Free Mat Class Sunday 12pm 5/20
10 students max. Sign up online to reserve your spot. We are auditioning a new instructor.

A mix of classical pilates mat exercises and ballet barre exercises designed to strengthen your core, challenge your balance, increase your flexibility, and highlight those underappreciated (and perhaps underdeveloped) muscles that don’t get much attention outside of the pilates/ballet studio. No ballet experience required. No buns, no pink tights, no ballet shoes – just your inner ballerina/ballerino!

Sign up online.

This is the 2nd 6pm class/wk so it gives you an opportunity to get back in the groove!

Remember Tetris, that addictive computer game where you tried to fit little pieces together with other little pieces under a time constraint?

Every day at SAP is like a wacky game of Tetris as we try to schedule affordable reformer classes for you based on ability level and time of day with only 4 reformers. Phew!

If you want to pay only $35 for group reformer classes with master instructors, see the options below and email us asap to reserve your spot (info@aldrichpilates.com). Don’t know your level? Email us to ask. Here’s a general guide to get you started:

-Strong beginner: you are comfortable in a level 1 mat class and/or know some beginner choreography on the reformer.

-Advanced beginner: You’ve taken reformer classes for a few months and know basic choreography.

-Intermediate: You can perform basic choreography in your sleep and are ready for more complex movements.

-Advanced: You have been practicing consistently for over a year and can sustain a quick pace; you have tremendous upper body strength and overall confidence with all intermediate choreography.

If you’re a morning person, here are your options:
Thursdays
8am: strong beginner

Fridays
6am: advanced beginner
9am: strong beginner
11am: advanced beginner

Sundays
8am: advanced beginner

If you’re an afternoon person, here is your option:
Thursdays
3pm: Intermediate

Want to work out at night?
Mondays
6pm: strong beginner

Tuesdays
6pm: advanced

Thursdays
5pm: strong beginner

Email info@aldrichpilates.com to reserve a spot.

This summer SAP instructor (and gifted professional modern dancer/Jedi Knight of Pilates) Kellie Lynch will be performing nation-wide with various dance companies. Since she’ll have limited studio time, we created these 6 fun & challenging targeted workshops so you can get your Kellie dose while she’s here. This is your chance to gain exposure to many different types of Pilates workouts. (PS: ‘Kellie’s Playground in July is a reformer class! Only $28/class if you commit to 3-week series).

JUNE WORKSHOPS
Bye-Bye-Belly
6/10 10am-12pm
$40
An old-school, straight-up, core-focused workshop. Tone your core from the top, bottom and sides. Embrace your bathing suit bod.

Glam Gams
6/17 10am-12pm Glam gams
$40
Short and sweet: this workshop is for Gorgeous legs & bum.

Tricep Quest
6/24 3pm-5pm
$40
Stop hunching over your ipad and let Kellie teach you new ways to strengthen your shoulder girdle and arms.

JULY WORKSHOPS
Kellie’s Playground
Sundays
($85 for 3-week series)
7/15, 7/22, 7/29 from 3-5pm

“But I didn’t think Pilates was cardio!”
Ah, naive little Padawan.
Meet the Reformer Jumpboard.
(8 student max)

AUGUST WORKSHOPS
Pilates Mat Bootcamp
8/5 10am-12pm
$40
Which will be more unrelenting: New Haven’s August humidity or Kellie’s insistence on form? You be the judge. Come to her bootcamp and work in all planes of movement, most likely set to some fun hiphop melange.

Advanced Mat Class Workshop
8/19 10am-12pm
$40
Advanced choreography flow that will take your practice to a new level. (pre-approval required. Email us first: info@aldrichpilates.com).

Sarah Aldrich Pilates is seeking an experienced, fully-certified equipment instructor (at least 3 years experience) starting late July 2012. Compensation is competitive.

Candidate:
-must be able to teach Saturday mornings and at least two evenings and one mat class/week.
-will have a client load of approximately 25+ private and semi-private equipment hours/week.
-needs at least 2 references.
-has a sense of humor and is an enthusiastic team-player.

Position opens last week of July and requires a year commitment.
Email inquiries only. Please attach resume and cover letter.
info@aldrichpilates.com

Brave citizens of New Haven:

What’s scandalous-sounding, core strengthening and most importantly, fun?
Sarah and Kellie’s “Best Sex Ever” Pilates Workshop!

Sunday, April 22nd
10am-12pm
$40

Join two of New England’s most irreverent Pilates instructors as we teach you the tricks to learning how to strengthen your pelvic floor.

The bottom line (so to speak) is that your pelvic floor is a critical component of your core. Not only does a toned pelvic floor generate greater lower back and abdominal strength, but it also facilitates a more pleasurable orgasm.

So shelve your sheepishness and join us for this informative workshop (and yes, you’ll get a workout, it won’t be awkward jibber-jabber).

Sign up by clicking here and visiting the “workshop” tab.

Warning: This post is Rated A (for Awkward)
(this is a re-post from 2010 but I think we all need a refresher course)

Pilates blah blah blah Core Strength blah blah blah blah blah Pilates blah blah blah Core Strength bladdy bladdy blaaaaaah

Yawn.

Google “pilates core strength”—you’ll get 1,040,00 entries. By the time I finish writing this post, there will be more.

I’m not trying to be flip, but it is hard to keep a fresh perspective on something that is everywhere.

Let me be clear: I love Pilates. I practice it myself, I own a studio, I teach my my 84 father pilates (you rule, dad!). If there is a Pilates cheerleader, I am the archetype clutching the pom poms.

My problem, however, is that most people have a distorted concept of what muscles constitute the core.

Last June, the NY Times published “Core Myths” (http://bit.ly/bXhH7S), an article which highlights the risks of simply “drawing your belly to your spine.” The author rightfully argues that the spine is like a fishing rod surrounded by core-supporting muscles that act as guy wires, and strengthening any one of these muscles in isolation could throw things out of whack.

But the article didn’t clearly define the core. Instead, it referenced “all the major muscles that girdle the spine.” Okaaaaay, but WHAT are those muscles? The transversus abdominus (deepest corset-like abdominal layer), the multifidi (small spinal stabilizers), and…drumroll…the PELVIC FLOOR.

Huh? What is that? And why is it rarely, if ever, mentioned when referencing the core?

NEWSFLASH: WE DON’T TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE ARE EMBARRASSED.

Let me break it down for you:

The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles that lies between your pubic bone, cocyxx bone, and ischial tuberosities (those two bony nubs you can feel when you are sitting cross-legged on the floor). Other terms people use to describe this area include: loins, groin, pubic area, crotch. This hammock of muscles not only supports your bladder, rectum, and reproductive organs–as if that weren’t important enough– but it also works synergistically with your other core muscles (transverse and multifidi) to support the action of the spine.

It surprises me that many highly-educated & fit people don’t know about the importance of the pelvic floor, which is effectively the bottom of the cylinder of your torso. If the cylinder’s bottom isn’t strong, its overall structure becomes compromised, right? Here are some metaphors to help you consider the pelvic floor’s importance:

Imagine building a gorgeous house on a weak foundation. Bad news.
Imagine lifting a soggy paper bag that’s filled with groceries. Yikes.
Imagine any cylindrical container carrying precious cargo, and then imagine that it’s missing its bottom. Ruh-roh.
You get it.

I understand it can be uncomfortable to talk about openly, especially in the context of exercising. You wouldn’t bat an eyelash if your trainer told you to draw your belly to your spine as you lift a heavy weight. But if she told you to gently contract your pelvic floor as a way to further stabilize your pelvis, you might be confused. So you ask her to clarify and suddenly you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of awkward as she references the muscles that surround your genitalia.

Here are your options:

Ignore your pelvic floor and lose out on an important ingredient in building core strength (not to mention easier childbirth, improved intercourse, preventing incontinence down the road, etc)

OR

educate yourself and figure out a way approach pelvic floor strengthening in a way that feels realistic to you. (If the phrase “imagine contracting your vaginal muscles” makes you giggle and feel awkward, then ask your instructor to use a code word instead. One of my client’s and I agreed on calling it “the goods”—whatever works.)***

LOCATE IT

There are many pelvic floor strengthening exercises. The first step is learning what the heck those muscles feel like—it’s hard to exercise a body part you can’t locate! Here’s a simple one: Try to draw your pubic bone toward your tailbone, then release it. Try this 10 times in rapid succession. (lift, release, lift, release, etc).

WORK IT

Once you feel like you get the hang of it, try to perform a simple upper abdominal curl while contracting your pelvic floor. On the exhale, curl your head and shoulder-blade tips off the mat, while a) drawing your belly to your spine and b) drawing your tailbone toward your pubic bone. Return your head and shoulders to the mat on the inhale. (It is key to let the pelvic floor release on the inhale. We don’t want to keep it indefinitely contracted.) Bravo! You have just contracted your core muscles three dimensionally (your multifidi automatically contract when you engage your transverse).

RESEARCH IT

Enough from me and my pelvic soapbox. Take it from the experts.

Here are two good pelvic floor books. Both highlight the anatomy of the great down under, and offer practical strengthening and stretching exercises.

“Fitness for the Pelvic Floor”

http://www.amazon.com/Fitness-Pelvic-Floor-Beate-Carriere/dp/1588900908

“Pelvic Power”

http://www.amazon.com/Pelvic-Power-Exercises-Strength-Flexibility/dp/0871272598/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265060039&sr=1-1

(I’m not gonna lie: the former has some funky photos, and the latter has aa risque cover. I made a circa 2nd grade book cover for it so I can read it in public without getting funny looks).

***Important: If any of the following situations apply to you, please see a specialist: any post-natal discomfort, a history of PFD (pelvic floor dysfunction), incontinence, uterine prolapse or any chronic pain in your pelvic floor. Many people can benefit from pelvic floor relaxation as opposed to contraction, so research your specific condition carefully.

Hooray!

WE’RE ADDING A 5pm WEDNESDAY NIGHT CLASS bc you asked!
Wednesdays from 5-6pm Kristy will be teaching a level 1 mat class. (starts 4/4/12)

WE’RE OFFERING $20 REFORMER PRIVATE SESSIONS
Next week through July, you will have the opportunity to take $20 private reformer sessions with teachers-in-training. If you already take privates with Kellie/Kristy/Sarah/Katy, you may take these $20 sessions in addition to your current standing appointments. Email kristy@aldrichpilates.com to learn about availability and to reserve your spot.