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Entries in yoga (2)

Six Pilates Tips From a Choreographer

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Kim Gibilisco photo by Tom CaravagliaBy Kim Gibilisco

Often, people believe that the more directions you are drawn in, the weaker your focus and level of mastery. Like many Pilates instructors, my work takes me beyond the walls of the Pilates studio. I am also a choreographer. Over the years, I have found that the more I pursue developing my choreography for my own dance company, Kim Gibilisco Dances, the stronger my understanding, teaching and self-practice of the Pilates method becomes. Likewise, the more I study and train in Pilates, the more my choreography evolves. One discipline greatly informs the other, as they have several commonalities.

For both disciplines you need to be a creative thinker; a problem you’ve seen many times might require a fresh approach now and then. Puzzles you solve in choreography are not unlike the body riddles you find when training a Pilates client. So if you are a Pilates trainer who pursues more than one passion in life, ask yourself how this passion can inform and transform your Pilates practice and teaching. Here are six techniques I use in my dance-making that have improved my teaching of Pilates:

Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 12:00PM by Registered CommenterLauren Charlip in , , , , , , | Comments3 Comments

Pilates Pro Newsfeed

Our semi-regular rundown of Pilates (and Pilates-related) news from around the web. Enjoy!

  • LifePower in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business JournalIt looks like some of those 2010 fitness trends are spot on; here’s a major corporation trying on the “yoga gym” idea. Life Time Fitness is testing a new club concept called LifePower, a smaller, “boutique-style” gym that focuses primarily on yoga and Pilates. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reports on the opening of the second-ever location of the LifePower brand, and catches up with Life Time’s CEO, who calls it “a higher-end, futuristic, functional training that top-end personal trainers can deliver.”
  • While we’re on the topic of the gym biz, here’s one we missed in the last edition of Newsfeed. It’s Survival of the Fittest for Small Gyms, from the Los Angeles Times, takes a look at how the little guys are faring in this rough economy, with some encouraging numbers.
  • Pilates continues to enter the Smartphone app market. Here’s veteran instructor Lynda Lippin’s review of FitDeck Mobile’s new Pilates app for BlackBerry.
  • A pricing structure worth noting as we ride out the recession: any-price classes. Read about how a new Brooklyn yoga studio, Dharma Yoga Brooklyn, is hedging its bets on a 100% donation-based model.
  • The New York Times ran a couple of articles of interest to Pilates practitioners lately. Even More Reasons to Get a Move On shows that regular exercise promotes healthier aging and longer life—not exactly a shocker, but it breaks down the details. Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much points to studies that illuminate the power of touch—worth considering when you’re cueing your next client.
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 03:25PM by Registered CommenterLauren Charlip in , , , , , | CommentsPost a Comment