pilates studio - were Pilates and Reiki.
As an undergraduate at Purchase College, I originally started doing Pilates to see what the studio was spending money on. You see, I was the Finance Director of student government, which in the '80s was funding the Pilates studio. But once I started Pilates, I was hooked! The exercises were the only ones I had ever encountered that targeted my abdominals and pelvic floor in such a clear and effective way. My hypermobile joints felt better and stronger. Most important for me, the pain I had each month from the endometriosis, which manifested in severe abdominal cramps, nausea, and lower back pain, would go away for a little while after my Pilates class.
My first experiences with Therapeutic Touch and then Reiki came from the Physical Therapist I hired at my first Pilates studio in PA. Susan not only gave me treatments, but also taught me how to do treatments on myself and others, even teaching my husband how to work on me to help me prepare for and recover from the major surgery, since I could only rest well after a treatment. I was the first patient ever at Temple University hospital to have Reiki practitioners in pre-op and recovery with me (I insisted and my surgeon approved), and lost so little blood and healed so quickly that everyone was shocked.
I was back in the Pilates studio four weeks post-op, and while it wasn't easy getting back (in fact, I was so impatient and frustrated that I was a tough client), I can tell you today that my abs and pelvic floor work perfectly from regular Pilates. Plus, thanks to my daily Reiki practice I have no more daily chronic pain, I sleep well, and the migraines are gone.
So if you hear yourself, or anyone you know saying, "I had abdominal surgery [or cesarean]. They cut me, so I can't really use my abs anymore," know that there is hope. With Pilates, your abs will work again!
Mine do.
|
|
"With body, mind, and spirit functioning perfectly as a coordinated whole, what else could reasonably be expected other than an active, alert, disciplined person."
- Joseph Pilates, Return to Life Through Contrology |
|
|
