It's Time to Get in the Water

Upon request from the OPC members only FB group a class with the 100 as the theme is back in action! It’s all new and full of ways to feel the 100 both in the 100, upside down, right side up and everywhere in between.

On the Mat get ready to pump where you usually don’t. Breathe a little deeper and exhale a little longer. Over on the Reformer you’ll be asked to find your 100’s curl in a whole lot of different places.

Yes, the 100 gets your blood pumping. But, it also helps you move through your entire Pilates practice!

Happy Hundred-ing,

xx~LL

The results are in, Sitting is the New Smoking. But, if you are going to sit – which lets face it we all will – then it’s important to know that you can sit and stand with strength and control. And your Pilates practice will get you there!

This week on our Mat we will see how well we lower down, use our practice to help us roll back up and see how well we stand because of Pilates. And on the Reformer we’ll use all the exercises to help us lift ourselves up, lower ourselves down and everything in between.

See ya in class,

xx~LL

As we know they’ve done studies that show sitting is the new smoking. And, while you’re a Pilates rockstar who probably has a standing desk the challenge of going from sitting to standing without using your hands is tricky.

Now, before I continue I know that some of you have injuries that prevent you from going from standing to sitting and sitting to standing. Don’t worry. This class is still for you. You can skip those parts. We will be focusing mostly on the exercises in between.

On the Mat we will challenge your seat and play with getting your hips up without momentum. And on the Reformer we will play with the different series that help us open and close our hips!

After all we do Pilates not to be better at Pilates but to be stronger doing life.

xx~LL

When doing Pilates it’s easy to get obsessed with your core or keeping your shoulders out of your ears. But, the more connected you are to your seat, your booty, the stronger your entire body will feel. Some of those notorious hip grippy exercises like Spine stretch forward teaser will become more tolerable and you may even find you enjoy them a little bit when you activate your butt! Let’s work your booty and more in this week’s class.

See you on your mat,

xx-LL

The other day in our OPC members only group I had a request for Hip Circles being a theme. And so, if you don’t love this theme…do it anyways! haha!

My friends, some exercises in Pilates are teaching tools for our bodies. They strengthen or stretch us. And other exercises are revealers. They show us where we still need work. Hip Circles is one of those exercises.

In our Mat practice, we will use every exercise to prepare us to FLOW through our Hip Circles. On the Reformer, we will use the equipment to help us strengthen, stretch and make our Mat work a flow we enjoy!

See ya in class!

xx~LL

Ok, I’m coming clean! I absolutely hate stretching post a run or workout with my trainer. I mean, I would rather do a full on mat workout after a run or training session than sit and stretch or roll. And while there are plenty of opinions on whether or not stretching even works. What I can say from experience is that using Pilates as my cross training has kept me injury free even when I was a competitive runner. So, this week’s class is taking the mat workout as a post-run/spin/elliptical or cross-training workout. How can we use the mat to open up what those workouts tighten up? How can we strengthen what those workouts overlook and how can we check in with where our body is that day?

I hope you enjoy this weeks mat class!

xx-LL

Your favorite exploration is back! Every time we a week focusing on our different sides abilities I get requests for more. So, here it is! We are getting asymmetrical again. If you’ve been an OPC member for awhile you will get a chance to see how you have improved since the last time. If you are new, this will be a fun way to see which side is strong than another.

On the Mat we will also do some standing Pilates exercises to challenge our balance and connection. On the Reformer we will incorporate the variations of each exercise that use one leg or one arm instead of both.

See you in class,

xx~LL

Ever have a teacher who asks you to, “Give them one more?” Well, if you haven’t you will this week. And, if you have then you may not be looking forward to this class but I promise I won’t ask for one more rep. Instead, I will be asking for one more inch.

Yes, an inch! Because I want more length from you. It’s so easy to do what you usually do or reach from your joints. In this week’s class, we will reach from different parts of our spine in every exercise.

Are you ready to feel taller?

xx-LL

The SideKicks used to just include the Front and Back. But many of Joseph Pilates students have added a few variations to this. Why? Because the sidekicks are so important. Our side strength is what helps us do movements in multiple planes at once.

Think about how you move in life. When you are taking your groceries from the cart to your trunk you are lifting, twisting, bending and turning. Having strong obliques and glutes is key to stabilizing and agility. I mean, these muscles have to be able to do movements in both directions.

This week, we are taking the strength of our sidekicks through our mat work. Get ready to feel your hips in a whole new way!

See you on your mat,

xx-LL

This week we’ll be doing our Reformer exercises on the Mat and the Mat exercise on the Reformer. If you have never done Pilates on a Reformer, there may be some exercise that seem odd to you. And, if you are always choosing our Reformer classes instead of the Mat, you might want to skip this week. But, I really want you to feel how the entire Pilates method works together. How the Reformer can support you and the Mat can challenge you.

On the mat have a set of 1 lb. weights nearby (if you have them it’s not necessary). Reformer lovers you won’t need any extra props just pay attention to different spring settings and flows.

See you in class!

xx~LL

This week’s class is inspired by the OG Rolling Back. We’ll play with the version as it is in Joseph Pilates book Return to Life and how it can help feed the rest of our Mat practice. We will also play with the Return to Life versions of a few other exercises as March Matness continues!

xx-LL

Ps have you read the book? It’s fun to read more than once!

There is lots of cues regarding the shoulders. Too often “shoulders down” is a quick fix cue thrown out there. Or, even, “don’t use your shoulders…”. But, what does it feel like to have your shoulders connected? Is it down? Is it back? How will it feel to simply focus on the shoulders throughout the whole mat workout? Well, take this week’s class and find out! I can tell you I can feel the effects after just one time doing this class. Enjoy your shoulder explorations!

See you on your mat,

xx-LL

In my personal Pilates practice, I’ve been noticing that while I can connect to my second seat quite well. I have been leaving my lower core hanging out! It’s so funny how our bodies like to “forget” something we already worked on ages ago. But, needless to say, I’ve been cheating a bit.

So, this past week I have been focusing on containing myself (which is quite opposite for how I like to live my life). In this week’s Pilates mat class we will focus on containing our core and what that means especially for when we are facing gravity.

Are you ready for your 30 min core containment? Register here for this week’s class.

See you on your Mat!

xx-LL

While not everyone has a set of hand weights laying around if you do grab them. If you don’t or you have a shoulder or neck injury skip the weights and join in for class anyway. Props are only a suggestion to help you feel something different in your mat practice.

xx-LL

Sometimes I don’t know what to do in my Pilates practice so I just do 1 of everything. Yep, you can learn a lot about yourself when you do just 1 rep of your workout.

This week on the mat we will start with a 1 rep drill. This will take less than 10 minutes and then we will have 20 minutes to go back through our mat to explore where we can connect more.

On the Reformer we will warm up and then do the best we can with all the exercises if we just do 1 freaking great rep! How well will you connect when you only get one chance to do it?

See ya in class!

xx~LL