Over the summer season on the French Riviera, I am blessed to welcome clients from all over the world including wild and wonderful places like Saudi Arabia, Canada, Switzerland, Brazil, Czech Republic, Turkey and beyond. I love asking clients about studios in their home countries and how Pilates is practiced.

In this blog post, I speak to four of my favourite Pilates business owners in Los Angeles, Monaco, Cape Town and London to find out how Pilates is in their city, where Pilates is headed and what inspires them most.

THE CYPRESS CENTER | LOS ANGELES
INTERVIEW WITH SAMANTHA WOOD

Describe your average client. Who enjoys Pilates in Los Angeles? 

I would say everyone enjoys Pilates in my part of the world! It seems there is a Pilates studio on every corner in the West LA area. But as a physiotherapist who specialises in Pilates-based rehabilitation, my “clients” are more often patients suffering from a specific injury or pathology that is limiting their activities.

At my wellness center we have been integrating Pilates into patient treatments for over 18 years with excellent outcomes. We use Pilates exercises and principles to help patients recover from injuries and surgery, as well as optimise function in those suffering from chronic conditions.

What is popular now at your studio/with your clients?

At my studio, private sessions are the most popular, as they have always been. We have tried offering mat and Reformer classes, but our clients love the personal attention and precision they get in the one-on-one sessions.

In your opinion, where is Pilates going?

I think Pilates will continue to grow in popularity. With people living longer and staying more active later in life; the demand for safe, effective, low impact exercise will only increase. And as we see more and more research being published in medical journals advocating the use of Pilates for injury healing and prevention, more and more people will be inspired to try it. At least that is my hope!

Visit:
The Cypress Center Website
Download Samantha Wood’s Pilates for Rehabilitation

MK PILATES | MONACO
INTERVIEW WITH MADELEINE KARLSSON

You used Pilates to recovering a nasty ankle injury. Tell us more.

I broke my ankle and was on and off crutches for eight months. I made a commitment to myself that I would do Pilates every day throughout my injury and I was in the best shape of my life, even though I couldn’t put my foot on the ground. It made me fall in love with the method all over again.

What have been your greatest challenges as an instructor/business owner?

One of the things that has challenged me is finding a space to create a studio that would be profitable. The rents in Monaco are so high that it’s hard to find anything that makes sense. My clients also travel a lot which means that there are times of the year when my work quietens down and I couldn’t afford to pay the rent of the studio. That’s the only down side of working in Monaco.

In your opinion, where is Pilates going?

I think Pilates will become more popular as more people start to see it as a smarter form of exercise than HIIT training and cross training for example. The fact that we focus on quality over quantity, on mobility coupled with strength and on form makes Pilates different and very appealing, even to those who practice other forms of exercise.

Visit:
MK Pilates Website

LIVING LIFE PILATES | CAPE TOWN
INTERVIEW WITH INGE PRETORIUS

How does it feel to be a teacher of Pilates?

I can truly say this is a dream come true for me, having a space to share my passion and hopefully inspire others to live their dream is a job that definitely does not feel like work.

Describe your average client. Who enjoys Pilates in your part of the world?

We have a wide variety of clients at our studio, but if I have to put them in boxes, I’d say we have two main groups. The first being those that are staying pain free through the Pilates method, the second being those that know Pilates is the best from of cross training for all the other activities they enjoy doing.

How has Pilates changed in Cape Town over the last five years?

It has generally become more mainstream, which is so great to see, but more specifically there are more and more studios offering group equipment classes, sometimes more directed to Pilates for fitness.

Where would you like to see Pilates in the future?

I’d like to see it become a part of every training program. Not an ‘instead of’ other movement practice, but rather ‘as well as’. Pilates should be the practice where you learn to move well, so you can keep moving in your daily life or in any other physical active you take part it. It should be a lifestyle, not a workout.

Visit:
Living Life Pilates Website

THE PILATES CLINIC | LONDON
INTERVIEW WITH LISA LAMBERTI

What have been your greatest challenges as an instructor/business owner?

As a business owner in this industry you are so busy trying to keep everyone else well and happy that often it is challenging to look after yourself. This is something I have recently had to take stock of and remedy!

How has Pilates changed in your city over the last five years?

Well my city is London, and I think it would be hard to imagine any one discipline changing a city, but as we move into times where stress breakdown is at an all time high, more people seek out stress relief through mind focussed exercise, so Pilates definitely is changing many lives across the city.

What is popular now at your studio/with your clients?

With such a variety of clients and teachers it is hard to say what might be ‘trending’. As our group classes get more and more regular attenders we can up the ante with greater form for greater challenge. Getting a sweat on while still being technically on point is probably the most popular with our small group classes.

In your opinion, where is Pilates going?

Oh wow, Pilates, more than ever before is booming. The online world has made it accessible anywhere, anytime. However, almost like a religion, there are many different methods which become almost like denominations, all saying slightly different things around the same theme. And just like religion, we all need to accept each other and be tolerant of different beliefs and experiences and theories. However, just like religion, there are many that remain dogmatic and intolerant. The rest of us, enjoy and celebrate and explore our differences. Pilates is awesome!

Visit:
The Pilates Clinic Website

On paper, Pilates has a great reputation for improving the strength of the pelvic floor muscles, especially in women post-child birth and in older populations. But in practice, I believe the pelvic floor (PF) is an area of the body that attracts the least interest in Pilates sessions.

As teachers, we seldom focus on the PF during training because:

• They’re not a group of muscles people can see
• They’re not as sexy as the six pack (rectus abdominis) or as easy to train as the corset (transverse abdominis)
• Admittedly, it is an ‘awkward’ area of the body to cue if a teacher and client do not know each other well

Similarly, clients don’t feel they’re getting a good workout if a session focuses strictly on the PF. Often clients struggle to keep up with the technical PF cues, while remembering to breathe and move correctly at the same time.

Truth be told, without pelvic floor (PF) strength and control, abdominal training cannot be called ‘functional’. Have you ever wet yourself or leaked urine when you sneeze or do a star jump or go for a run? This could be a sign your pelvic floor needs more attention.

The pelvic floor (PF) is like a ‘hammock’ or sling of muscles that support the pelvic organs. Their main function is to:

• assist with continence
• facilitate child birth
• improve sexual function
• maintain intra-abdominal pressure

The general rule of thumb with the pelvic floor is to: exhale contract + inhale release

The contraction should feel like you’re holding in a big wee and a big poo at the same time (although you can isolate both front and back of the PF). Like any other healthy muscle in the body, one should be able to both fully contract and fully release the pelvic floor.

For women returning from child-birth, it’s best to check with your doctor before starting any pelvic floor recovery program. Keep in mind that PF recovery is key to returning to physical activity after pregnancy.

Remember to empty your bladder before doing any work with your pelvic floor. In supine work, keep the abdominals only lightly contracted with no squeezing of the glutes and other global muscles.

Here are three exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor. Repeat each 5-10 times.

ONE: PLAYFUL KEGELS (EASY)

1. Inhale fully release the PF
2. Exhale fully contract only the front of the PF like you’re holding in a wee
3. Inhale fully release
4. Exhale fully contract only the back of the PF like you’re holding in a poo
5. Inhale fully release
6. Exhale fully contract both front and back of the PF
7. Inhale fully release
8. Repeat

TWO: LATERAL BREATHING

1. Inhale through your nose and expand the rib cage around your bra strap area (front, back and sides) and fully release the PF
2. Exhale through your mouth, fully emptying the lungs while contracting the PF
3. Repeat

THREE: ELEVATOR SQUEEZES (DIFFICULT)

Start with the breathing:
Inhale, inhale, inhale, inhale then exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale

Then add in the pelvic floor at the same time:

1. Deep inhale to prepare
2. Exhale (contract to 1), exhale (contract to 2), exhale (contract to 3), exhale (fully contract to 4)
3. Inhale (maintain at 4), inhale (release to 3), inhale (release to 2), inhale (fully release)
4. Repeat

Advanced (with a magic circle/ball between your knees):

1. Deep inhale to prepare
2. Exhale (contract to 1 + squeeze), exhale (contract to 2 + squeeze more), exhale (contract to 3 + squeeze a little more), exhale (fully contract to 4 + big squeeze)
3. Inhale (maintain at 4 + big squeeze), inhale (release to 3 + squeeze a little less), inhale (release to 2 + squeeze less), inhale (fully release PF + circle)
4. Repeat

CREW Pilates offer both pre- and post-natal abdominal and pelvic floor sessions in Antibes, France. Visit our website for more information on Pilates for women’s health.

Joseph Pilates drew on many different movement practices to develop what he called ‘Contrology’ or Pilates as we know it today. Some of these included body building and martial arts. He also studied the principles of yoga.

I can imagine starting Pilates and yoga at the same time could be quite intimidating for a new client to both practices but for more experienced movers, I feel Pilates and yoga are wonderfully complementary.

CREW Pilates is happy to have teamed up with Noona Ayres from Revitalize who now offers regular Hatha, Yin and Pre-natal yoga sessions at The Studio in Antibes. Noona has built a fantastic reputation over the 17 years she’s been on the Cote d’Azur sharing her love of yoga and Reiki.

Here are our four reasons we believe Pilates and yoga go well together:

1) THE IMPORTANCE OF BREATH

CREW PILATES – Joseph Pilates believed that bad posture and inefficient breathing were the cause of ill health. By just breathing correctly, we can greatly improve abdominal connection, lower our stress levels and live healthier lives. Correct breathing and pelvic floor activation are also synonymous and great ways to prepare for child birth.

REVITALIZE – Pranayama or breathing practice is one of the foundations of a yoga practice. Prana, or life force energy, primarily comes into the body via the breath. In yoga we learn different ways to breathe so that we can calm the nervous system and stimulate the energy body in different ways. The mind can control the breath; however with focus on the breath we can also change our state of mind.

2) LETTING GO

CREW PILATES – Put very simply, a healthy muscle is one that is equally strong and stretched. I feel Pilates is often too focused on muscle strength and ‘go, go, go’ with not enough focus on muscle relaxation.

REVITALIZE – It’s all about balance. Hatha yoga is two things: Ha and tha meaning ‘effort’ and ‘release’. Finding the optimum balance of applied effort and applied ease in each posture improves the flow of energy to the whole system.

3) THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION

CREW PILATES – In my time sharing Pilates, I have come across many clients who experience physical injury or pain after emotional events like divorce, loss or stress. This has made me realise how the mind and body are closely linked. For me, Pilates is a thinking person’s exercise. It’s about discovering how the mind and body can work together to heal, to move and to establish new patterns of living.

REVITALIZE – In yoga, the breath is seen as the bridge or gateway between body and mind. Using the breath and the different sensations we experience in our practice as a focus point, the mind is less likely to wander. Once we start to learn to turn our attention inwards our whole experience on the yoga mat begins to change, bringing about a state of stillness, presence and calm, often leading to a deeper sense of self-acceptance.

4) MOVE IN DIFFERENT WAYS

CREW PILATES – I believe it is important to introduce different movement practices to the body and not get used to moving in the same way and doing the same thing, over and over again. I often encourage my clients to take up various sports like running, cycling or swimming, Cross Fit or yoga to challenge their existing movement patterns and learn new things.

REVITALIZE – For me, it’s about exploring all the different ways in which our body can move. Beginner’s mind is very important in yoga practice so that we stay fresh to each different experience and sensation in the postures as well as in the transitions between postures. It’s easy to slip into ‘autopilot’ once the body knows the asanas, and with beginner’s mind it helps us to come back to the senses and into presence rather than staying in our habitual thinking patterns.

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To find out more:

CREW Pilates:

Bianca Ljungberg

Home

Revitalize

Noona Ayres

About

It’s always amazed me how many people go into Pilates or fitness instruction as a career, assuming there’s quick money to be made or that it’s an easy career to break into. Add slick websites and sexy promotional material on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and clients are quickly charmed into attending sessions.

I’ve been practicing Pilates for 12-years now and have certainly trained with my fair share of incredible, inspiring instructors from around the world who are continual students of the work and philosophies of Joseph Pilates.

Avoid the fly-by-night instructors and cheap imitations by ensuring your instructor genuinely knows their stuff:

1. What are your qualifications and where have you studied?

Pilates is an unregulated form of exercise, meaning you don’t need a special qualification to teach it. With countless schools around the block, it’s hard to know which is which. In my opinion, you shouldn’t be teaching Pilates without at least a 500-hour qualification made up of teaching, observation and personal practice time. If your instructor is advertising sessions for pre- or post-natal or injuries, make sure they have additional courses in these fields or even better, come from a background in physiotherapy or human movement sciences.

2. How much teaching experience do you have?

Malcolm Gladwell said it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of your craft. Studying to become a Pilates practitioner is only the beginning of the journey. Most of what instructors learn, is from pure hard work and hundreds of hours in the studio. No two bodies are the same and it takes a trained eye to know what clients need. To reach 10,000 hours, an instructor should be teaching at least 30-hours a week for 6.5 years!

3. Who is your instructor and how often do you work with them?

The best instructors are those who practice what they teach. Your instructor should regularly be training under and working alongside practitioners who are as good, if not better, than your own instructor. They should be striving to become better in their own practice and picking up new ideas as they go. Some of the ‘big names’ in the international Pilates scene are often on websites/videos like Pilates Anytime.

4. Are you a member of any professional organisations like the Pilates Method Alliance?

Because the industry is so unregulated when it comes to teaching, it is always comforting to know that your instructor is a member of a Pilates community where professionals knowledge share and support each other.

5. Do other health professionals recommend your work?

The proof is in the pudding. If a good sports massage therapist, physiotherapist, osteopath or doctor recommends your Pilates instructor, you know there is quality in their work.

If you’re a keen runner, I’d highly recommend this stretching routine which can be achieved in 10-minutes. For me, there’s no hard and fast rule on what works when it comes to stretching. Play around! Change your back/pelvis positioning, breathe in the stretch, stay still, wiggle… get a feel for what works in your own body.

My little girl turned 6-months old last week and as much as I’ve loved this journey, I’ve also learned a few truths about how motherhood really challenges good posture. Added to all the lifting, bending, carrying (Mila is now over 8kgs) and household chores, I have also been breastfeeding which means hours and hours of a hunched over, flexed spine. Certainly nothing Pilates can’t fix…

…Follow these five easy Swiss Ball exercises to improve spinal mobility and give your back a well-deserved breather.

After walking many of my own clients through their fertility, pregnancy and postnatal journeys, I fell pregnant with our first child in January 2017. I had an uncomplicated, joyous pregnancy and learned so much about my own Pilates practice through many hours of self discovery and sessions with my own trainer, Brazilian Pilates instructor and physiotherapist Fernanda Lozier.

After spending my time reading and speaking to many different women, I opted for a home birth at our home in Biot, France, where our daughter Mila Olivia was born naturally on 15 September 2017. She came at 38.5 weeks and weighed a healthy 4060 grams. My labor was truly the most empowering experience of my whole life, equally physical, emotional and spiritual. Here are 12 photos profiling Pilates and my journey through pregnancy.

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Bianca Ljungberg is owner and lead instructor at CREW Pilates, a boutique Pilates studio based in Antibes, France. She is qualified with Body Arts and Science International (BASI), a leading Pilates academy which pushes its students to become masters in the art and science of human movement. For more information about sessions for pregnancy and beyond, please get in touch by email to crewpilates@gmail.com