And it was super inspiring to be able to take Cynthia Lochard‘s three-hour workshop at TPNY, even though she was just here at PSI teaching it six weeks ago.  She gave me such a profound cue for my archey back: “navel to tailbone, and a subtle lift up from mid-back.”   It’s not for everybody, it’s works for some bodies, and it sure is great for my body!  Genius!  Best thing I’ve hears since Romana said “Lauren, hip bones to the horizon!”

Here’s a picture of me and Cynthia with Tom at the New York Studio. For more photos from Cynthia’s class in NY, please visit the PSI FaceBook Page.

I was also reminded how important it is to work out with a variety of teachers and I’m proud that we have so many great teachers at PSI. Of our recent graduating students – Nicole Walsh, Anastacia Spear and Catherine Lloyd DeHaven, Anastacia and Cat will be joining the PSI staff as instructors.

What an amazing experience! Last November I was fortunate enough to travel to Australia to visit with my dear friend and soul sister Cynthia Lochard and her beautiful daughter Tamika. When Cynthia and I met in 1995 we became fast friends – I am certain we knew each other in another life.

Soul sisters Cynthia Lochard & Lauren Stephen

Tamika & Lauren

Cynthia and Tamika recently came to the States to travel, teach and study at PSI and other studios. They visited with Romana and Sari, and Tamika completed her Pilates Teacher Certification. Some clients and teachers will remember Cynthia’s dynamic and super fun workshop last spring at PSI.

Some time ago Cynthia had invited me to come to Sydney to teach at her studio, Cynthia Lochard’s Pilates Method Studio, and so off I went, leaving Seattle’s short gray and rainy days for the Australian sunshine. While excited to see my dear friends and to teach at a new studio, I left Seattle with some trepidation – I had never traveled 16 hours straight on a plane before plus we had made the decision to more efficiently use our studio space which meant that lots of consolidating of equipment and reorganizing had to happen while I was gone. Even though I was leaving the studio in the capable hands of Cindy and Steve and all our incredible instructors, I was still a little anxious.

And then I had a truly amazing time. I felt a deep connection to the people I met and to the land. It was incredibly inspiring to teach at Cynthia’s studio. Everybody was sooo fit and super focused. My original intention was to teach one of the Principles for class but I ended up teaching both Concentration + Flow and Centering. Because to a person, every participant was fully present.  I had a blast and they did too.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of photos I took. For more, check out the Pilates Seattle Facebook page.

It’s another New Year and we’re ready to help make everyone’s Resolutions come true… I actually prefer to call them Intentions because I feel it’s more effective.

We’ve created a couple new classes: Introduction to the Reformer for those folks ready to make the transition from mat to semis or from privates to semis; and General Jodie’s Calisthenics Mat Class to help combat the effect of too many holiday cookies. I’m excited about both of these classes.

Many of my regular clients have heard me talk a bit about the Blue Zones, those four hot spots around the globe where people live to 100 and older in great numbers. But it’s not only about longevity—they live with strength, vitality and happiness. Residents of the blue zones tend their gardens, are active members of their communities, eat delicious food and exercise regularly!

Oprah’s been a big fan of the Blue Zones and has hosted Dan Buettner, a freelance writer for National Geographic who spent seven years researching his book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. For more information about the Blue Zones, check out these links: http://bluezones.com/
http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081009_tows_bluezones/1
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/longevity/preview/daily_vid.html

Daily physical exercise is a characteristic shared by all four zones and is a major factor in contributing to the highest quality of life. With our beloved Romana as living proof of the effects of a daily regime of Pilates, I am inspired by this and find it incredibly motivating for the New Year.

Another favorite Pilates legend and living example of the positive effects of daily exercise is Jay Grimes. (Just how old is Jay anyway?) Jay returns to PSI to teach lessons March 6th and 7th and will be conducting a workshop for teachers on the 7th. If you haven’t worked with Jay before, I encourage you to do so – he’s nothing short of amazing. Read on to learn more about Jay Grimes, The Pilates Teachers’ Teacher.

One of my Resolutions/Intentions is to write a fairly regular blog. Those of you who know me know that I’m a big fan of connecting people – ask me for a recommendation for body work, for help quitting smoking, a great restaurant … So when I come across the Blue Zones, I’m excited about the correlations between healthy minds, healthy eating, strong cores, increasing longevity and improving the daily quality of life. And I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with all of you.

Cheers!
~ Lauren

Some Mondays all it takes is easing into the idea of Pilates. A half dozen roll-back bars and I’m set. My teachers are always a step ahead, restraining me from leaping into Semi-Circle or Short-Spine, so I don’t overdo it.

Some Mondays like today, however, it’s all about re-inhabiting my body. This is where the mind-body thing becomes absolutely crystal clear for me. That after completing a series of careful exercises with an emphasis on awareness and breath, of using new cues to think about the movement differently, it dawns on me that I am back in my body – like I’ve been asleep or away or, more likely, in denial. The connection between feeling like I really live in in this body versus I’m just moving it around while my brain works on resolving some office politics or puzzling through my daughter’s latest developmental phase never fails to surprise me.

Today, however, it was all about doing Pilates with a head-cold on top of the cumulative effects of the weekend. It always seems to work out that when I’m like this, Gay is my teacher.

Gay makes me laugh, gives me new insight on how core muscles work together, and never fails to craft my work out for my body’s immediate concerns. Her first question is always: “what’s going on with you today?” And I can see as I struggle to explain without launching into my litany of injuries that she is truly paying attention.

So it’s not back on the rack, pick up where last we left it, with Gay – at least not on a creaky Monday. And especially not when forces conspire to leave me less than bright eyed and bushy tailed. Instead we picked an area of focus – the soaz muscle, which by the way is huge and deep, deep inside – wrapping from the sitz bones all the way up through the center of the upper abs.

Rather than do a full reformer work out, we cherry-picked our way through foot-work, the hundred, front rowing (which is where we really started to work on how the soaz can be engaged from the bottom up), long box (without actually using the straps), short box, stomach massage and elephant.

Somewhere a little later while approaching the push-through bar with this new concentration on the soaz, I clicked back into my body. Blink, blink – it’s me, Beth. Did you miss me?

I became an acolyte of the highest order, though I was by no means actually very good at Pilates. (I am one of those unfortunate sway-backed babes with muscle memory in my legs and feet reaching way way back to the dark ages of gymnastics and ballet class. So the Teaser is never an effortless flow of grace for me, more like a grunting, shaking .) The changes to my body were evident and the compliments rolled in. Co-workers commented on the way that I walked. Boyfriends were delighted. Family and friends could be relied on for a steady stream of encouragement.

Then at the ripe old age of 46, I had a baby and since then, Pilates has become my life-line. There’s no question that my ability to carry my 8 lbs 12 oz baby girl to term with minimal – okay, well, let’s be totally honest minor discomfort has everything to do with faithfully showing up three times a week to my semi-private sessions. Rick, one of my long-standing teachers, guided me through my 7th month with colors (and a lot of leg springs.)

I recall the true wonderment in the night nurse’s voice as she helped me out of bed following the caesarian since I had relatively little problem. “My, my, you’re quite athletic, aren’t you?!”

I have to admit, getting back to Pilates was a major goal for me. And again, my teachers guided me carefully, reigning in my enthusiasm with caution, modifying my routine to safeguard against injury. Side splits were out of the question as was short spine, semi-circle, and my friend the teaser.

Then about a year after Kate’s birth, I realized I was stuck. Kate was a healthy, happy, tall and strong baby girl and she quickly put on the pounds (I’m happy to say that she’s hovered at 33-35 lbs for some time now), but ouch, it was a major strain on my back. In fact, my lower lumbar muscles spazzed out completely on the right side and my left hipflexor shut down to compensate. Ouch! Lying down on the reformer and having the teacher straighten me out felt like I was doing my foot-work nearly sideways!

At Lauren’s urging I started seeing Dan for Physical Therapy. At that point, it became clear to me that I had to start all over and learn the basics of scooping, of being aware of my powerhouse and using it in a completely new and different way.

Now nearly two years later (and a million leg springs later), I’m happy to report that my injury is well contained. Incrementally my powerhouse has strengthened so that as I add a new exercise to my routine I’m easing into it without pain or a need to force it to happen.

Who knew starting over was the only way forward?

Lean and tan, with a mega watt smile and twinkly blue eyes that compliment his silver hair, Grimes stands at all times with absolutely perfect posture. And just like Romana, he beams energy into every corner of the room. It’s impossible to tell just how old he is.

BB: What’s the best thing about what you do?

JG: It is quite fascinating to see how people’s entire lives can change when they are serious about their Pilates workout. People transform their entire lives.

One client when she came to me was barely able to get around, she had no joy in her life, she had back issues, and she was overweight. From the moment she started, she seemed suddenly 30 years younger. She was able to do and go and her whole personality changed.

Another client, a powerful and successful businessman, told me six weeks after he started a regular Pilates practice, that he had not slept more than two hours straight for years, probably not since he was in college; and yesterday he said he slept through the alarm. He no longer suffered from chronic headaches.

Pilates is always new to me, I am still learning every day.

BB: What is it about Seattle that you like?

JG: Well, they invite me! This is the third time I’ve come to Lori and Lauren’s studio. They are just extraordinary. The studio vibe is the closest I’ve ever felt next to Joe’s studio – doesn’t look anything like it, but it’s similar in that the teachers all support each other and the clients are enthusiastic. It’s a family. Lori and Lauren’s teacher training program produces some of the best teachers I’ve seen – they really challenge me – I have to be at my best. It’s a great pleasure for me to be in this environment.

BB: What’s the future of Pilates?

JG: If you had asked me that question five or ten years ago, I would have given you a different answer. Even though there is so much out there in the exercise world that is called Pilates but really isn’t, True Pilates is thriving. Through Romana’s efforts and other teachers dedicated to Joe’s training, we now do have throughout the world some really truly good teachers (Lori and Lauren for example). We have teachers in San Diego, Los Angeles, Juanita Lopez in Chicago. Rome, Barcelona, Sao Paolo (she’s so good she scares me), Australia, The Hague – I could go on and on. Each and every one of these teachers is determined to keep Joe’s teaching alive. I think we’re in good shape, no pun intended!

BB: What are your words of advice to a someone new to Pilates?

JG: The first thing I tell my new students is to forget everything they’ve ever learned about exercise. I tell them they are about to enter a whole different world with its own language and its own way of approaching exercise. I tend to repeat this over and over to people who have done a lot of yoga. They will be doing themselves a disservice if they don’t approach Pilates differently.

What’s youradvice for novice instructors?

My first words for apprentices: that piece of paper you get when you complete your training is just your learner’s permit. It takes years and years.

Young teachers can be so eager to show off what they know. It’s important to remember that you cannot correct everything at once.

You know, certification programs are necessary evils, they go against everything Joe was about. He trained by instinct and intuition. The mechanics are a given. He gave us a huge array of tools. How are you going to use them? It’s critical that you listen to a body. Our client’s bodies will tell us so much more than the clients themselves can. The body tells you everything – the car accident 23 years ago – those injuries are still in the body.

It’s important to remind everyone that it’s not therapy; it’s exercise. And it’s all about proper alignment.

Working with the body is almost like meeting a whole new person. You start with polite conversation and you find out what things you have in common. You have to give a new body a chance to make itself known.

But it’s not just the client’s body; you have to engage the client’s mind. Pilates requires a keen intelligence and a willingness to constantly learn. As a teacher, you have to verbalize the right cues, the right mental images so that the body will respond.

And that’s not for everybody.

Joe Pilates was fond of saying that Pilates is good for everyone but not everyone is good for Pilates.

There is one woman in New York who was one of the studio’s original clients. Joe worked with her for about 30 seconds before he asked Clara to instruct her. Clara in turn gave her to Romana and Romana passed her along to me when I arrived. This woman is brilliant (she’s in her 80s now) with a great sense of humor, but refuses to do more than she feels her body needs. She certainly knows the work, listens politely to corrections, and continues to make the same mistakes she’s made for 60 years.

BB: What other exercise do you do to compliment your Pilates practice?

JG: I’m a former dancer so there’s a part of me that still needs to move. But when I’m not in the studio doing my Pilates work out or working with my clients or teaching, I walk. I love to walk and I walk very briskly, often cruising right by some joggers, usually six or seven miles at a time. I enjoy every step.

This answer, however, leaves the main question on everyone’s mind, unanswered: just how old is Jay Grimes, anyway?

© Pilates Seattle International