Good morning, aloha! Welcome to Maui, I’m here with Arlene again.

It is Day 2 and we are about to do a mat class. This one is actually going to introduce some archival standing stuff. And then see how that just warms up the body and then doing the rest of our mat work. So, I hope you enjoy it!

xx-LL

It’s almost summer here (although you wouldn’t know it by all the rain). And while we likely won’t be getting in public waters anytime soon I thought it would be fun to explore all the “water” exercises!

On the Mat:
Swan, Mermaid, Swimming, Seal, and Crab

On the Reformer:
Rowing, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Swimming and Mermaid!

Get ready to warm up and get your water exercises in!

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

New Years is as good a time as any to just take a moment and see where you are, how far you’ve come and get excited about where you are going! This week, try to take class more than usual and enjoy the flow. Remember you can always hit pause, replace one exercise for another or modify. And, do not judge what you can’t do today…tomorrow is a new day and a year from now you’ll be a totally different person.

See you in class,

xx~LL

Whenever LL hears that Pilates is easy or that an exercise isn’t hard she knows that there is zero control happening. The body is moving but it’s basically just doing the choreography. When you are doing Pilates with control and a bit of focus on precision every exercise works the whole body.

This week LL focuses on what’s moving where and really paying attention to even what’s not supposed to be moving. Get ready to ask yourself some questions and feel Pilates in your body at a deeper level.

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

The weight pole aka bar in the Pilates Mat can be used for more than just the Roll Up and the Thigh Stretch. In fact, it’s purpose in those two exercises can be a tool for many different Pilates Mat exercises!

If you do not have a pole, weighted bar you can try 1lb weights, a dowel or a theraband. If you have none of those items I do give ways to do this class without and it will still be a challenge! So, no need to skip this week!

I hope you have fun finding your back strength and playing with the way connecting to your back with this pole can affect more than your Roll Up!

xx-LL

It’s that time of year again Pilates lovers! It’s March Matness and that means all 34 exercises all month long. BUT what if you are not into some of the 34? What if you’re not going overhead or you’re new and you’re still working on that Roll up? This week’s class is going to be full of prep’s for all the 34 exercises so that each week you can sub in your favorite and still enjoy a good time.

See you on your Mat

xx-LL

Another request from the OPC members group is this week’s class inspo! Keep posting the questions you have in the group as they help me create new classes around what you need and want!

Shoulder Bridge can seem like a piece of cake from first glance. But, then you get in there and it’s not what you think!

Should you use the hands under the hips? What if you can’t get them under you? What if it hurts your wrists? And, then, there’s the hips dropping, the leg lower and lifting…it’s harder than we think!

So, this week on the mat we will deconstruct Your Shoulder Bridge and find something that works for you and you can build upon. And, on the Reformer we will use the springs and straps to connect our back side and open our front side!

See you in class

xx~LL

I know you love the Reformer! Who doesn’t?! Well, in this week’s class the Reformer meets your mat. Get ready to footwork, row and snake away on your mat. Who needs a reformer when you’ve got your imagination and your muscles?

See you on your mat,

xx-LL

Grab your Magic Circle for some of my favorite ways to use the Magic Circle! On the Mat, we’ll be using it every few exercises to wake up some more dormant muscles. You know those ones that like to rest while others work?! And, on the Reformer, we’ll use it to enhance a few exercises and teach some others.

No circle, no problem! You’ll just do the exercises like they were intended and use your imagination along the way.

Ready for some magic?

xx~LL

So, this week, I hope you are ready to connect to your seat! Because we will use some of my favorite ways to feel your booty in both your Mat and Reformer work.

For the Mat if you have a Magic circle bring it. If not a ball or your amazing imagination will do. We will start the class with some ways to wake up your seat and connect more to your center.

On the Reformer we will play around with what to press more into or less into to find your seat as we flow from start to finish. My hope is that at the end of the week you and your thut (you know your butt below the butt) have found each other created a relationship and are ready to flow.

xx~LL

P.S. What was your favorite thuttocks connection? Share in the comments below!

Each week we often dive into just one exercise and how it flows through our mat. But this week we feel how each exercise prepares us for the one that comes right after.

It’s a fun way to think about your mat and how every exercise is as important as the one before and after it!

Also, this week I was in my hotel room. So, if you thought you had to have a mat and a home workout space to do class, you’ll see that you can still get your Pilates on in a small space!

xx-LL

Somethings in life you can just “wing it.” But, in Pilates the set up is at least half the battle. And, while it’s important to move it’s also important to set yourself up for success. Even if you just hold it!

This week we will still get our move on but we will discuss the set up more in depth that usual. And, if you decide to hold it for the length of the exercise awesome or you can flow through until we set up the next one. This week the in between is your call and I’ll handle all the good stuff to get you anchored in place.

xx-LL

Elephant is one of the toughest exercises for me. The lift, the reach and against gravity! AHH! So, this week, let’s not only work on our Elephant on the Reformer but also all the places where the Elephant exists!

xx~LL