Preparing for Your First Pilates Class: 5 Simple Tips

You've heard about the amazing core strengthening and flexibility benefits of pilates and you're ready to take the plunge! You've paid for your class package, picked a time that works and are getting ready to head out to your first class. But wait, what do you bring? What do you wear? How do you prepare?

Here are a few easy tips to ease you into your first pilates class:

Wear Comfortable Clothing

​Pilates clothes should allow full movement

Wear clothing that is comfortable and allows you to move freely.  Too much bulk will get in the way and possibly get caught in the springs if you are doing a private machine session.  Clothes that are too tight will restrict movement.  Wear comfortable, fitted clothing that allows you to see your form and stays in place once you start moving.  Women may wear yoga pants and a t-shirt or tank top.  Men may wear t-shirts and wear long workout pants.  Both men and women may be asked to wear socks, depending on the studio.

Pilates and Perfume Don't Mix

Please do not wear heavily scented lotions or other products.  The scent in most mainstream products are produced by synthetics chemicals that can set off reactions including headaches. Breathing properly is an important part of pilates work and when you instructed to inhale and exhale deeply, you don't want to be forced to smell your neighbor. What is a pleasant smell to you may not be pleasant to someone else.

Keep Your Bling at Home

It's also a good idea to avoid large jewelry.  Necklaces may press uncomfortably on your throat when you're lying down and big earrings may get in the way when you are in side-lying positions or resting your head between the shoulder rests on the Reformer.  Big rings may get in the way when you are doing arm work with the straps, pole or ropes in your hands.

Gentlemen, Keep Your Family Jewels in the Family

A special note for men:  in pilates you may spend time in with your legs in the air or in fully inverted (upside-down) positions.  If you come to pilates in your regular running shorts, they will slide down when you lift your legs and show whatever's underneath.  If you must wear running shorts, please wear bike shorts underneath.

I've had a few gentlemen come to their workouts wearing loose running shorts and nothing underneath.  Usually what happens is that other clients complain until the person starts showing up in more appropriate attire. You don't want to be that guy. (By the way, these clients were quite lovely and devoted to pilates, just unaware that their attire was effecting the environment of others.)

​Toe socks look weird but work great for pilates (via PilatesGuy)

Prepare Your Instructor So We Can Prepare You

At the beginning of your session your instructor will introduce themselves.  They will ask if you have any special conditions, injuries or issues that may effect your session.  For the sake of your safety and success, please be truthful.  You don't have to reveal your entire medical history. Just let us know if you have any issues that may effect your movement, coordination and balance: muscoskeletal issues, recent pregnancies, medication, etc. Based on that information, your instructor will avoid or emphasize certain aspects of your workout.  

Don't let embarrassment keep you from sharing important information.  Your instructor is a professional body worker and has probably heard it all. 

Some of the issues clients have brought to my attention include painful scar tissue from breast cancer surgeries, neck or back pain, rotator cuff injuries, knee replacements and bladder issues which require frequent bathroom breaks.  Whatever it is, most likely we can accommodate it and still program a great workout for you.

Let me emphasize again that we need to know what we are working with before you start the workout.  I've been halfway through a session when a client will say, "oh yeah, my doctor said I should not do that because of my blood clot" or "that hurts the rib I cracked this weekend."  Inform us before before we start your session so we align with your doctor's recommendations and don't exacerbate any special conditions.

​Don't drop a bomb on your instructor mid-session! Tell us about injuries or special conditions ahead of time.

This Could Be the Start of a Beautiful Relationship

If you and your instructor are a good match, you will likely have an on-going relationship.  As with all relationships, establish a foundation of trust that includes open communication and being 100% present during your time together. It's a fairly simple commitment that will get to your fitness goals a lot faster!

3 Reasons Why Pilates is the Core of a Happy Life

Pilates is famous for being a great core workout. But what does that really mean?

1) Total Body Conditioning

Efficiently Build Strength and Flexibility at the Same Time

Pilates is a total body conditioning system of exercises. It promotes strength, flexibility and coordination. The combination of these elements will lead to muscle efficiency - strength gives you power and flexibility gives you access to that muscle's full range of motion.

Pilates can be done with specially designed pilates machines. Think of it as a combination between weights and yoga. Typically machine sessions are conducted one-on-one in a private trainer session. Students train one to three times a week. I've seen amazing results happen with three sessions a week but it depends on the individual's goals and existing level of fitness.

Pilates can also be done on a mat in a group setting, much like a yoga class. You use your own body for resistance and sometimes incorporate small props like bands and balls. Pilates mat exercises were originally intended to be the most challenging in the pilates repertoire, with the machine sessions helping to work you up to the mat technique.

On a practical level, I find clients usually feel more challenged on the machines. But again it depends on an individual's goals, existing level of fitness and preference of exercise environment. Some people just like the focused intensity of working with a private instructor; some prefer the incentive of keeping up with a group. I think as long as you are motivated to stay with a program that inspires and challenges you, either option is great.

2) Mind-Body Coordination

Move Through Life the Way You Want To

What makes a dancer worth watching? What makes a gold medal swimmer take your breath away as they plow through the water? Without coordination and a deep mind-body connection to command their movements, they would just be buff people flailing about.  

Rarely do people come to me looking for "coordination." They want to be lean, strong and sexy, sometimes they want good posture, but "coordination" simply doesn't make the top of the list. It's a rather un-sexy word for something that is crucial to your performance as an athlete.  (When you work with me, I will consider you an athlete, whatever your fitness level. It puts both of us in the right frame of mind to focus on body performance, not aesthetics.)

3) Core Strength

Do Everything Better. (Yes, that too. )

Now we get to the heart of the matter. Core strength is one of the main principles of pilates, and the piece for which it most well-known. Celebrities credit pilates for their trim waistlines and flat abdominals. But you know what else your core can do besides look nice in a bikini? Everything.

Every single motion you can produce with your body, with the possible exception of chewing, can be supported by your core. There is not one activity in life that won't get a powerful boost if you have a strong core and control over that power.  

You don't have to choose between your favorite sport and pilates.  With regular pilates practice, you become a more powerful runner, weight-lifter, skiier, dancer, biker, swimmer or surfer.  Pilates becomes the foundation for everything in your life that you want to perform with energy, power and grace.

By the way, that is why I teach pilates. I frankly don't care if you think your a-- is too big or your thighs are too wide. If you break a bone or end up in the hospital, involuntarily sidelined from life, you won't care either. All you'll want is a strong body that functions the way it's supposed to to get you through life.

The first prerequisite of a happy life is the health of your body and mind. Everything else is gravy. And if the core of a happy life is health, then pilates is the core of your healthful activities. 

6 Practical Tips for Letting Love into Your Life

Many people say they're looking for love or a romantic relationship. But their actions don't match their intentions. They sit at home in their pajamas eating bon-bons waiting for Prince Charming to come to their door. Each day they spend hiding inside, the opportunity to connect with someone wonderful in the real world slips by.

To my loving friends who have so much to give their partner-to-be, I would like to offer these very practical tips for letting love into your life.  

1) Prioritize love. Set aside one or two nights per week for dating. Dates won't just magically cram themselves into your 20 minute lunch break at work. When I started a new pilates job, my schedule had my first client starting at 7AM and my last ending around 11PM. My schedule made it impossible for potentially cool people to get to know me. I'm not saying you have to change your career, just recognize that if you truly want to date, you have to make room for it. 

2) Let go of "there are no good men." For those of us who live in NYC, this is a common trap. Never mind that the city is home to about 8 million people.  A discouraged single friend once said to me that half of that 8 million was gay, half of the remaining was married and the rest were too old or too young or otherwise unsuitable. Well, that's just gruesome. Let go of that belief now because you know who you'll attract with that thinking? "No good men."

3) To attract love, be loving - with everyone. I love this tip. It's one that I started to practice when I finally decided I was ready for a healthy relationship. So you say you want to be in a relationship. Being in a relationship is a skill, right? You have to know how to be consistently loving, kind, patient, responsible - all those things that can fly out the window if you're in bad mood, someone cuts you off, or your boss gives you some rough feedback. Well, like any other skill you want to be good at, being in a relationship requires practice. So practice. Smile and be kind to everyone: that new co-worker, the Duane Reade cashier, the Con Ed guy that comes to read your meter. Connect with people and share your positive energy because ultimately you'll be doing that with your relationship partner.

4) Broadcast your availability. There's no shame in being single, whatever your age. If you are positive, enthusiastic and realistic about what you are willing to offer in a relationship, tell everyone you know that you are on the market. Give your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors the chance to keep an eye out for you and be open to their introductions. Regardless of the outcome, be very appreciative of the introductions your friends make on your behalf!

Years ago an old roommate set me up with her co-worker. She really talked him up and said we'd be a great fit. So we made a date to meet at a downtown cafe. I was the first to arrive and since we were in Soho, all these gorgeous, model-looking guys kept walking by. I would get hopeful, and then they would pass. Finally my date arrived. He was shorter than me (I'm 5'3") and had just come back from vacation - with his mom. (Hey, I was in my early 20's: my criteria for guys was relatively shallow and my aversion to mama's boys was high.) It definitely wasn't a love connection but at least I was getting out there and learning about who might be a good fit for me. 

5) Date online. Unless you are still in at the age where you're out at a bar or party every night, it can be difficult to just get out there and meet people. You might have more responsibility at work and have less time to "hang out" at the local laundry hoping your prince or princess will come through the door. So date online. It is a great way to meet people and most importantly, it is a great way to practice the art of dating.

Release any expectations of finding "the one." Date to practice how to present yourself to a potential partner. Date to practice how to get to know your partner so that when "the one" shows up, you guys can easily connect and share your authentic selves.

6) Know what you want and be willing to let go of it. Having a general sense of what is important to you is helpful. If you want a college graduate who has a good relationship with his family and wants kids, great. If you are looking for an Episcopalian lawyer who goes to church weekly, loves Great Danes, practices yoga two times a week, is vegan, has naturally red hair and loves to paint, recognize that clinging on to that picture is going to greatly limit your options. Have standards but keep your criteria broad enough that actual people can meet them.