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More and more children are getting ahead in the longevity game.

By: Jay Apking

It is a snowy Saturday morning in Cincinnati, Ohio and high-school student Brooke is doing a mat class at The Pilates Loft.  She has become somewhat of a regular thanks to her mother Mary Howard who has been a client at the Loft for several years now.  “I started doing Pilates and the first thought I had was, ‘why did I not know about this earlier in my life?!’” says the energetic Mary.  “The second thought I had was ‘I have to get Brooke over here right away.’  I just don’t want her to have the same health issues that I have and I know Pilates would probably prevent that.”  The health issues Mary is referring to are something to which most adults can relate; stiff back, poor posture, loss of flexibility, and every day aches and pains.

Julie Toren, co-owner of The Pilates Loft adds, “It is the future.  People are starting to realize Pilates not only helps to correct injuries and normal problems caused by aging, but prevents them from ever occurring.  Smart parents like Mary are getting their children involved while they are young, in hopes of making their lives easier as they get older.”

Eli is a nine year-old athlete in Knoxville, Tennessee.  He is on all-star baseball and basketball teams and wants to be a professional in either of these sports one day.  He realizes the Pilates he is doing may give him a big advantage, but that is not the only reason he does it.  “It’s fun,” says the talented young man.  “I like it because of all the different things I get to do.  Rolling and stretching and getting stronger…it’s like eating healthy food that tastes good, too.”  His mother, Leslie Andrews, agrees, “I am a believer in it.  If Eli likes it and it is good for him, how could I argue with that?  I am in my late 30’s and I have already regained so much of my younger flexibility by doing Pilates; flexibility I lost when I had Eli.  If he can keep his flexibility, I know it will help him be a better athlete and at least help him stay injury-free.”

It goes much further than that for Jay Apking, owner of Olympus Pilates in Knoxville, TN, “I see a lot of physical benefits for the kids doing it, but for me it doesn’t compare to the mental and emotional benefits.”  Apking not only teaches Pilates, but has his own children’s theatre company as well.  “I have been teaching children in the arts for years.  Before I teach a class or have a rehearsal, I will warm the group up with Pilates.  It clears their heads, gets them in touch with their bodies and makes them more creative.”  

So, can Pilates actually make children smarter?  “Adults complain all the time about nagging pains or injuries,” adds Apking.  “That “pain” gets in the way of life.  It is a mental and physical distraction which keeps us from being our mental and physical best.  What if we can teach children to be more aware of their bodies and eliminate the normal adult pain and injuries as they get older?  It would allow them to be more active and more creative in whatever career they choose.  That sounds smarter to me.”    

This system is already providing benefits to children all over the country and around the world.

13 year-old Valeria Lozano is taking classes with her friends in San Pedro, Mexico. “I decided to join because my friends told me how much fun it was,” says the lithe Valeria.  “I love it because it improved my dance technique and my posture.  I have seen clear changes since I joined in.”

What do we do about Pilates for kids in America?  How do we get our children involved in a program which has been appropriately nicknamed “intelligent exercise?”  Maybe help is closer than you think.

It is not necessarily true that Pilates will make your child smarter than you.  It may not even make your child taller or more fit than you are.  If it gives her or him the opportunity to live a longer and healthier life, especially in a time when exercise is hard to come by, wouldn’t you be wise to let them try it?  And if it makes your child stronger, more flexible and more physically and emotionally secure, the confidence which comes with “intelligent exercise” will last your child a lifetime.  

For more information on Pilates in your area or bringing Pilates to your child’s school system, please visit: www.pilatesmethodalliance.org

Jay has been teaching Pilates since 1997.  He is currently co-owner of BodyMind Balance in Cincinnati, Oh and owner of Olympus Pilates in Knoxville, Tn where he resides. His background includes golf and theatre. He was a member of the golf team at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his undergraduate degree.

He is also the director of Great American Child, a company he founded, focusing on making children healthy, cultured and more well-rounded.

Originally Posted March 2012 on Pilates-Pro.com

by Rachael Lieck Bryce

There are many different kinds of Pilates teacher training programs, which can leave students and potential future Pilates teachers puzzled over which one is best for them.

Much of the confusion dates back to the death of Joseph Pilates in 1967. Mr. Pilates never trademarked his method, so each of his personally trained disciples went out into the world to teach Pilates, some sticking close to Mr. Pilates' original vision, others adding their own personal flourishes--all of them calling their practice “Pilates.”

After an attempt by one individual to try and “own” the name Pilates, it ultimately ended in a 2000 decision by a federal judge in New York that declared “Pilates” to be a generic term (like yoga or karate) that couldn’t be trademarked or owned by a particular person or program.

While this court decision ultimately reflected Joseph Pilates’ desire to spread his system far and wide, it also means that the standard for calling oneself a Pilates instructor is flexible, to say the least.

So potential Pilates students, as well as potential Pilates instructors considering pursuing their teacher training, would be well-advised to do their homework and experience as many programs and teachers as possible. Styles vary from teacher to teacher, and program to program, ranging from very classical to contemporary, all the way through to no actual Pilates basis whatsoever.

There are many great Pilates professionals and several very good Pilates certification programs, many of which trace their lineage back to one of Joseph Pilates’ personal students. The key is finding a program that emphasizes rigorous teacher training, proper form, progressions, knowledge of all apparatuses and, above all, student safety!

Pilates, like all exercise, can do wonderful things for the body and mind. And, under the guidance of a well-trained, observant instructor, it is very safe and extraordinarily effective. But, like all exercise, if done improperly, it can cause injury.

The instructors at Classic Pilates are all certified by New York-based Power Pilates. The reasons we love Power Pilates are many, but these are among the most important:

• Power Pilates is committed to upholding the standard of classical Pilates, as opposed to other programs that take a more contemporary approach. The Pilates method is almost a century old, and we are convinced that the original system continues to be extraordinarily effective, exceptionally safe and endlessly adaptive to our clients’ ever-changing needs.

• The creators of Power Pilates, Dr. Howard Sichel and Pilates Master Teachers Bob Liekens, Susan Moran and Phoebe Higgins, were all trained by Romana Kryzanowska, one of Joseph Pilates’ students. Ms. Kryzanowska worked with Mr. Pilates and his wife, Clara, and continued to run his studio after his death.

• In our opinion and experience, Power Pilates’ teacher training is second to none. In addition to offering a solid, classical curriculum, the Power Pilates certification program does an excellent job of teaching instructors “the art of teaching.” Power Pilates instructors are taught how to properly observe the biomechanics taking place in the body, offer corrections, and deliver a safe and effective workout that meets the client's individual needs. This is crucial to ensuring our clients’ safety, delivering results, and creating lifelong Pilates lovers.

• The Power Pilates teacher training program is rigorous and meticulous. Every Power Pilates-certified instructor starts with a 16-hour Beginner Mat Certification. After that, they move on to a 72-hour course taught over four weekends with a teacher trainer and a 600-hour apprenticeship. The entire certification process, if pursued full-time, takes up to nine months to complete.

• Unlike many certification programs, Power Pilates is not also an equipment manufacturer. We are therefore able to purchase the best and most appropriate—and only the best and most appropriate—equipment for our studio and our clients. We do not teach to a specific apparatus.

Every Classic Pilates instructor has either a full Power Pilates certification or they are in the midst of their apprenticeship. In addition, Classic Pilates’ co-founder, Rachael Lieck Bryce, is also a Power Pilates Teacher Trainer, which means she has completed an additional rigorous certification process in order to train other instructors through Power Pilates. Along with regional director, Veronica Combs, she is one of only two certified Power Pilates Teacher Trainers in this region, which includes most of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.

We are happy to be part of the Power Pilates family and believe we offer our clients the ultimate Pilates experience—one that continues to change lives and bodies every single day.

Originally posted on February 2012 on Classical Pilates blog

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rachael Lieck Bryce is co-owner and senior instructor of Classic Pilates and is a teacher trainer at the Power Pilates Dallas Affiliate Training Center. Prior to moving to Dallas in 2008, Rachael spent two years in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she founded Momentum Pilates Studio, a full-service, classical Pilates studio. Rachael has been a full-time Pilates instructor for 10 years and has loved every moment of it. Rachael began her first certification program in the Pilates Method under Colleen Glenn in 2001, and joined the Power Pilates family in 2006. Rachael is a Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) certified teacher. PMA is an international not-for-profit professional association for the Pilates method. She has worked with clients ranging from ages 5 to 80, with all levels of fitness ability. Rachael is passionately dedicated to the Pilates Method and has seen it change lives.

Rachael was introduced to the Pilates Method through dance. She co-founded Realmdanceproject (RDP), a professional dance company, in 1998. The company’s last full-length production “The Seven Year Itch” was featured in The Austin American Statesman and The Austin Chronicle. Realmdanceproject continues to make guest appearances throughout the United States.

Rachael is dedicated to fostering new teachers in becoming Pilates professionals who uphold the standard in classical Pilates as they change lives in their communities.

Every so often at Power Pilates, we get a client letter that really makes us smile.  This letter came in to one of our Client Service Representatives this past week.  Elleen, who wrote the letter, was nice enough to let us share with all of you:

Here is the background as to why I love Power Pilates.  My mom needed help 10 years ago with some of the chronic illnesses she was managing.  I searched and searched for what could make her abdominals muscles strong enough so that her back could be what it needed to be.  We both lived in a farm community in CA where the word pilates was a foreign language.  So,  through the process of my search, I found pilates, began learning from a book written by Alycea Ungaro, doing the Introductory level that was in that book 2 times a day.   My goal was to learn it well enough in my body, to translate it to mom to relieve her pain.   What I discovered was that it relieved MY pain, both in my physical and emotional state (nasty divorce happening at that time), and I could adapt enough of it to help mom on the days she was able to physically do this.   It helped her walking, it helped her balance, it helped the stress level, I restructured my body without knowing it as I worked to help mom!!!   2 years later, I moved to Boston, mom was stable, divorce was long done and over, and so I bought a one way ticket, took 3 suitcases, and moved.   I did not want to do career 1 (degree in Chemistry, minor in Math and Physics), did not want to do career 2 (tutu maker for designers, costumes and wardrobe for musical theatre, etc), decided that what I LOVED was pilates, so I began to research what was it that I had learned.   After months of searching, I found Power Pilates – how it embraced and preserved what Joseph Pilates had done, how its mission and purpose lined up with me, and how to my great surprise, there was an affialate here in Boston – Kathy Van Patten!!!  I was still doing the Beg series once or twice a day, and took courage, signing up for a certification workshop.  I went to Kathy’s studio to speak to her.   I watched her and her passion.  I listened, and because our daughters had all 3 been at San Francisco Ballet at the same time in the school, there was a understanding between us.  She accepted my reservation for the workshop and I studied, worked, read, to be ready to absorb EVERYTHING that would be offered. 

Took about 5 min for me to fall in love with her, Power Pilates, its goal and mission, the way we were taught to teach, the emphasis on present moment consciensness, flow, concepts, guidelines, practice….I knew I was home.   I absorbed everything I could determining to be a student during this workshop.   Kathy gave, explained, provided skills, knowledge, everything I would need to take what I loved so dearly to others to improve their lives.
And so I did – I began to teach within 2 months after that, and haven’t looked back yet.  Each class I taught, each individual I saw benefit from this method, each thank you I received, each day, each week, I felt and enjoyed the privilege of being a Power Pilates instructor.  The students thrived on the training system I had been taught, so eventually I became a Power Pilates Intermediate Mat instructor with Leah Chaback Kab.   OMG – did I fall in love all over again, her heart, her passion for what she was training us with, the Power Pilates system, so careful, so logical, so doable for the classes!!!  I recommitted to helping each and every person that walked into my classes and that I do!!!

Power Pilates has helped me personally pull through the death of my father, 3 emergency  chest surgeries of my daughter with a rare disease, now the death of my mother, the upheaval of my life many times over, but what has remained as a foundation to live with and by – are the principles I have been taught, and my commitment to bring that to others.   I have watched 75 year old men, straighten themselves, I have watched young mothers regain control, I have watched twisted bodies slowly unwind, I have watched men and women under stress walk out of  my classes refreshed, renewed, able to take on the difficulties of their lives.   How do I know it will work – well, I live it.

This past October and November making the time and space to recertify, watching Basic Anatomy with Juliet over and over and over, the privilege of taking Bob Liekens workshop on Intermediate Mat, the honor of being able to ask him questions that will specifically make a difference in the students I teach; the heart, sole, purpose, determination, commitment of Power Pilates impacts my life, my career, my emotional state every day.

Do I love Power Pilates?  Yes, every moment of every day.  I am so grateful for the decisions by those I do not even know to keep Joseph’s systematic approach alive and pass it on.  I get to be a part of something so real, so effective, so positive, so life-changing:   Thank You Power Pilates!

Happy Holidays to you and yours -

Elleen