Mind & Motion

My goal as a teacher is to get everyone present in the room, in their body, throughout the class. Of course there are always moments of distraction. But there are also moments everyone is in sync. You can feel it, right?

This year, we introduced a new goal into our monthly programming: the Move of the Month. Each month, we choose a classical Pilates exercise, and together as a community, we incorporate that exercise or series into every class at Mind & Motion.

By the end of the month, clients know the alignment, sequencing, breath pattern, and spring settings for the MOTM. The MOTM reinforces our mission of teaching Pilates rather than simply participating in a workout class.

In August, our MOTM was the Knee Stretch Series. Knee stretches are performed in three parts: round back, flat back, and knees off. The series requires and develops ankle and knee flexibility, stretches the quads, and builds upper-body stability and spinal mobility. It’s a full-body exercise, which is what I LOVE about Pilates.

Here are a few clips of us working through this series together.

When I opened Mind & Motion in 2011 I was given $20k as a loan from my mom. This had to cover my buildout, equipment, signage, rent and security with a little extra for the first few months. There was no possible way to purchase new equipment. I purchased everything used. All of our Balanced Body reformers are work horses and have been fantastic.

Now, just shy of our 15 year anniversary, we were ready for an upgrade. Everything is just a little more sparkly ✨

This month we’ve all been working on Knee Stretch series which can be a tough one. We start with a round back, move into a flat back and then finish with knees in a hover. Knees off is the hardest. As a prep I will sometimes do a version of this exercise on the floor. Because the angle is different it’s easier to feel the weight in the lower body which is really the idea in knee stretch.

Sit your bum back on your feet and stretch your toes and ankles. Then rock your body weight forwards and backwards. You will feel your quads a whole bunch. Next up, to the reformer.

This fall I’ll be leading the strength class at Mind & Motion. Personally, I’ve been using the kettlebells with Julian “JT” Turner for about 4 years and it’s made a huge difference in my body. Sometimes I will feel achey in my glutes and back (like I need a massage) and I do an hour with the kettlebells and this all resolves. My body responds well to holding a heavy weight and moving in all directions. Yours will too.

The class is structured like so:
10 minute warm-up / mobility work (we’ve been doing this in pilates as well)
2-3 circuits including:
• Squat
• Clean
• Sn**ch
• Lunge / split squat
• Russian deadlift
• Overhead Press
• Swing
• Row
Finisher / Cooldown

We are already at capacity for this class but I’m hoping to add more strength classes! This is such a good complement to pilates. Pilates targets the small muscles while the kettlebells are more global. Don’t just do pilates. You will check more boxes if you are combining a few different modalities.

You may be hearing a lot about progressive overload in fitness. Typically trainers are referring to an increase in weight to continually challenge the body and increase strength.

In pilates we typically don’t increase weight much. You’ve probably been doing 2 reds and 1 green for footwork your entire career 😂

Overload can also be accomplished through complexity, increased endurance and less rest time. This is how we progress in pilates.

Sometimes your teacher will ask you to bounce a wall off the wall while you are jumping on the jumpboard and you might think, how is this possible? 🧐

But then you do it. And it’s FUN. This keeps you totally engaged. You’re brain having to keep up with your body.

There is a reason we are called, MIND & motion.

If it’s good enough for Harry…

A good midweek check in!