Devotion to motion: Sonoma Pilates trainer embraces traditions in an evolving industry

Check out my recent feature in Bay City News! Click here to read the full article by Lou Fancher.

Years ago, I watched a documentary on the history of breast cancer. It was an object lesson in the ways in which medical evolution is often achieved at the expense of the patient. Early surgeries were primitive; and, thus, lives saved were also lives compromised. As I started to work with clients as a movement and manual therapist, I began to grapple with my own relationship to medical innovation, especially with respect to pain science.

The Pelvic Star: Pelvic Diaphragm and Myofascia Connections Influences Movement

The bony pelvis creates a bowl and ring-like shape to support and house our internal organs. The pelvis is also the Grand Central Station of the body connecting the trunk with the legs. Spinal and hip joint movement articulates and instigates pelvic movement. The subtle motions of the pelvis are found in the SIJ and deep femoral head spinning. The lumbo-pelvi-hip complex balance is the key to unlocking pelvic pain and discomfort.

Over 20 years ago, a shift in the belief from stretching being necessary as a warm-up prior to engaging in athletics to stretching is not recommended due to inhibition of performance.

Is there a right way to walk? Walking is one of those every day movements that is on auto pilot. We began walking around 1 year of age and never looked back.

We are always in motion. Even when we are still, the breath is circulating, as well as other internal functions flowing within us. And the earth we stand on is in motion.

Metaphors abound when it comes to the body’s shoulders. What comes to mind when we say or hear the word, shoulder, is a sense of being strong, supportive and to take upon oneself a task. The expression of shoulders is used in familiar quotes, such as, “Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders”.

I have blessed with my life as a movement teacher and practitioner because I had incredible mentors and guru's along my journey. The terms mentor and guru may be analogous to a teacher, who has the experience and knowledge of a particluar subject, is an influential and trusted guide.

We invest a great deal into our life as a Pilates teacher. We spend hours, weeks and months studying and practicing Pilates. Then it takes time to synthesize the process of what was learned, and embody the work before teaching it to others.

As movement professionals, we are familiar with the terms open and closed chain movements. These terms were developed from a mechanical engineering perspective. The concept was then used to describe human anatomy and movement. The term closed kinematic chains means something completely different from kinetic chains.