It’s soo easy to feel like your legs just hang off your hip flexors, pull on your back and make you feel like you’re two halves instead of a whole. So, in this weeks Mat and Reformer classes we are going to explore where are legs are moving from and how that helps us in each of our exercises. I’m bringing in some of the subscriber favorites like one leg teaser and one leg stomach massage.

See you in class!

xx~LL

It’s no secret we are a society that is beginning to round forward. Standing tall or pulling your shoulders back can only do so much. We have to strengthen the body to hold ourselves up so we don’t have to think about it all day and every day.

Today’s class with LL requires no props and if you have a mat great but as long as you have enough floor space to lay down and reach your arms out you are good to go. So, no excuses for missing 30 min to get Pilates in your body. You’ll be paying extra attention to your back muscles and your outer hips. Most of our workouts and lives do not give the side bodies enough attention. Today you will give these muscles the love and strength they deserve.

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 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

Aloha! It’s our final sunset class here in Maui. We are about to have a nice stretchy class because we are going to get dressed up and have a Maui gala with hula dancers and amazing food (because who doesn’t want to have a gala?). So come, stretch with me and then we’ll go eat!

xx-LL

An additional 4-call training series all about how to better your personal Pilates practice. We’ll do a quick 15 minute workout and then I’ll actually watch you do the exercises that you have questions about, and we’ll dig in together for the rest of the call.

See you on the call,

xx-LL

A wall is an excellent source of feedback. It’s the prop we all have handy and it can help us dive deeper into our own practice. In this weeks Mat class we use the wall to give us information and to support us in much of our practice. On the Reformer we use the idea of the “wall” as our carriage. How can our legs use the wall? Our feet use the floor?

Get ready to use your imagination!!

xx~LL

It’s that time of year! The holidays are here. Crazy schedules, lots of food, parties candy! This is the time when your Pilates mat practice counts the most!

This week, we will go a little out of order, and make our way to our fabulous hundred. Like it or love it the Hundred ahem the Holidays are here!

And this week I hope you find more than a few times to hit the mat. I know I will!

xx-LL

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 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

Have you ever heard that the exercises you don’t like you should do twice? Well, I say it all the time and then one day my teacher Jay Grimes heard me say how I don’t like an exercise and he told me to do it twice everyday!! Ha, a taste of my own medicine.

This week on the Mat we will find ways to fall in love with the Leg Pulls, you know the two exercises you love to forget exist. And, then over on our Reformer we will use our practice to prepare us for the Control Push ups! Don’t worry, if you know you don’t do these two exercises I give plenty of ideas to keep you flowing until you’re ready to take them on.

xx~LL

P.S. Bonus points for those who can count how many times I said the Control Push Ups name incorrectly! #perfectlyimperfect

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

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

Have you ever thought of your Mat as a piece of equipment? If not, after this week’s class, I hope you do! Because it truly is. And, if you’re a Reformer lover, I know you think of your Reformer as a piece of equipment. But, do you truly connect to the carriage, handles, foot bar and springs?

This week we are going to explore how we are connecting to our equipment in each exercise. Are we pushing it off of us, or away from us? Or, are we using it to support us?

See ya in class,

xx~LL

I know it’s not just me. But, have you ever noticed how many exercises start with “single leg” and if they don’t how many exercises are one sided. It’s a lot!

And, why is that? Why so much emphasis on doing asymmetrical work? Well, as you know, we don’t do Pilates to do Pilates better. We do it to do life better! And so much of life is one-sided!

So, let’s rock what we got!

On our Mat and Reformer, we will explore more of the asymmetrical exercises and then challenge what we’ve learned by doing exercises that are symmetrical. You may have to work a bit more through one side!

See ya in class,

xx~LL