About Pilates

Improves Your Posture - Core strengthening in the abdominal and lower back area along with exercises that isolate the key muscles that support the shoulder joint leads to improved posture; pilates exercises also focus on strengthening while lengthening muscles leading to a longer leaner look overall. Stronger muscles can reduce pain within injured areas and resolve postural issues.

Enhances Performance - Pilates focus on core strengthening, flexibility and mobility, and increased muscle strength. Specific pilates programming improves your performance in activities that benefit from stronger core muscles, and targeted muscle strength, such as golfing, running, skiing, and biking. Programming is developed to address client's specific requirements.

How many sessions should I be doing each week? Ideally best results come about from practicing pilates three or more times per week, combined with cardio exercise a minimum of 20 minutes three times a week. Sol Pilates & Yoga can suggest an exercise program for clients to do at home in between studio sessions.

Why is pilates so effective? Pilates' exercises focus on both concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening) contractions to strengthen muscles and lengthen them at the same time. Pilates also improves core balance and strength through exercises that require isometric contractions of the abdominal muscles throughout dynamic movement of limbs.

Is pilates an alternative to yoga? Pilates and yoga are very complementary exercises with pilates ' focus on postural alignment through dynamic exercises and yoga's focus on balance through postures.

Stott Pilates Basic Principles

Breathing Proper breathing ensures that enough oxygen is flowing to the muscles you are using, and helps prevent unnecessary tension. A relaxed and full breath pattern encourages focus and concentration. The breath pattern involves an expansion of the rib cage out to the sides and back without allowing the shoulders to lift. It is also important to breathe into the lower part of your lungs, because there is more efficient gas exchange. This breath pattern will help engage your deep abdominal muscles and stabilize your torso.

Pelvic Placement Stott Pilates emphasizes stabilization of the pelvis and lumbar spine (lower back) in either a neutral or an imprinted position.

Neutral Placement maintains the normal curve of the lower back. When lying on your back, front of hip bones and pubic bone should lie parallel to the mat, and your lower back should not be pressed into the mat. This is the most stable and optimal shock-absorbing position for your back. Make sure you're not arching your back to achieve neutral alignment. While breathing and engaging abdominals in this position no strain should be felt through the lower back. If you feel muscle tension, shift the pelvis to a more comfortable position.This is the ideal position when one or two feet are secure on the mat or other equipment.

Imprinted Position: The lower back is moving toward the mat. Avoid pressing your lower back all the way into the mat or tilting the pelvis too far by overusing the abs or glutes. Note that the amount of contact between the lower back and the mat is different for everyone. An imprinted position should be used to ensure stability of the lower back when both feet are lifted off the mat.

Rib Cage Placement The rib cage position affects the alignment of the thoracic (upper) spine. When lying on your back in a neutral position, maintain the sense of the weight of the ribs resting gently on the mat (i.e. maintain the normal curve of the upper back). Don't lift off or push your rib cage into the mat. Pay particular attention to the placement of your rib cage when inhaling or while performing arm movements overhead. Using the breath pattern described above and engaging your abs will help stabilize the rib cage. Emphasize breathing into the back and sides of your rib cage during inhalation. When you exhale, allow you ribs to soften, with the two sides gently closing in toward each other.

Shoulder Stability Stabilizing your scapulae [shoulder blades] on the back of the rib cage is as important as contracting your abs during the initiation of every exercise. This will help you avoid strain through your neck and upper shoulders. To achieve proper placement, a sense of width should be maintained across the front and back of the shoulders. Make sure you neither allow your shoulders to round forward too much nor squeeze together toward the spine. Shoulders should not be lifted too far,or over-depressed. Placement should be somewhere between these two positions. The shoulder blades have a large range of motion, so remember to maintain stability (but not rigidity) at all times: a) when the spine is neutral and the arms are resting; b) when the spine is moving, and; c) when the arms are moving in any direction.

Head & Neck Placement Your cervical spine [neck] should hold its natural curve with your head balanced directly above your shoulders when sitting, lying and standing. In some cases, a small pillow should be used when lying on your back to put your head and neck in a comfortable position. Whenever you lift your head and upper body from the mat, lengthen the back of your neck and nod your head forward without jamming the chin into the chest. There should be enough room to fit your fist between your chin and chest. Once your head is in proper position and your shoulder blades are stabilized (Principle 4), the upper torso can be lifted by contracting the abs and sliding your rib cage toward your pelvis. When lying on your stomach and lifting the upper torso, pay particular attention to maintaining an even line from the upper back to the neck. Avoid lifting the head too high and crunching up the back of the neck.

About Pilates & Pregnancy

The following information should NOT be substituted for medical advice from your doctor. Please consult your physician for information on what will be appropriate for you during your pregnancy.

Sol Pilates & Yoga develops its policies and programming for pregnancy in line with the recommendations of Stott Pilates. Stott Pilates follows the current standards practiced in the fitness industry regarding safety and pregnancy and the guidelines set out by professional organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. What follows is some general information and should not be substituted for the advice of a physician and the guidance of a qualified fitness professional.

No two women's bodies are the same, and this is especially true during pregnancy. There are workouts that are quite appropriate for some people during pregnancy and not for others. During a normal, healthy pregnancy, moderate exercise is safe for the fetus. Exercise is also said to prevent varicose veins, hemorrhoids and low back pain and helps to boost self esteem, maintain fitness levels and prepare the body for the physical demands of motherhood.

A woman's body goes through many changes during pregnancy and exercise must be adapted and modified as the pregnancy progresses. The beauty of pilates is that it can be individualized for anyone's ability. Workouts and schedules during the first trimester may have to be adjusted around fatigue levels. Over the course of the pregnancy the demand on the abdominal muscles should be decreased. During the second trimester these muscles become stretched out, and some women experience diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles). With reduced abdominal support there is a greater risk of injuring the lower back. Further, due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, the ligaments surrounding the joints become lax, leaving them loose and vulnerable. For this reason, you should be careful not to overstretch. It is important to continue strengthening and rebalancing the muscles around the joints – supporting the body as it goes through postural changes related to pregnancy.

Today many guidelines for pregnancy indicate that after approximately the 16th week of gestation the supine position (lying on your back) should be avoided as the maternal blood supply and subsequently the fetal blood supply may be affected. In the second trimester, positioning must be adjusted and small equipment (particularly the Spine Supporter) combined with the Matwork exercises becomes very useful. As well, the possibilities offered by the Reformer, Cadillac and Stability Chair are helpful. Of course, drinking lots of water, avoiding overexertion and overheating are always important.

About Specialized Pilates Equipment

What is a Reformer? The Stott Pilates Reformer is one of the larger pieces of equipment. It consists of a carriage (small platform) that glides back and forth on rollers and uses springs for resistance, along with other attachments for a wide variety of exercises that can be done in a variety of positions (i.e. lying down, seated, standing, kneeling, etc).

What are the benefits of working on the Reformer? The Refomer is extremely versatile. It facilitates hundreds of exercise variations, is no-impact (easy on the joints), allows for modifications for those with injuries/conditions, allows for three-dimensional movement/conditioning, and is suitable for a wide variety of people (from rehab clients to athletes). A Reformer workout will add resistance to your routine and can thus correct muscular imbalances better than a basic mat routine would partially due to the resistance on the in and out movement (eccentric/concentric muscle contraction) of the exercises.

Why are springs used for resistance instead of weights? The springs provide gradual resistance as the muscles contract allowing the muscles to be worked properly; greater resistance at the muscle’s strongest point of contraction, less resistance at the initiation/completion point. This type of resistance places less stress on the tendons and ligaments and is therefore a safe and healthy manner in which to work the body’s muscles.

How much resistance (in weight) do the springs provide? For full strength springs, there is 5lbs. in tension for the first inch of tension, increasing by approximately 1lb. per inch thereafter. Up to four, full tension springs and one, half tension spring can be used on a STOTT Reformer. To get the approximate resistance in pounds multiply the number of springs by the distance traveled. Most people keep it simple by making a note of the number of springs used per exercise.

Will the Reformer help to increase a person’s flexibility? Absolutely, the Reformer as well as other Stott equipment is quite helpful in improving one’s flexibility.