Archive for the ‘Injury Prevention’ Category

Testimonial from Judy Greenwald

I’ve been working with Monica at Pilates Method for 6 years now.  I went to her originally because I’d read of the benefit Pilates has for people with scoliosis and although I’ve been practicing yoga and running for many years, I thought strengthening my core muscles and working with resistance would be a good next […]

September 29, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: core strength, Injury Prevention, Pilates Method Studio

Thoracic Mobility from Dr. Brent Anderson/Polestar Education

Mobility of the Thoracic Spine Brent Anderson PhD, DPT, OCS We often talk about finding the mechanism of the pathology in our patients and clients.  When it comes to such pathologies as cervical and lumbar spine and shoulder, the thoracic spine is often ignored.  Sometimes very simple assessment of the mobility of the thoracic spine […]

September 21, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention

To gain more success from your Pilates workouts

  Having taught Pilates for over ten years, I thought of 8 simple things that would help my clients have a more successful Pilates session. 1.) you must relax. Relaxing is the first step of every Pilates workout. 2) you must focus. The mind is the one that builds the body. 3) you must breath […]

June 27, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention

Knee Pains

Last week, the subject for my blog was WEAK HIPS. One of the nearest joints closest to the hips are the knees. The best way to prevent a knee problem (or recover from one) is to maintain a healthy weight and improve the flexibility and conditioning of the knee’s stabilizing muscles so the joint is […]

June 20, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention

Weak Hips

I ponder about the next subject for my blog, and decided nothing would be more applicable then to write about injuries that I see in myself. Having done a half marathon recently, my mind gravitate towards the lower extremity..the hip. So, this week, let’s focus on WEAK HIPS! Let’s see if you have weak hips. […]

June 13, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention

Basic exercises that will help your awareness with using your abs and not your hip flexors

Basic exercises that can help increase your awareness and set the foundation for abdominal strength and body mechanics that balance your abs and hip flexor use: Half Dead Bugs: In half dead bugs, we use the abdominal muscles to stabilize the pelvis so that we can feel the subtleties of the hip flexors at work. […]

May 16, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: core strength, Injury Prevention

Working your Abs and not your Hip Flexors

First, the hip flexors are a group of muscles that bring the thigh and trunk of the body closer together. You use your hip flexors in many daily activities like walking, stepping up, and bending over.. Obviously, we need our hip flexors. But we usually don’t need them as much as we use them in […]

May 9, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: core strength, Injury Prevention

Posture and Alignment Exercises

Begin Standing.  Stand with your feet and legs directly under your hips.  Your legs and feet are parallel, and your knees are pointing forward, straight but not locked. Balance Your Weight.  Adjust your body so that your weight feels like it is falling directly through the middle of the foot.  You should feel equal pressure […]

May 2, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention

Pilates and your posture

Pilates is all about moving efficiently. What makes Pilates so important with respect to posture is that Pilates trains us to develop and use “core strength”, rather than holding our posture with superficial musculature. Using the deep core muscles of the abdominals, back, and pelvic floor to support our posture. This allows the shoulders to relax, […]

April 24, 2010 · Connor dawson · Comments Closed
Posted in: Injury Prevention