Pilates For Skiing (or Anything!)

During my 12 years of teaching pilates, I have regularly come across courses with titles along the lines of…

Pilates For Skiing! Pilates For Swimmers! Pilates for Runners! Pilates for Golf! Pilates for Cyclists!

And also offerings of tuition in…

Pilates for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation. Pilates for Osteoporosis. Pilates for Neurological Conditions.

You get the idea. There is something for everyone when it comes to pilates. And it’s true, everyone can do pilates but I also believe these course titles can be misleading for both pilates teachers and prospective clients. Pilates is pilates. If you are a runner, pilates can improve your leg strength and your breathing and in turn your running performance. If you play golf, pilates can improve your thoracic rotation and upper body strength and in turn enhance your swing. If you have had breast cancer, pilates can help you to re-build confidence in your movement.

But the content of a regular pilates class is not going to be vastly different to reach these goals for everybody. So in the same class I could have a golfer, a runner, a cyclist and a woman who has had a mastectomy. They will all have the potential to reach their pilates goals with the same exercises. There is a finite number of pilates mat exercises which originate from Joseph Pilates so although there is scope to modify these moves and adjust them to meet individual needs, the essence of each exercise remains constant.

  • Get to know your clients, ask them what their hobbies are, find out what they want to achieve from their class and teach them accordingly. Use your imagination, your intuition and your expertise to make each exercise work for them, whatever their goal. Be they a runner, a gardener or a guitarist teach them pilates to improve their everyday movement. 

I am not a medical professional. I teach people to move more freely, with ease and strength through pilates. What I do is straightforward. I observe movement and I teach people how to use their bodies to their advantage. I find it extremely useful to have an awareness of health conditions that I may come across in the studio such as osteoporosis, scoliosis, pregnancy, back pain or surgery and the implications these conditions pose to exercise.

For example, for osteoporosis we avoid flexion of the spine and flexion with rotation. With pregnant clients we avoid supine exercises and direct work on the rectus abdominus. But I will never be a doctor or a physiotherapist and I know where my strengths and limitations lie.

  • We need to know, as pilates teachers, the boundaries of our expertise. We need to know that our 1 day workshop on Pilates for Back Care does not mean we are in a position to offer advice on back conditions. Awareness, yes! Effective communication and modification of exercises, yes! Pilates will not take away osteoporosis, it may or may not have an impact on the degree of a scoliosis and it may or may not have a positive and long lasting effect on a problematic back. Pilates is unique in its approach but it can’t perform miracles and expectations of clients need to be managed accordingly.

I pride myself on the fact that ANYONE can walk into my studio, I can assess their posture, their movement and offer pilates to help them. What I would teach would be different depending on the individual but I wouldn’t have needed a course to tell me that (I’ve endured several “Pilates For…” workshops and always come away with the realisation that I was simply being told a variation on the same theme).

  • If you are a teacher assess your clients and steer them towards an appropriate class or private tuition. By offering classes at different levels, everyone’s pilates goals can be met. If you are a client, talk to your teacher! If we know your expectations from your class we can make sure that we go as far as possible to meet them. 

Remember, pilates is pilates. Do pilates, because movement heals. But ask questions about your ‘Pilates For____’ (fill in the blank) class. You might find its content is exactly the same as you would find in a class simply entitled ‘Pilates’.

 

 

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My Pilates Philosophy

If you delve into the pilates world you’ll find a multitude of interpretations as to what pilates is and how it is taught. There are now hundreds of training schools worldwide offering pilates education, be that in classical, contemporary or fitness pilates. I believe that there is validity in all approaches, providing the teacher works with integrity, skill and knowledge.

In our pilates outlook we are all different and just like in any line of work, those differences will lead to progress, to debate, occasionally to disagreement but ultimately, in pilates, to spreading the word of this astounding method of movement.

We have our own styles, thoughts and ideas that influence our work and become our codes by which we express what we have learnt. These principles develop over time and are subject to continual change but they shape our day to day teaching and thus are important to our current and potential clients, as well as to ourselves.

I’ve thought long and hard about how to articulate my pilates philosophy in a meaningful way and I’ve settled on these:

My 5 Pilates Guiding Principles

They very much sum up my attitude to pilates and how I teach so they’ll give you an insight in to the content of my videos too.

  1. Never Forget Where Pilates Came From: I’m a little bit in love with Joseph Pilates. I have a deep respect for his lifelong dedication to health and wellbeing. His ingenuity in inventing Contrology, from which our modern-day ‘pilates’ comes from, was remarkable. He was a task master, athlete, teacher, inventor and must have had almighty energy, foresight and self belief in his work. With his ever-presence in my mind I hope that my pilates career can also impact positively on everybody I teach.
  2. Movement Needs to Be Fun and Varied: We can’t take this too seriously, it’s not brain surgery, it’s simply movement. Yes, it’s intelligent movement and it can have profound effects but we are still only teaching people how to move more freely, with ease, strength and balance. People won’t come if it’s boring. Thankfully with pilates, the number of repetitions is low (3-10reps) and the variety is high so I have the chance to move swiftly and with flow through a workout, throw modifications and new exercises in from time to time and use small props to keep it interesting and fun. Each week is different even though there are a finite number of mat exercises to choose from. 
  3. Create Shapes: I have an anatomy background and sometimes I get all caught up in explaining which muscles we’re using and why. If I hear myself using language that makes me sound like I’m in a lecture theatre and not an exercise studio I often check myself and cue the shapes we’re making instead. Make a rainbow in your side bend, a half moon in a roll back, a fountain in the swan dive.
  4. Education, Education, Education: My pilates education is incredibly important to me. I experienced superb training by Jane Parsons, Michael Christensen and Bianca Bollisian at STOTT PILATES and more recently from Lisa Bradshaw at Cobham Pilates. I feel privileged to have learnt from these people who are incredibly knowledgable, experienced and generous. Further education will guide my career and I am continually reading, watching and learning from others. It’s also important to me to review courses and workshops I’ve taken in the past as every time I revisit them there’s something new to be found.
  5. Every Lesson, Every Direction: Each week I tend to have a different theme in the studio, a different focus. Perhaps a different prop or maybe I’m accommodating newcomers, injuries or stress. But whatever the vibe of the class, and whatever bodies walk in, they all walk out having forward flexed, extended, rotated and laterally flexed their spines. Keep it simple.
    With these principles in mind I sincerely hope that my career as a pilates teacher and fitness professional will have purpose, longevity and above all enjoyment and satisfaction, everyday.
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Spring Resolutions

Forget January as a time for resolutions, THIS is the time of year for setting a few goals and looking ahead with enthusiasm and motivation. Spring time…a time of growth, regeneration and beauty in the natural world. It never fails to amaze me that this happens every single year. The nights creep gradually lighter as the buds and flowers start to appear and the sun makes an occasional, welcome appearance. January, with its short, damp, grey days (I’m not a fan) is a time for eating cake, keeping warm, being kind to ourselves and continuing with our regular exercise. No big changes, just lots of movies.

Please don’t choose January in the UK to start any training regime that involves the outdoors…the mud, ice, rain and cold are enough to put off even the most hardened of fitness fanatics. You may be 100% disciplined and January may be just like any other month and I applaud you, but I’m not going to add any extra pressure from a New Year’s resolution to my least favourite time of the year.

NOW though, now I can’t stop planning, thinking ahead and setting goals for the year. All of a sudden, they feel more achievable, more realistic and infinitely more appealing now that there is the prospect of some dry land on which to run and cycle. Remember, you can make a resolution at any time of the year. If you missed the boat in January, it doesn’t mean the year has to be free of intention. And those intentions don’t have to be big or sporting or impressive, they simply have to be designed to make us feel better in mind and body.

Here are my tried and tested ways to go about achieving a goal:

  1. Talk to your most positive friends and family members about your ideas. If you only have a seed of a thought of what you want to do, do not mention it to anyone with any negative vibes. At this stage you only need reassurance that your goal can be met. A “fantastic, that’s a brilliant idea!” will boost your confidence and not “really? Are you sure you can do that?” which will only add to any self-doubt.
  2. Put plans in place to make sure that your goals are both achievable and realistic. It’s not possible to set a target and then hope for the best. We need mini-goals along the way. Write down and complete day to day tasks that will take you a little closer to your goals so that you are always moving forward.
  3. Challenging but not impossible. Consider your ideas and thoughts and choose goals which will give you sense of satisfaction and achievement, rather than becoming an additional stress. Your everyday life still has to happen and extra time doesn’t appear from nowhere so to include working towards goal, you’ll have to be prepared to change your timetable.
  4. Give yourself a deadline. It’s all too easy to start tomorrow. Those tomorrows will run out if you have a deadline to meet, so start now. Write things down, look at your diary and set a date for a specific goal. ‘Get fit this year’ doesn’t cut it. More like ‘Complete a 5km Park Run on 22nd April’.
  5. Find support from others. We all have hopes and dreams, big and small so while you’re going about working towards your own resolutions, look out for other people doing the same. Smile at fellow runners, chat to the person next to you in the gym. Better still, find someone who shares your goal and work towards it together.

I used all these in the pursuit of running my 10th marathon after a 9 year break from long distance running and the addition of a young family.

We did it! The Florence Marathon 2017, the day after I turned 40 with my husband Pete.

Goals don’t have to be anywhere near as big as running a marathon but I think it’s important to have them, however small. They give us time to be ourselves, to think about ourselves and to be part of something bigger than the day to day.

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The Apparatus of Pilates

What is all this crazy kit with its springs, carriages, bars and fuzzy attachments?! It is the apparatus of pilates and includes the Cadillac, Reformer, Chair, Ladder Barrel, Spine Corrector and Arc Barrel. Joseph Pilates was a prolific inventor and his creations also included the Foot Corrector, Toe Corrector and Pedi-Pole. There will be yet more pieces of equipment I have yet to discover.

From the First World War when he was interned at Lancaster Castle and on The Isle of Man and throughout his years in his New York studio to his death in 1967, Joseph Pilates was, by all accounts, thinking about ways in which to MOVE. His system of Contrology was unsurpassed in its effectiveness at correcting posture and strengthening our whole bodies.

It took me over ten years from my first mat course to my cadillac training with reformer, chair and barrels in between to understand and appreciate the importance of the pilates repertoire in its entirety. With hindsight, for the good of my pilates teaching I perhaps should have chosen a course in which all of the apparatus were introduced alongside each other, rather than one after the next. For my bank balance however, taking the former approach was necessary.

Quality pilates education is not only eye-wateringly expensive it always requires a lengthy commute (from Yorkshire to Toronto for my Chair Course!), accommodation and unpaid time away from my regular classes. The apparatus to equip my studio, some of which is now produced in the UK, at the time had to be shipped from Canada. It’s been a long and pricey journey but 100% worth it for the bigger picture I can now see with clarity and for a more meaningful future in teaching pilates.

In the UK our teacher training tends to start with a mat course. This is by far the most accessible route to becoming a pilates teacher and it enables us to set up our classes immediately with just a bunch of mats. Then, if you have the inclination, time and you’ve taught approximately one million pilates classes in cold Yorkshire village halls in order to afford it, you might go on to complete reformer training. This pattern continued for me for several years and each time a new piece of apparatus was added I grew more and more hooked with the pilates method, its potential and how really great fun it was!

The apparatus allows us to move in ways we haven’t moved since we were in the school playground. It allows us to flex, extend, rotate and sidebend with a remarkable level of feedback and support in order to target just the right muscles.

When someone comes to my studio for the first time I invariably introduce them to the cadillac first to assess their body awareness as they discover how to move through their spine and stabilise their scapula. With strong clients, I will often finish on the chair to end on a high as they demonstrate their strength in tricep dips and push ups. If a client looks like they need a release from the stresses of work/kids/life I’ll use the spine corrector for side bends and extension. And to get sweaty we’ll do a whole body reformer workout.

I find the apparatus exercises to be challenging yet achievable, playful and enjoyable yet able to improve your strength and change your body and the way you think about it. I LOVE the apparatus of pilates and all it has to offer for everybody’s body.

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Running and Pilates

Aside from the top of the list priorities of family and friends, running and pilates come in pretty high up. My passion for running began at my primary school sports days, my favourite day of the year, when we used to troop out on to the cricket pitch behind the school and do piggy back races, egg and spoon, sack races and sprints. Throughout my school life, it remained the highlight of the year. At The University of Birmingham I finally found a tribe of athletes who shared my love of running. At the time I was a sprinter and I have fond memories of BUSA Championships, trips to Lyon and Ireland and of hosting US Universities.

Having common interests unites people and the friends I made during through athletics have remained lifelong buddies. I enjoy being a member of a running club and it has been a privilege to compete for Hyndburn AC, Birmingham University, Rugby and Northampton AC and Settle Harriers in distances spanning from indoor 60m to off-road marathons. I’ve have the pleasure of meeting so many dedicated and inspiring people and running in countless beautiful places.

Once a runner, always a runner but life can throw situations and injuries at you which sometimes mean that running has to take a back seat. During these periods of my life (pregnancy, babies to look after, injuries) I feel, at best, out of sorts. At worst, I feel all wrong. I’m irritable, anxious, I feel down and flat. I know it sounds a bit dramatic to say that I NEED to run, but for my mental health I do believe this is the case. I could stay physically fit by the number of times I run up and down the stairs each day but for my mind, nothing can replace a run.

So where does pilates come in? In 2004 I’d become the county 400m hurdles champion and run my first marathon in Snowdonia. I was working as a personal trainer and I felt invincible. Then…my back ‘went’. I was lifting weights in the gym. At the time, not only was I a gym instructor and personal trainer, I was a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I knew what I was talking about and teaching to others in terms of strength training, but I’d found my weak spot. I questioned everything I’d been taught, my confidence plummeted and I wondered if I had a future in fitness.

I realised a completely different outlook was needed and I began to research pilates. Little did I know as I embarked on my STOTT Pilates matwork education that it would change the direction of my career, injury proof my body and give me the opportunity to truly help people improve the way they move.

What I wasn’t expecting was the profound impact pilates would have on my running. By 2008 I’d completed the advanced mat and reformer certification which had involved a great deal of personal practice alongside my regular classes. I fancied giving the Snowdonia marathon another shot but my busy schedule only allowed for three runs a week, around 20-30 miles. I knocked 20 minutes off my 2004 time and finished 10th female, I was absolutely delighted. Now I know that this isn’t exactly scientific evidence that regular pilates = faster marathons but I genuinely believe pilates was instrumental in improving my marathon times. I’ll go into the ‘why’ at a later date.

There you have it, my running/pilates relationship. It’s a strong one.

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What Makes Pilates So Special?

I’m now into my 13th year of practicing and teaching pilates and honestly I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing it for another 13 and beyond. I’ve found a way of exercising that I can’t live without. I never get bored with pilates and no matter how many classes I teach, I still want to do more myself.

So I’ve been thinking recently, what is it that makes pilates so special that it gets a hold on you and won’t let go?

When newcomers join a class and embrace pilates I gradually see their realization of what pilates involves and how it makes them feel and they keep returning for more, and more. It’s like joining a club where everyone is in on the secret of pilates.

But it’s no use just throwing the words ‘secret’ and ‘special’ in the mix and expecting people to flock to pilates classes; you need something a little more concrete than that. If I wanted to encourage someone to join the club, here’s what I’d say…

Pilates is non judgmental. It couldn’t care less about your body size or shape, your age or gender. In a class, you listen, watch, learn and your body does the moving. Believe me when I say you won’t even notice what the person on the mat next to you is doing. Pilates is for everybody with a body.

The fundamental aspect of every single exercise is breathing, so strip each exercise back to the very basics and you’ve got your starting point. Breathing fully, deeply, laterally and with an awareness of, and connection to, your deep abdominal muscles gives each exercise its precision and control. It creates a rhythm and a flow to the workout.

Pilates allows us to gain a great deal of whole body muscular strength, something that we all need throughout our lives. If we are to continue to do the basics of walking, sitting, standing, lying down and being able to get up again with ease and without pain for as long as possible, we need to be strong. Pilates will, above all else, strengthen your body.

We include exercises with names such as Boomerang, Elephant, Seal, Airplane, Teaser, the Hundred and these (amongst many others) performed in sequences are what makes pilates such good fun. It’s hard to take yourself seriously while clapping your feet together and rolling backwards.

A lifetime of thought, practice, innovation and imagination has gone into the pilates method. Joseph Pilates started young when it came to sporting achievements and physical training and he dedicated his entire life to the goal of promoting physical fitness through his unique exercises.

Joseph Pilates wanted the whole world to do his exercises and I can completely understand why. They create a workout where time flies by, you immerse yourself fully in your own movement and you give yourself the gift of a balanced, strong and supple body.

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Hello World!

Welcome to Jess Bagnall Pilates and thanks for visiting!

This project began in response to my regular class members wanting pilates ‘homework’. Over the years I’ve tried several methods…printed sheets of exercises, CDs (I made these when I took my first maternity leave in 2009 and they are still played today in village halls in Yorkshire!) and DVDs. All of which now seem archaic in this digital era. So I thought I had better modernise my approach!

My studio is based in the Yorkshire Dales, the population is scattered far and wide across swathes of glorious countryside. There isn’t exactly  a pilates studio (or a shop, pub, school) on every corner and pilates teachers, although they have increased over the last decade, are still few and far between. So another motive for this site was to reach out to folk who couldn’t get to a pilates class because there simply wasn’t one within a 30mile radius.

I would love to teach pilates to everyone who makes an enquiry in my studio. I have bags of energy, commitment, enthusiasm and imagination for my classes and I firmly believe that everyone should have an amazing pilates experience every time they set foot in the studio. But to maintain this quality, I can’t go for quantity and I can’t meet the demand for classes. My hope is that by creating this library I can reach out to many more people and spread the pilates love a touch further than my little Yorkshire village.

I truly hope you enjoy using the site and viewing my videos.

 

 

 

 

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