Here it is – My new class schedule! At the top of this page are several new links to find out more about me and the Pilates and movement classes I’m currently teaching throughout Los Angeles. It’s also where to find upcoming workshops or special events. Check back often because classes are growing and changing.
For questions about Pilates, this blog, and inquiries into private lessons, tailored workshops and corporate programs, email me at: pilates@stephanieellison.com
After a long settling in break, I am teaching Pilates and Movement classes again in Los Angeles, and it feels great to be back! I’ve also been revisited by the old debates that arise about Pilates posture, mainly pressing the back into the mat vs. maintaining a neutral spine. I have seen the benefits and drawbacks to both and continue to believe the best thing is relative to the individual’s body. Understanding the neutral spine position is important, but everyone’s neutral is different, and some people are too weak or have injuries which might prevent their maintaining a neutral spine at first. This is why having a good instructor who helps the individual connect with their core is so important.
To affirm this, I’m re-posting a piece from a few years back on how to find pelvic stability and neutral spine while lying down.
The Pelvic Debate – Spinal stability lying Down
(arched, tucked, and neutral pelvic positions)
To Tuck or not to tuck? That is the question.
And just like for Hamlet, there is no easy answer. It’s all in your relation to gravity, what movement you are performing, and what kind of weaknesses and spinal posture you have right now.
When performing exercises on your back that require spinal stabilization - keeping the back still while moving the arms and legs – it is important to learn how to maintain a neutral pelvis and spine. We want to strengthen the natural alignment without force.
To find neutral pelvis, first learn how to isolate and move the pelvic bones by doing pelvic tilts.
Lying on the back with knees bent, draw the pelvic bones inward towards your nose, pressing the low back into the floor and slightly lifting the tailbone off the floor. This is called tucking under. Next, go the opposite direction, creating a tunnel or arch with the low back by drawing the pelvic bones downward towards the knees, tailbone connects to floor. This is called arching.
Neutral pelvis is the happy medium between this range of motion. The front two pelvic bones are pointing upward towards the ceiling, most likely creating a slight arch in the low back.The tailbone and the back of the rib cage remain heavy on the floor. To engage the abdominals in this neutral pelvis, imaging trying to zip up the last bit of zipper on your tightest pair of pants! The muscles between the pelvic bones should sink down, but the bones themselves should not move.
(Refer to the picture at the top of the post)
Exercising supine (lying on your back) maintaining neutral pelvis will strengthen and stabilize the spine, allowing the arms and legs to move around freely. Your abdominals gather towards the spine ( like a corset closing in on all sides of the waist, belly and back), but, don’t force down the belly by tucking under the pelvis. Often we confuse scooping the abdominals with tucking under the pelvis. This will only create bad spinal stability habits in the long run, leading to overdeveloped hip flexor muscles, weak core, and an overstretched low back. The tuck under for stability when lying down will translate to a lordotic low back when standing, or what is called “sway back”.
There are always exceptions to every rule. If your back is extremely weak or you have never exercised then modifications must be made. Prop up the pelvis with a small pillow or blanket roll to support weak back muscles when lying on the back. This elevation of the backside will create less pressure directly on the spine and allow you to feel the core muscles. In this case, DO work on keeping the low back heavy and the pelvis tucked under. Given the body’s change in relation to gravity and weakness of the muscles, this works best. As one gets stronger take the prop away and work in neutral pelvis.
Once you’ve found a neutral pelvis position, practice moving the arms and legs while maintaining the stable spinal column.
Look at the “dead bug” exercise in finding your fulcrum.
A good image to help create stabilization would be to imagine balancing a bowl of water ( or a glass of champagne, depending on your preference) on top of the pelvis, just below the navel and between the pelvic bones.
For a more difficult stability challenge, try balancing a tennis ball or golf ball on this same low point in the torso.
Good luck. Once you are able to maintain and understand a correct neutral position, it is surprising how fast one can strengthen their body from the center outward!
Does being healthy mean the same thing in Africa as in China? From the charting wunderkind at GOOD Magazine now you can compare. For an upclose look at this chart and what the world thinks of the term “healthy”, just click on the image, or go to GOOD.is
In Downtown Los Angeles there’s a film – not of celluloid, but of soot – covering everything, from shop displays in the fashion district to the tables at high-end cafes. Blowing your nose at the end of each day proves you breathe it in as well. And when I saw so many people jogging and biking through the streets here – in this fitness obsessed city – I seriously began to wonder “This just can’t be good for you… right?”
Why exercise outdoors in a city known for smog? It seems counterintuitive. I decided to do a little research and find out if it is really harmful, or just a bunch of hot air.
The American Lung Association releases a “State of the Air” report every year. In 2011, Los Angeles was #1 in ozone pollution in the country, and #2 in year-round toxic particle (soot) pollution. According to The ALA and a 2008 study by the National Research Council, air pollution aggravates asthma, heart and lung disease and diabetes, and can have a severe effect on children, stunting lung growth. Diesel emissions have been linked to cancer. According to the state Air Resources Board, 9,200 Californians die prematurely each year because of dirty air. Research has also connected a higher risk for these diseases directly to exposure from exhausts of heavy traffic and busy highways.
Now imagine running in that air! You increase your intake of oxygen while running, and subsequently the amount of pollutants. The Beijing Olympics weren’t so long ago as to recall the struggle many Olympian faced when training and competing in China’s own pollution problem.. US Olympic Mountain Biker Adam Craig, went into bronchial spasms because of the air. It’s like suffocating. Craig was unable to fully breathe in the air his body needed. 30 minutes into the competition, he had to quit. And he wasn’t alone. Many athletes experienced similar problems performing at their peak in the pollution.
While Los Angeles might not be as bad as Beijing, and smog and soot levels have dropped in Southern California over the last decade, the region still has the highest levels of ozone nationwide, violating federal health standards an average of 137 days a year. Apparently, it’s getting better, but unfortunately not quick enough to make an impact on our health…sorry Angelenos.
So what can we do? Give up our cars, build reliable, and convenient public transit, plants more trees, and offer more pedestrian and bike friendly means of getting around town…like, tomorrow. And if none of that is happening in the immediate future? Then be smart about activity. Check the air quality before rigorous outdoor activity. My Environment on the EPA’s website provides hourly air quality forecasts. Airnow.gov is another site providing air quality maps. If you must workout outside, do it when traffic is light. Early morning hours are ideal.
So it seems the answer is yeah…running in Los Angeles is bad for you. But, what’s worse – not exercising at all, or doing it in a polluted city? Both can cause shorter life expectancy and an array of diseases. Until there’s more research, I’d venture to assume it’s better to exercise than just sit on the couch…though you won’t catch me running through the streets of LA, for fitness purposes anyway, anytime soon.
Sitting all day – day after day – our bodies become stiff and sore quickly. Suddenly, we feel old beyond our years. It’s no wonder stretching and flexibility practices like yoga and Pilates are so popular, by opening up our bodies and releasing tension we move better and breathe easier.
But is too much of a good thing no good at all? Stretching and flexibility benefits are hotly debated in the physio world. Some say do it, others say don’t and with scientific backing in both camps, it’s hard to know which way to go.
According to some studies, including this one from The Stanford School of Medicine, dynamic stretching regimens seem the most effective way to stretch – if you feel you need to. Dynamic stretching involves movements while lengthening muscles and connective tissues and could be more effective than static stretching at reducing injuries and soreness. Static stretching is what is most commonly thought of as stretching – holding a position for 30+ seconds.
But if you are looking to do the splits, backbends, or become an extreme yogi, watch out. Dr. Shirley Sahrmann, a professor of physical therapy at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis once said in an NYTimes article, ”In my business, I have more problems with people who have excessive mobility than limited mobility.”
Being overly flexible without the strength to hold up the body structure is a huge problem. If you are already a highly flexible person, perhaps it’s time to add a little strength training. If you are overly tight, a little dynamic stretching couldn’t hurt. Ultimately, a balance of the two is better than one extreme or the other.
Here are a few recommendations for stretching and building flexibility safely:
1. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY Don’t compare yourself to Joe-schmoe in the front of class and copy what he is doing. He could be doing it wrong. If something feels painful, awkward or just not right, ask the teacher, modify or stop. Know what you need.
2. KNOW YOUR INSTRUCTOR Make sure your yoga/pilates/tai chi/circus/etc instructor is familiar with the concept or idea of dynamic stretching. They should also know your weaknesses, injuries and at least, how to keep you safe. Beware the new class that has you immediately trying extreme flexibility tricks that aren’t supported with complimentary strength.
2. WARM UP Do light cardio – jumping jacks, jump rope, jog, whatever, for at least 5 – 10 minutes before doing any kind of muscle stretching.
3. FIND THE WORKING MUSCLES Pay equal attention to the supporting muscles that are contracted and fighting to keep you in the stretch.
4. BREATHE It releases tension and muscles strain. Stretching should not equal pain.
Tagged Balance, Breathing, control, Exercises, flexibility, Health, pilates, research and knowledge, stretch, stretching, yoga
Lycra…or the less appreciated term…spandex. 
It’s arguably the greatest fashion invention of the 20th century and completely revolutionized how we dress, move, and grow our girth, in clothing. It’s a safe bet that synthetic, stretchy fabrics are on your body somewhere right now.
Nylon, developed by Du Pont chemicals in 1935, revolutionized women’s hosiery in the 1940′s and eventually led to the development of…
Lycra, generally known in the US as spandex. While celebrated in the eighties, most of us cringe at the mention of donning spandex today, unless that is, you shop at American Apparel. 
Synonymous with the flashy neon sheen of aerobic wear of the 1980s, the word spandex is actually an anagram for the word expands. Apart from fitness apparel, spandex is in almost everything we wear – bras, underwear, belts, socks, jeans, pants, dresses – you name it. 
Despite comfort and expandability, fitness fashion is often lacking in the “fashion” part of design. Thankfully, there are a few designers tackling well-tailored sportswear which is not an easy task. Stella McCartney creates gorgeous and functional athletic wear for Adidas, while Jeremy Scott, Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen, and the Japanese design house, Undercover have all attempted to elevate the look and feel of classic sportswear apparel, and the under appreciated reputation of spandex.
Funny how fitness fashion often leaves little to be desired…I mean, athletic wear might be a trend for Spring 2012, but I’ve yet to see Anna Della Russo sporting workout wear on the streets of Milan. And yet, despite its lack of fashion sense, women’s sporting wear has made major impacts on how we dress today, from work attire, to the perfect cocktail dress. Here are a few historical sportswear facts that highlight the fitness impact on the fashion world:
Leotard
The first skin tight bodices were crafted by Jules Leotard during the Victorian era of the late 1800s. The leotard was made solely for men, namely circus performers, while women performers kept to inflexible and rather dangerous corsets. While men still wear leotards, or “biketards”, for cycling, swimming, rowing, etc, the name will forever be synonomous with women and dance fashion.
Shoes
One of the first pair of rubber soled, canvas shoes was created by Charles Goodyear – yup, the same name associated with tires. In 1916 the shoes, called Keds, were mass-marketed as the first sneaker. The name “sneaker” was bequeathed by advertising man Henry Nelson McKinney, because the rubber sole made the shoe so quiet.
Golf
The fabric of choice for women who golfed in the early part of the 20th century was tweed. Hmm…sounds heavy.
While long layered skirts slowly became long wide-leg plants, it wasn’t until 1932 that Alice Marble made waves walking out onto the tennis court in shorts at Wimbleton. The world was aghast, but thankfully, we never looked back.
