Second and Third Session

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Second and Third Session

On Thursday we had our second session. This is really good for both client and instructor as we both have equal input into the sessions. On Thursday we went through the exercises and discussed body positioning and different ways to support the neck and head. A person often hurts themselves holding their head in an incorrect position because large classes Pilates cannot be taught to the individual needs. There is nothing more frustrating than hearing a person tell you they hurt their neck, back or hip flexors in a class and that wouldn’t return to Pilates.

If there are more than 10 people in the class then you’re very likely in the wrong setting, unless you have taken classes with a trained Pilates instructor in Cypress. Client A, is happy that she is now beginning to understand what mind body connection is through individual tuition. When I teach a class I can’t keep stopping for every twitch or question a client has. This is cheating the client as most people need tactile cues and lots of repetition to fully understand Pilates, in the same way an instructor needs good instruction from Master instructors and exposure to other instructors before being able to teach a class.

Today Saturday, was our third session. We have added a small flex ball to support her head as she has been focusing on the discomfort in her neck. Today my client was able to concentrate on her torso because her head was well supported. I also used the ball behind her lower back so that she had a tactile cue in the half roll back position. Client A had been lifting her feet and rolling back further than her abs were strong enough to support her. When we added the ball, she rolled back less, and felt more. Yeah!!! In Pilates less is often more for beginners! My client is now learning, and becoming responsible for her modifications. She has tight hamstrings and is using a block to sit on.

Hopefully in the future she will gain more flexibility in her lower back and hamstrings. My goal is to keep her pain free so that she can focus on the movement and muscles. Stott Pilates breaks the mat repertoire down into layers. We discussed today how if I were to teach this to a large group it would be unlikely that the majority would return.

People still find the, “no pain, no gain,” philosophy hard to drop. Yet, if they would take the time to learn the exercises correctly and only move forward when their body is ready, they would get far superior results in the long term. Learning the basic principles of Pilates is how a person will progress and obtain results.

We have decided we are going to focus on the basic principles and work through each layer as suggested by Stott Pilates. We are both aware now of how important spending the first five to ten classes on the basic movements are. I am happy to see client A, leave today being more aware of breathing, and experiencing a mind body experience.