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Q&A with Susan Moran (part 1)

Q: How did you get started in Pilates?

A: I’d been dancing since I was nine or ten. When I was 18, I was dancing eight to ten hours a day at an arts conservatory at SUNY Purchase and noticed a studio with bizarre apparatus I went in and met instructor Romana Kryzanowska, who had trained with Joseph Pilates himself. I started taking Pilates classes from Romana—it was fun and challenging—I couldn’t do everything, but I felt really good. And my dancing got better; Pilates supported my dance.

Romana had a policy: If you passed a quiz about the parts of the apparatus and how to use it, you could get a key to the studio and use it anytime. So I began to use the apparatus on my own.

After leaving the conservatory, I danced professionally all over the world and also received my license as a massage therapist in 1990. After six months without Pilates I was feeling horrible so I picked up the phone, called information and asked for Pilates—and they gave me the number for Romana’s studio in the city! She needed teachers and she began to train me. For six months I followed Romana four hours a day and took notes; it was like a true apprenticeship. I was dancing, doing massage, taking and teaching Pilates. Pilates kept me healthy and happy: In my 10 years of dancing professionally I was never injured.

Power Pilates Launches Indo-Row: Burn 700 Calories an Hour!

There’s something new in the Power Pilates studio on 23rd Street—perhaps you’ve seen people in the elevator looking flush with endorphins. Believe it or not, they’ve been in our 10th floor studio, racing in a very unusual team competition. In the process, they’re burning loads of calories, strengthening their legs, backs, core, arms and shoulders, getting a superb cardiovascular workout and sharpening their mental focus: They’ve been taking Indo-Row®, Power Pilates’ unique take on indoor rowing. Rowing is one of the best routes to total fitness—not only is it an extraordinary cardiovascular workout, but it is a true total-body workout, activating your legs, core, back, shoulders and arms. With so much muscle mass recruited for each stroke, rowing is a huge calorie burner—up to 700 calories an hour. But because you’re seated, there’s no pounding stress on joints. And you can row easily or all-out—you decide how much effort to put into each stroke. Indo-Row is the perfect complement to Pilates. The stroke is easy to learn, but like in Pilates, the more you concentrate on flowing movement, the greater your results. Your core acts as a link between your upper and lower body as you row; the stronger your core, the more powerful your stroke. "Indo-Row allows our clients to complement their Pilates experience with an exhilarating aerobic workout," says Dr. Howard Sichel, founder of Power Pilates. "Our instructors ensure each class is high-energy, fun and challenging."

Three things make Power Pilates’ Indo-Row class unique.

Just a Pilates Instructor?

I made the decision to become a Pilates instructor because I wanted to help people. I fell in love with Pilates the moment I was introduced to it, and felt like I’d found the most ideal job when I made the decision to teach. I never could picture myself sitting behind a desk at a corporate job. With movement-based activities being a big part of my childhood, Pilates seemed to fit perfectly into my life. I truly felt that I had found my calling. What I didn’t expect were the thoughts that surfaced one day of “I’m only just a Pilates instructor.”

After eight years of teaching I found myself wanting more. I kept thinking to myself, “Am I doing enough?” “Am I making a difference?” After 20 sessions with a client who still was not able to set up for footwork, I would wonder, “Am I getting through?” “Are they learning anything from me?”

I took time to speak with instructors whom I respect to pick their brains on what it means to them to be a Pilates instructor. The talks helped momentarily, but in the end I still had the same feelings. I even toyed around with going back to school to get a master’s degree, but decided that I wouldn’t be going back for the right reasons.

Who knew that one comment from a student would change my outlook on what I do? Recently a client told me that teachers are teaching even when they don’t realize they are, and that I have been one of those teachers to her. She’s leaning Pilates, yes, but because of my influence she’s also now getting massages, seeing a nutritionist and is very aware of changes she wants to make in her life. It was an “a-ha” moment for me as a Pilates instructor, realizing that what I do goes beyond the 60 minutes I spend with my clients. Our influence goes beyond the actual technique that we teach. By instilling the work of Joseph Pilates and his principles, we are instilling life-changing benefits in other ways as well.

Joseph Pilates wanted his work to be integrated into people’s lives, and it’s clear to me that he was talking about more than the actual act of doing the movements. We all know the benefits of having a strong core, as well as what to do to get the core strong. The principles that we use to guide our clients through a session can be applied to their day-to-day lives as well. In an hour we may teach them how to breathe, concentrate, get centered, find control, work on precision, or flow. Each and every one of these bleeds into life outside of their lesson. Think about the mom of three kids who comes for a lesson. The obvious reason she is exercising is to look good. But maybe she needs the hour for herself to get centered, to breathe or just flow. I strongly believe that when people take care of themselves they are better prepared to care for others. So maybe my client after 20 sessions has no idea how to set up for footwork. That’s OK because I do know that she feels great after an hour of Pilates.

There’s also the client who, because Pilates starts to make her feel so good, wants to continue down that path. She may seek out ways to do that and look to you as her teacher for guidance. This is what happened to my client, and how in turn she told me I was her teacher even when I didn’t realize I was. Because of the path I have chosen to go down, which has been very influenced by my experience as a Pilates instructor, I inadvertently helped guide her down a healthier path. I was very aware of the information I was giving her, but never thought what that actually meant.

I am very grateful for this “a-ha” moment and that I realized that we, as Pilates teachers, are in a position to pass along this amazing methodology and what goes along with it. I have made decisions in my life that propelled me down a path I didn’t necessarily see for myself, but I say this in the most positive way. I am very lucky to be in the position that I am as a teacher. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kristen Matthews has explored her passion for movement through many years of gymnastics, diving and dance. She earned her teaching certification from Power Pilates in New York in 2003, and she continues to expand her knowledge of the body, studying anatomy with Irene Dowd and Thai massage in Thailand. She most recently completed a 200-hour yoga certification. Originally Posted June 2010 on Pilates-Pro

"Pilates has changed my life!"

Rye resident Patti Whalen is successful in many ways: She’s raised two kids, works at a job she loves, is active in the community, and has a happy marriage. But until recently, she’d forgotten one thing: Fitness. “I had not done any exercise since the birth of my daughter, who is now 19,” Patti says.

Patti had made some attempts to deal with the 30 pounds she’d put on over 20 years. “I tried Jenny Craig and lost weight but gained it all back,” she says. She went on Weight Watchers, joined the Y and started walking. “Nothing worked,” she says. Weight became more of a struggle when Patti was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer 10 years ago: She retained a lot of fluid due to the chemo.

Then in late 2009, Patti’s cousin, Dr. Howard Sichel, made a comment. “He told me, ‘Movement heals,’” she says, “and that rang the bell.” The statement made sense for Patti: It was motivating without being punitive, and it was about the process, not a pie-in-the-sky end result. Howard told her about APOGEE and suggested she start private Pilates sessions with Dorothy Polanowska.