Thursday, September 16, 2010

Baby Roza born Aug 19th! Plus Fall Pilates Schedule Oct-Nov Classes
Posted by Eva Bondar

I am busy with the new baby, but pilates classes will continue as usual this Fall with subs Catherine and Suzanne at community centers in Pukalani and Kihei. Fall classes will run Saturday Oct 2 through Saturday Nov 20 and begin at 9:30am at both locations. Beginners Basics class Oct 2-23. Please bring a mat, towel, and bottled water with you to class. Keep in touch over email...

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Baby Roza born Aug 19th! Plus Fall Pilates Schedule Oct-Nov Classes
Posted by Eva Bondar

I am busy with baby, but pilates will continue with our subs Suzanne and Catherine for Fall classes through the County of Maui Community Centers. Maui Pilates Fall Classes will run from Sat. Oct 2 to Sat. Nov 20 at both Pukalani and Kihei locations beginning at 9:30am as usual. Beginners basics class is Sat. Oct 2 - 23. Keep in touch over email at mauipilates@yahoo.com aloha, Eva

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Saturday, June 12, 2010

Baby on Board!
Posted by Eva Bondar

Aloha friends, Baby is coming soon and I am out on maternity leave until the Fall/Winter. I have some great subs to keep you going in both locations, so happy practicing! I will miss you all. aloha, Eva

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Why you Should NOT feel Sore from pilates -Aerobic vs Anerobic Exercise
Posted by Eva Bondar

I wanted to clear up some confusion about feeling sore from pilates class. There seems to be some philosophies left over from the no pain no gain 80s that people believe that is not correct for pilates. As you have noticed from class, breathing is a central theme for pilates for activating your abdominals and also for exercising in an aerobic fashion. Here is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. There are two ways your body has to accomplish work (exercise) - with oxygen or without enough oxygen. Aerobic excercise means exercise with enough oxygen to fuel the movements that you are doing. This would be the exercises of life like going throughout your day, or walking, running, etc. Anaerobic exericise is what happens when the oxygen runs out for your muscles, but you keep going. The body changes strategies and metabolizes differently to keep doing the movements and creates lactic acid as a byproduct. This acid in your muscles is what you feel as soreness. It is also unhealthy for your body in that it is a toxin and requires additional work to get it out of your body. Examples of anerobic exercise would be lifting weights after the first few where you are in the aerobic zone, you switch to the anaerobic zone at the end when you are going for the burn, or complete muscle fatigue as they call it. In pilates, we are going for an aerobic workout. I know this sounds confusing because people think aerobic, aerobics, heart pumping, sweating (again from the 80s). But what I mean is that we are trying to have enough oxygen going in that we dont go into the anerobic zone. Let me tell you why working aerobically is so smart. You will get enough oxygen to fuel the work your muscles are doing and not have a toxic byproduct that your body has to do more work to get rid of. But much more importantly, with practice you will get even more oxygen into your system than the exercises require, and this is so unbelievably healthy for you. I dont know if any of you have heard about oxygen therapy for cancer patients but the reality is that oxygen in your blood is like a cleanser, it picks up those nasty free radicals that cause everything from cancer to wrinkles, and takes them away like taking out the trash. It will help you feel better if your sick and help your immune system so you dont get sick in the first place. Joseph Pilates, the founder of pilates, called this The Internal Shower. The benefits go way beyond toned muscles and a smaller waistline that you may associate with pilates. There are costly oxygen therapy methods, but if you learn how to breathe properly you can have a wealth of benefits without any money at all. It may sound silly that you have to learn how to breathe because we do it all of the time, but the reality is that as a society our breathing is shallow and not good at all, one of the reasons is that when you slouch over and dont have proper support from your abdominals, it is impossible for you to take in full breaths and you get used to this shallow breathing as normal. This is another reason we focus on proper posture in pilates. I have simplified the explanation of aerobic vs. anerobic exercise for you because it is complicated, but just so you know you are always doing both, it is the degree that is different. Imagine a graph with two lines on it anerobic on the bottom and aerobic at the top, as you exercise the aerobic goes down and anerobic goes up, eventually, they switch places of whose on top and bottom. You dont pass out when you go into anaerobic exercise, right? Thats because your body is so smart and funnels the oxygen to your critical systems. In pilates we change movements and positions all of the time to try NOT to go into muscle failure, but rather exercise with the presence of oxygen because it is so healthy for you. I hope this helps to clarify that pilates is not a no pain, no gain system of exercise. It is really smarter and more concerned with all around health, but the byproduct is a slimmer waist, better posture, and toned muscles, that know how to work in coordination (which helps your nervous system- another post for another day). What should you feel the next day after pilates? A little soreness is okay, but not a lot-you should feel your abdominals instead of not being aware of them at all, you should feel them connected to your back, like opposite sides of the same coin. You should feel taller. You should feel your muscles feeling tighter and more tones all around, but especially through your waist. You should feel more motivated to make other healthy choices in your day like in your diet, what to do that day, how you sit at work, etc. Got it now?

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

How to Practice Neutral Spine in Your Chair
Posted by Eva Bondar

Now that you all have the hang of finding the three different hip & back positions (arching, neutral, tucking under) it is time to find these positions while sitting in your chair. This is sooooooo important because many people spend all day sitting, why not practice good posture and exercise your abdominals all day? Start with sitting up tall, knees hip width apart. Then go through the three positions - arching, neutral, and tucking under. Most people spend all day in the tucking under slumped over position. Once you get the hang of the neutral spine, practice rolling your shoulders up and then pressing them down so the shoulder blades feel like they are pressing together on your back. You should feel taller with a long neck, and your abdominals will be working to keep you there. Now stay!

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