Resuscitating Pilates....

So last weekend I finally got round to updating my First Aid certificate and in truth had my Insurance not been dependent on it I would probably still be trying to find the right time to fit it in. Sadly we live in a society which doesn't promote it in schools, colleges or University and for many as adults unless they have been required to, First Aid is something you hope someone else with apply should the need ever arise.

Lipstick ready!

Fortunately courtesy of the lovely +TishaHarrington who runs the gorgeous Pilates and Gyrotonic studio at www.kingscrossstudios.co.uk I got myself enrolled, even the dog was there to say good morning. I have done several course's over the years, some more intensive than others but most presented with humor and humility, recognizing not everyone will be able to actually do CPR but everyone should at least know how, on these courses the biggest thing we are reminded of is the value of reassurance and compassion to another human being. Its always personal when I do these courses, I have had to do first aid at 2 motor cycle accidents, I directed traffic at one and ended up covered in blood at another, I dont believe he survived but I hope my clumsy words meant he didn't feel alone or frightened. I dealt with a hit and run where a woman's leg was broken, the hardest thing here was getting someone to hold onto my dog's lead! I've dealt with couriers passing  out, whilst cycling- next time perhaps he will not party quite so hard and leave without breakfast, and this week as is always the case after I update my certificate I discovered someone laid out after a fall- so now you know why I'm always apprehensive after a course.

The issue here is it doesn't matter if your good at these situations, I generally revert to a distressed toddler at the thought of having a holiday vaccination, it just matters that you try. less than one in ten people who stop breathing outside of hospital will receive CPR, people are literally dying because people dont know what to do. Of course there are times when it will make a difference only to those left behind, my mother will be forever grateful for the men who tried to resuscitate my father who died at 45. She herself was a first aider and worked in a hospital but sometimes we are just too close. Perhaps this is why I left the biggest lipstick mark on Rescue Annie  and compressed with unstoppable ardor last weekend, the lipstick mark would have made my dad smile for sure, if only for the course leaders expression at the glossy red display. Apparently I give excellent mouth to mouth! Well sometimes even dark humor can lighten the mood!

So if you don't know what to do if someone stops breathing, if you dont know to do compressions even if you cant do mouth to mouth. If you don't know what to do in the silence as someone chokes then sign up for a course sooner rather than later. We work tirelessly to keep our clients fit and healthy but what happens if one day they really do need to breathe, would you feel confident knowing what to do?, would you be ok with doing nothing?. In this area I really am an expert, doing something may just save a life or bring a little piece of mind to those you have to see after the drama long subsides....though to be fair I'm going to skip the 'How to deliver a baby' section....someone put the kettle on and get some towels.

Keep well, Keep healthy and Pilates on....

Suzy x

www.seraphinapilates.com

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Stegosaurus Show girls....and this is why I'm unemployable!

Expect rain and you get 28 degrees in Rome!

I was fortunate enough to attend a workshop with +AlyceaUngaro earlier this year and part of the day was dedicated to language and how we use it as teachers, now once I'd got past the inevitable embarrassment of not being able to determine between adjectives, nouns and verbs, what can I say I get confused...It really made me think. We know as teachers that its not just our words that hold information but the way we demonstrate the exercises, the way we cue with our hands in contact and yes, I admit it, I do hold peoples pony tails up (please don't tell the PC police). But ultimately its our words that find our way into peoples subconsciousness. I'm genuinely pleased when people tell me they could hear my voice whilst they were brushing their teeth reminding them to stand taller, having established their not having a multiple personality episode first of course.

And so it came to be recently that late on a thursday evening my intermediate group found themselves being Show girl Stegosauruses'. You see such was my train of thought simply being a dinosaur wasn't enough, they had to be beautiful, show girl dinosaurs. By now you either have your head in your hands or are smiling, I very much hope its the latter so bear with me....I have no idea where this came from or indeed why it worked, I never never seen my group be so mindful of how their backs were working but in choosing an image so obscure both their imagination and neural paths and mine were both fired up. Their was no familiarity or complacency with this image because they didn't anticipate it, and I realized that perhaps when we suspend our habits, intellectually, physically, emotionally we can start to see our bodies as being capable of so much more than our self imposed barriers and habits allow?

More importantly however, they laughed, I laughed at myself and we all moved with more power and grace (well after all performing dinosaurs are both aren't they) I did however recollect the time a very good friend, client and mentor one day uttered the statement  'Suzy I think your wonderful, but you are utterly unemployable', I simply cannot follow one view on things,  at that moment as I packed the kit up and left the studio I suddenly and finally understood what she meant, and its the very thing and clients and classes respond to. From one week to the next they don't know if they are getting insights from workshop's I've attended or readings straight from 'Return to Life' but they do know that I will challenge them to think outside their own expectations, after all a man who wanted us to be seals couldn't really have a problem with us being dinosaurs occasionally could he? I do hope not because the class really did breathe and move beautifully....

Have a great weekend all and remember heads high and swish those tails....

Suzy x

www.seraphinapilates.com

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I'm well aware my derriere is soggy....connection, what connection?!

So there it is, I admit it, my gluts do not 'fire', most of the time, I know its radical but as a Pilates teacher who talks daily ad nauseam about connections between inner thighs, gluts, deep abdominals etc, the reality is, mine appear to be an enigma to myself and to most of teachers who teach me....Today the poor cover teacher who taught me experienced the dilemma so many before her had attempted to unravel...

I'm always open to being taught by new teachers as I truly believe everyone has something to bring to the table of teaching, established teachers have the benefit of experience and confidence, new teachers often have enthusiasm and fresh eyes, and with each one I hope the answer to the Holy Grail of my unresponsive backside will be answered....sadly today was not the day and one more teacher was left bewildered and confused....

I honestly tried to reassure her it was not her fault, her enthusiastic yet inevitable cue's of  'draw in, draw up', 'heels together', 'connect the hamstrings', and 'lengthen more' did not magically make them awaken. I concede Footwork on the reformer finds a hint of them and Knee Stretches definitely does not, quad burn anyone?! but before you shout 'but your obviously not doing it right' at this post please appreciate I have been observed by the best and still they smile, wrinkle their brow and say 'but it should work?' My point is the teacher covering was charming and absolutely knew her stuff but sometimes the script has to be changed, sometimes as teachers we have to change our cues, expectations and assumptions or simply allow an exercise not to work (life does not end because I cant make Up-stretch happen)

Thankfully not one to give up my regular teacher  takes on the challenge that is my bodies biomechanic uniqueness, with creativity and humor along with  the Wunda chair, high chair and spine corrector in all their multiple configurations we work on....where there's a will theres apparently a way to find a thigh to butt connection. And to this end I return each week to continue the search for less sogginess. Most of the time however, the connections are found when I kick back a bit (excuse the hip extensor pun) when I laugh at myself and yes fall off the Wunda chair attempting an exercise I've not done before, because often when I don't have time to over analyze my body's 'failings' it seems to know exactly what to do, so perhaps, just maybe my body's not so bad at knowing what to do after all!

It seems the key to a pert bottom is not to be obsessed with it!

Thanks for reading, Have a great week all!

Suzy x

www.seraphinapilates.com

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