Blog

06 Jan

Posted at 10:43h in Uncategorized by
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Portland, Maine now has an indoor mask mandate You can  read it here. I will not be checking vaccination status, I will be requiring all persons in the studio as a group, to be masking. Masks are available if you are without one. All classes are still hybrid and I would love for anyone for any reason to join us in class from home. If you are interested in purchasing a Ballet Barre, I recommend this one  Do you want to purchase a new reformer? There is currently a wait time for reformers, but as you all know it's worth the wait and...

04 Jan

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I grew up in the theatre and the mantra practice makes perfect were words I truly believed. The reinforcement of this from all my teachers and later bosses had me grasp on tight to this philosophy. The practice part was easy to understand, but I never really connected with the perfect part. I never believed that perfection is achievable. I spent December working on having a perfect month of movement. Closing all three rings on my Apple Watch each day. If you are unfamiliar basically each day you want to stand for one minute an hour out of 12 hours, exercise...

30 Aug

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Untethered would be the best one word description of my summer, what would your word be? I have found it hard to be connected. Connected to self, others or even my recent memories of what weather should be like during a Maine summer. The constant change and in flux that has been the collective experience for all of us has taken a toll. I find myself saying "I feel bad for X", as I realize in the same breath I've said the same sentence moments before for a totally different subject. Yes, I imagine it sucks to be parenting small children...

18 Feb

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I worked at The Lotte Berk Method in New York City as a barre teacher. This handout was one I was given and asked to put in my notebook (which we were all required to have, which is a huge foundational piece of my barre teacher trainings. Learning the Lotte Berk Method was the coolest way I had ever taken a teacher training...

05 Feb

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I started teaching Walking Pilates years ago after the Bounce classes became popular. Many clients wanted to try the rebounding class but were struggling with lower body joint issues or injuries that prevented jumping. Walking Pilates takes most of the impact away. The class starts standing with a isolation warm up and moves into more expressive movements. Coordination and challenge is added in a stacking fashion so you are able to bring the workout up or down to the level you are at that day! Check out this excerpt from class This class is proving to be loads of fun for clients at...

21 Oct

Posted at 17:06h in Uncategorized by
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The abdominal and cool down sections are the last 15 to 20 minutes of class. Anyone who has ever taken a Pilates Mat class knows how much mental attention to detail is needed to keep abdominal muscles doing the work when all the other parts of the body are also being instructed to move. This is one benefit to starting with Barre over Pilates. Coordination in a barre class is minimal. YES! I know you don't believe me, but it is true. One does not need to be a dancer, or have a strong hold on their right vs left....

20 Oct

Posted at 17:46h in Uncategorized by
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Under The Barre is the middle of the BarSculpt Barre class and similarly it can be the part of the class that is the hardest to perform have you ever wondered why? Much of the Under The Barre removal from many studios and barre programs I believe must come from this section being misunderstood. As discussed we always start with a warm up and then fatigue the thighs and seat but why don't we save the hateful under the barre section for after abdominals? Why can it not come before? Why on earth do we do it at all?. The why is...

14 Oct

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Do you still think Pilates and Yoga are the same? I have been teaching Pilates for 19 years. At every large gathering where distant relatives or friends of friends are around I always get recognized as "Leslie the Yoga teacher". Now those who know me well, know that nothing would bother me more. It is not that I hate yoga. I have done my fair share of yoga however it does not speak to me the same way Pilates does, and there may be many reasons for this...

11 Oct

Posted at 17:27h in Uncategorized by
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Do you schedule your workouts for the week? Or are you like me and just wait for your Apple Watch to tell you "You can still do it!" The days I wait for my watch for reminders are the days that quickly got away from me. If I do not move enough, my sleep is impacted and my family will even notice I am more on edge. With the pandemic I have realized I have anxiety. This worsened on the days I do not move. With a pulled muscle injury all summer, mixed with not going to a studio to...