Junk Miles, Proper Form and Intentional Movement

Posted on January 10, 2025 by pilatesnative

In the running world, there’s a concept experienced runners know well: junk miles.

Junk miles are the miles you rack up when you’re just running to hit a number of miles in your training log. Unlike intentional training miles, the ones your run purposefully to build speed, endurance, strength, or clarity, junk miles lack focus or strategy.

In my experience, junk miles were always the ones that lead to fatigue, overuse injuries, and burnout.

On a run a few days ago, the idea of junk miles got me thinking about how we approach movement in Pilates and fitness in general, especially after a recent debate I had with another Pilates instructor.

During the discussion, the other instructor argued that form isn’t particularly important. They claimed there’s no real evidence linking poor form to injuries, pain, or other problems. Their perspective was that movement itself is the point—as long as someone is moving, they’re doing it right.

While I understand the idea and intention behind encouraging people to move, I couldn’t get on board with the idea that form is irrelevant.

Movement Without Intention:

The Pilates Equivalent of Junk Miles

In Pilates, as in running, not all movement is created equal. Simply “doing the reps” without paying attention to alignment, mechanics, or intentional engagement is the Pilates equivalent of ranking up junk miles in a running program. This kind of unchecked movement might not seem harmful in the short term, but over time, it can lead to overuse injuries, imbalances, and compensation patterns.

Here’s the thing. No matter what you believe about movement, the science is clear. Overuse injuries often stem directly from poor mechanics. When you repeatedly load your body in ways that don’t align with its natural mechanics, stress builds up in the wrong places.

A runner who collapses their knees inward with every step may develop knee pain over time.

A Pilates practitioner who doesn’t engage their deep core during a roll-up might strain their lower back instead of strengthening their core.

The body is amazing and it can adapt in some super cool ways, but it’s also prone to compensating. Those compensations can eventually lead to dysfunction and dysfunction can lead to aches, pains and weird injuries.

Proper form ensures that movement serves its intended purpose, whether that’s building strength, improving flexibility, or enhancing mobility.

We’d Never Tell a Weightlifter That Form Doesn’t Matter

Imagine telling a weightlifter that form doesn’t matter—that as long as they’re moving, they’re doing it right.

No way! It hurts to even think about, right?

Everyone knows that in weightlifting, proper form is non-negotiable. Without it, you’re looking at a high risk of acute injury (like a herniated disc or rotator cuff tear) and long-term damage to joints and muscles.

Why, then, would we dismiss form as unimportant in Pilates or other forms of mindful movement? This line of thinking may be rooted in outdated stereotypes that Pilates is “just stretching”, “just for women”, or not “real” exercise.

But anyone who’s ever spent time in a Pilates studio—or worked with an athlete to improve their mechanics—knows this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Pilates and weightlifting actually have a lot in common:

Both prioritize alignment and control to protect the body and build strength.

Both rely on progressive overload to safely challenge and improve.

And both require intentionality to yield the best results.

The idea that movement alone is enough, overlooks the depth and nuance of effective training, whether you’re lifting a barbell, practicing the Pilates Hundred, or running intervals on a track.

Intentional Movement Matters

Intentionality is the cornerstone of Pilates. Every exercise has a purpose, and proper form allows us to maximize the benefits while minimizing the risk of injury. Think of it this way:

In running: Intentional miles are planned with a goal in mind—speed intervals, hill training, or long endurance runs. Each type of run serves a purpose in building a well-rounded runner. (And yes, somedays you’re just running because it’s fun! But with proper form.)

In Pilates: Intentional movement focuses on alignment, breathing, and precision. Each exercise strengthens the body holistically, rather than reinforcing poor movement patterns. The fun in Pilates comes from the flow. And the flow comes from doing the exercises properly.

The argument that “movement is all that matters” just doesn’t cut it. Movement is wonderful, but movement without mindfulness can do more harm than good. Just as junk miles can sideline a runner, careless movement can create a foundation for pain and dysfunction for a Pilates practitioner.

Balancing out Form and Exploration

Not every movement needs to be perfect and we shouldn’t avoid trying new activities for fear of doing them “wrong”, but we need to balance form and exploration, joy and intention, freedom and awareness. There’s a time and place for everything.

Explore with reckless abandon at an intuitive dance class? Yes, absolutely.

Explore with reckless abandon while weight training or on the Reformer? No. Absolutely not.

As instructors, our job is to guide people toward movement that supports their goals and respects their bodies. That means emphasizing quality over quantity, form over mindless repetition, and intentional practice over aimless effort.

Whether you’re running a half marathon, lifting weights, or practicing Pilates, movement isn’t just about doing—it’s about how you do it. So let’s move with purpose, cultivate awareness, and leave the junk miles—on the mat, under the barbell, and on the road—behind.

Step Away From the Edge

Posted on November 20, 2024 by pilatesnative

why overstretching backfires

There are two things that inspired this month’s post. Injured athletes are my bread and butter. While it’s easy to lump them into injury type (labral tears, herniated disks, knee stuff) or body parts (knees, backs, ankles, hips, shoulders), there’s a broader wider category system that I’ve been working in lately.

• Insanely tight and lacking functional range of motion

• Hypermobile/EDS/super flexible and lacking functional stability

What’s interesting here, is that in both populations, I’ve been working with “The Gray Space” and “Playing in the 1-99%”. During Soul Stretch this week, I kept returning to how important “The Grey Space” actually is for our nervous system and our muscle tissue, which leads us to today’s blog post.

What’s the Grey Space?

Technically speaking, The Grey Space is something I totally made up to help clients better understand their range of motion.

When it comes to stretching, most of us have been taught that we need to push ourselves so deep into a stretch that we hit “The Edge” – the farthest point of tension in our available range of motion. While I blame my third grade teacher for his crappy teaching methods, (seriously, who walks around and pushes third graders further into a butterfly stretch? Serious side-eye Mr. C, you big old jerk) it’s also a very common cue in fitness classes to “find the edge” when stretching.

The Edge is typically very uncomfortable, may feel really awkward and can even be painful.

The “Grey Space”, on the other hand, is a comfortable, safe range somewhere within the 1-99% of our movement capacity. I even like to coach clients to see what’s going on at 75-80% of their available range.

Why Pushing to the Edge Backfires

When you stretch to your absolute limit, you may feel a burning, stinging, ripping, tearing, excessive pulling or painful sensation. Your muscles may start to shake and you might pop out into sweat beads. These are all signs of overstretching and are all sensations that your nervous system may interpret as unsafe or threatening.

Overstretching causes muscles to contract reflexively in an effort to protect against damage. Ironically, stretching too far can actually reduce range of motion, make you feel tighter and teach your nervous system that stretching is unsafe. When your nervous system interprets stretching as unsafe, it will be on high alert every time you stretch, which is the exact opposite of what we need to promote lengthening muscle tissue.

Repeatedly pushing your body to The Edge can create lingering tension, and over time, may even lead to injuries and setbacks in flexibility and mobility goals.

The Grey Space

Instead of stretching to the edge, I like to pull clients off of the ledge and introduce them to “The Grey Space” – that 1-99% of the available range. Stretching in The Grey Space is a lot gentler and much more subtle than we’ve been taught…and that’s why it works.

When we work within The Grey Space, and allow the body to feel safe, controlled and calm, the nervous system calms down. Most of us are already living with lit up nervous systems. Constantly approaching The Edge and operating in the Red Zone makes it worse. Stretching in the safety of The Gray Space allows your nervous system to calm down and feel safe, which in turn makes it easier for muscles to release tension, naturally. Without excessive force from you.

As we work within the Gray Space, you may find that your range of motion and flexibility are getting better. By avoiding forceful ranges, we can completely break the cycle of overstretching. We can also teach the nervous system that stretching is a safe and pleasurable activity, priming it towards relaxation rather than hypervigilance.

What About Hypermobility and EDS?

Folks who are hypermobile, super flexible or have EDS tend to have a very large available range of motion and may not even have “An Edge”. While that excess ROM can create beautiful shapes for dancers, gymnasts, yogis and other athletes, it can also lead to joint instability that may cause pain, flareups, injuries and dislocations.

Despite being able to access a huge range of motion, literally every single one of my hypermobile clients came in with complaints of chronic tightness. They were stretching every day and finding zero relief.

Two things were most likely happening to create that tight sensation. One, when the tendons and ligaments aren’t stabilizing the joints, the muscles have to take over. That can feel like a constant grippy sensation in the muscles that never releases. And two, I’ve found that my hypermobile clients have super hypervigilant nervous systems. Because they are so flexible, normal daily activities can cause them to hyperextend or dislocate joints. They tend to guard against any potential movement that may cause pain and injury. Cue grippy tight muscle sensation.

For these clients, we use The Gray Space to learn how to control and stabilize around the joints. We learn to work in the 80% of available range instead of always pushing to the end limits. This softer approach helps protect the body while also building the structural foundation needed for safe mobility in daily tasks.

The “Grey Space” approach isn’t just about flexibility.

It’s also about honoring the nervous system while focusing on stability, proprioception and body awareness. Regardless of their flexibility status, every single one of my clients has benefitted from prioritizing the nervous system, working on stability, proprioception and body awareness.

Backing off of The Edge has helped every one of my clients find better mobility and functional movement and it’s something I wish more people knew about. If you’d like to play around with The Gray Space, a quick intro is included below.

Cheers to whatever gets you moving this week-

Rubecca

How to Play in The Grey Space –

Want to join me in some Gray Space movement? Check out this quick practice below and let me know what you think.

Non-Hypermobile folks

Start by approaching this practice with a curious explorative mindset and pick a super familiar stretch. Something easy.

Did you go immediately in to The Edge? That’s ok. Let’s rename that 100%.

Back away from 100% and find where 75% or 80% live. What does that feel like? What happens if you close your eyes and take a few long slow deep breaths? What sensations do you feel?

This is where we get curious. Is this actually your Edge and you’ve been blowing past it into a canyon below? Rename this 100% and find that 75%-80% again.

Do you feel a pleasant tension here? Something that is soft and subtle? Something that you can ease into and that you’re able to drop into without stress or strain?

This is how stretching should feel.

Hypermobile folks

Start by approaching this practice with a curious explorative mindset and pick a super familiar yoga or stretch pose. Something easy.

Did you go immediately in to The Edge, create a super big shape with your body and hyperextend your joints? That’s ok. Let’s rename that your 100%.

Back away from 100% and make your pose 25% smaller or 25% more contained or controlled.

What does that feel like? Which muscles do you have to activate to create a smaller more controlled shape? What happens if you close your eyes and take a few long slow deep breaths? What sensations do you feel?

Can you make that pose 40% smaller or more contained? What about 50%? What does that feel like?

This is where we get curious.

Do you feel a pleasant working muscle tension here? Something that is subtle and supportive? Something that you can ease into and support without stress, strain or fear of hyperextension? This is what stability will start to feel like.

The Intentional Pairing of Pilates and FST to Create “Corrective Experiences”

Posted on April 22, 2024 by pilatesnative

2024 Stretch to Win Case Study

My fitness and bodywork career started 14 years ago at a Sports Chiro clinic in Houston that specialized in sports injuries.

Every client who came to see me for Pilates or FST was either actively injured, recovering from an injury, or trying to prevent another injury. In addition to being in physical pain, these folks were frequently also in emotional pain and mental despair. Their pain and injuries took vibrant, healthy people and turned them into people who were desperate, angry, frustrated, and depressed.

My first truly deep understanding of just how injuries impacted our mental and emotional health came when I received an email from one of my client’s wives. This client had been an absolute bear to work with. He was an endurance cyclist who had herniated multiple disks. He was extremely cranky, short with his answers and shot daggers across the room with his glares. The first three sessions were typically grunts, as he barely spoke to me during our hour together. With each passing week, as his symptoms resolved, he became a little less cranky. He talked a little bit more. He started smiling, then laughing and it turned out he was an excellent conversationalist. I started looking forward to our sessions. When his prescribed number of Pilates and FST sessions were completed, he gave me a hug, thanked me, and walked out the door.

A week later, the email from his wife arrived. In one of the most heartfelt thank yous I have ever received, she explained that the injury had completely changed her husband’s personality. The incredibly happy go lucky man she’d married had turned into an asshole. He was always angry, always in pain. Their marriage was on the rocks, they’d been seriously considering divorce and had already met with a lawyer. When he started Pilates and FST, he was a little less grumpy at the end of the day. A little bit sweeter, a little bit more like himself. She’d waited, watching week by week as his symptoms unraveled the stranglehold they’d had on his mental and emotional health. As his symptoms resolved, his personality returned. They were able to work on their marriage and started to resolve the issues his behavior had created. Her email was a sincere thankyou for saving their marriage.

With that email, I knew I’d found my life’s calling; helping injured athletes heal their bodies by also supporting their mental and emotional health.

When Mr. Hill walked into my studio two years ago, he reminded me a lot of that client years ago. He was a strong, fit, healthy man in the prime of his life. He was also in debilitating pain that left him afraid to sit, to reach, to do any motion that would take his horrible-but-manageable-pain and turn into the excruciating-not-manageable type of pain.

A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Mr. Hill was a rock climber, mountain biker, snowboarder, and hiker. The kind who went higher, harder, faster, further. The kind who jumped things, flew through the air and took fear as a personal challenge.

While previous neck and shoulder injuries had checked his activities before, a back injury brought all those adventures to a screeching halt.

The man in front of me hadn’t been on a bike or a board in months and was hiking desperately on his good days to get as much movement as he could before the pain took over. His days consisted of a constant mental chess game, calculating which moves were safe, which could be slightly altered to feel ok right now-with pain management planned for later, which activities were removed completely from the board, which activities would be traded for the others he really wanted to do. The mental and emotional exhaustion was palpable, as each session often started with a deep resounding sigh in response to “how’s it going?”

While Mr. Hill was doing his best to avoid surgery, we both knew it was on the table. In addition to seeing me for Pilates and FST, Mr. Hill was also treating his back pain with chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, PT, meditation, and therapy.

When working with Mr. Hill, I knew we had to work on mental and emotional safety around movement before tackling the traditional fitness concerns of stability, strength, and flexibility. Without safety, progress would be impossible.

We started with a functional core strength and range of motion test, with Mr. Hill moving his own body into various ranges of motion. I noted which positions caused anxiety, fear, or were avoided completely. Next, I used an FST session to assess his passive range of motion, this time noting any guarding and whether the available range matched the guarding or fear response in the ranges previously noted.

After seeing where Mr. Hill was able to move and how he reacted to certain positions, I created an FST and Pilates plan that kept him well within the areas where he felt comfortable, but focused on creating stability, strength, and mobility around the area of injury.

By stabilizing and strengthening around the injury, while also gently increasing mobility, we were able to create some relief in the pain points, while also building confidence and security in those ranges. Each week, we used FST to find and assess where those edges and boundaries were, downregulate the nervous system, improve range of motion and mobility, and teach the body new patterns.

Throughout our sessions together, there were excellent days where pain was minimal, strength and mobility were maximal. There were also days when pain was maximal, and our focus was really on managing the flare and moving in ways that felt good and provided relief.

While Pilates and FST weren’t the magic bullet we’d been hoping for, they did provide some relief as well as a strong pre-surgery foundation. After a series of disappointing nerve ablations, Mr. Hill opted for L5-S1 fusion, which was successful.

After surgery, Mr. Hill had much more available range of motion and we were able to focus even more in depth on recovering strength, mobility and range of motion that had been lost due to the original injury, as well as post-surgery recovery. We also continue to work on what Mr. Hill calls “corrective experiences”, a term borrowed from the book “The Way Out” by Alan Gordon. Corrective experiences are successfully performing activities or movements, pain-free, that we typically avoid because we’re afraid they’ll cause pain.

By using Pilates and FST in an intentional way, we were able to create entire sessions of “corrective experiences” for Mr. Hill, teaching the mind and body that the various movements and patterns are safe and do not cause pain or pain flares. FST allowed us to find his boundaries and work right up to them in a way that didn’t cause pain or flares.

I am extremely humbled by Mr. Hill’s trust and have greatly appreciated his willingness to experiment together as we “do weird shit in the name of science”.

Working with him has allowed me to really refine my skills as a practitioner and I have been able to apply the same principles of using Pilates and FST to develop corrective experiences for all my clients. Whether they come in with labral tears, frozen shoulders, herniated disks or sciatica, the results have been absolutely astounding.

Applying FST to my Pilates sessions has given me a deeper understanding of and connection to my clients. I can assess them tactilely in a way that is safe and helpful to their nervous systems. FST also gives me the ability to teach their body new patterns in a way that is gentle and beneficial to their joint and muscular health.

As a long time Pilates Instructor, I’m very excited about the results and the pace we’re achieving them with the intentional pairing of Pilates and Stretch Therapy when dealing with chronic pain.

What I’ve found is that my clients aren’t just getting relief. They’re getting their lives back. From spending a day snowboarding confidently, joining a dance class they’d never even attempt before, learning how to do handstands, or even just lifting something into a grocery cart or loading a dishwasher without pain, the results have spoken for themselves. “Corrective Experiences” are where it’s at.

A giant heartfelt thanks goes out to each of my clients who have joined me in experimenting, playing and “doing weird shit in the name of science”.

Have a great day,

-Rubecca

p.s. As always, I LOVE to hear your thoughts on these posts. Feel free to reply to email or bring up this topic in your next session.

How I deal with a pain flare-up

Posted on March 26, 2024 by pilatesnative

Hey there, happy March!  

What a joyous thing to see so much more sun the last few weeks.  I am so excited for the longer, warmer days.  This newsletter comes to you fairly late in the month.  March has been extremely dualistic, from long cold days and a month long pain flare-up of a decades old injury, to a wonderful family vacation, visiting my 49th state and beautiful warm sunny days.  

The deep bone throb in my leg has accompanied (and unfortunately at times dampened) hanging out with my kiddo, spending time with my family and even fully enjoying our instructor trainees completing their Mat modules and diving into the equipment work.  This nagging flare has interrupted my strength training schedule, negatively impacted my running and has even been rude enough to disrupt sleep.  I’ve been cranky beyond belief.  Even this newsletter, one of my favorite admin tasks, is low effort and lacking this month.

Sound familiar?

Like many of you, I came to Pilates through extreme chronic pain and injury.  

In my early 20’s, my body was extremely worn out and ragged from a really terrible relationship with fitness that frequently left my body very damaged.  Limping, bracing, sleeping with heating pads, smelling like Tiger Balm, and taking Ibuprofen on a regular schedule was normal.  I had a standing weekly appointment with the chiropractor and frequently chose shoes based on which pair minimized pain.  At 25, I, along with the 65 year old men in my department, had a prescription for a standing desk and midday walk breaks to help with pain management.  Road trips, flights, concerts, my car, even dinner plans were made around pain.

When my doctor prescribed Pilates, I was skeptical and certain that my lifestyle choices meant just dealing with a life of constant irritation, aches and pains.  

At the time, I just didn’t know any different.

It’s been a long time since that first Mat Pilates class, which left me shaking and unable to perform 75% of the class.

Pilates has been a constant companion for the last 16 years, through injury recovery, pregnancy, postnatal recovery, moving cross country, changing careers twice, surgery, and a whole lot of major life moments.  

With this latest pain flare-up of an extremely old injury that I was certain was managed, I’ve felt betrayed by both my body and by my Pilates practice.  Between feeling angry, frustrated and disappointed, I have managed a few moments of clear reflection.  

And the truth is, that I just haven’t been doing my own work…for months.  

At some point, without reason or me noticing, I just stopped doing any sort of recovery or restoration work.  Stopped warming up or cooling down for runs.  Stopped stretching.  Stopped meditating.  Stopped my Pilates practice.  Stopped managing my food allergies.  Stopped all Stretch Therapy, Chiro, Rolfing and Massage.  At the same time, I maintained my weekly running sessions, tripled my strength training sessions and doubled my dance lessons.  

This, in my professional opinion, has been a recipe for disaster.  

As my low back and left leg will attest, disaster has struck.  

So what now?  After a good long pity party, I’ve spent the last few weeks using aaaallll of the tools I’ve learned over the last 16 years, including tapping into a team of experts to help me recalibrate.  Recovery has looked like:

• Immediately eliminating all food allergens and working with Tina, a trusted friend and nutritionist to get me back to normal.  

• Meditating again, and actively working on recognizing when I am in a mental pain spiral and separating that from an actual physical pain cycle.  The book The Way Out, recommend by a client, has been a invaluable resource this month.

• Unrolling my mat for a weekly movement and soul practice at Urban Sanctuary.  

• Adding the required PT exercises to my strength training routine, backing down to twice a week and getting back on schedule with my trainer, Josh.

• Booking appointments with my friend Britni for PT and my favorite chiro, Britni at Denver Sports Medicine.

• Dusting off the trusty old reformer and rekindling the love affair with Pilates that started 16 years ago.

I’ve always described my Pilates and recovery work as the toothbrushing of my movement practice.  It’s not sexy, or entertaining, or overly exciting.  But man, is it effective.  

If you’ve been experiencing a similar pain cycle or set back, I see you.  It sucks.  But with consistency and intention, we can get back on track.  

See you very soon!

-Rubecca

p.s. if you’d like to book a session with me, you can do that here.

5 Books to Add to Your Wellness Reading List

Posted on November 8, 2023 by pilatesnative

This month, I wanted to share my top 5 book recommendations for Fitness/Wellness books this year.  These books are all related to movement in someway and either inspired, validated, created action or taught me something new.   I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

-Rubecca

p.s.  I read 1-2 books a week and am always sharing these reads on Instagram and am always on the lookout for new books!  If you love #pilatesandbooks as much as I do, you’re in the right place!

1) Caged Lion
Joseph Pilates was a wild character and it can often be difficult to separate fact from fiction.  This is all the harder due to the fact that Joe himself often embellished stories as a way to market his method.

Caged Lion is a great read for any Pilates enthusiast looking to learn more about Joseph Pilates and his life.  Written by his personal lawyer and Pilates student, this book provides some valuable insight into Joe’s life, his marriage to Clara and how they ran their original NYC Contrology studio.

I got to meet John Howard Steel at Momentumfest last summer and was able to enjoy an author talk and Q&A with him about this book.  He’s a very sweet guy and even in his 70’s, he’s still a Pilates enthusiast.  This book was super interesting and I loved getting John’s take on Joe’s life, especially after having read all of Joe’s books.

2) Let’s Get Physical

Let’s Get Physical was probably my favorite audio book of the year.  Author Danielle Friedman digs into the history of women and exercise; from being prohibited completely from exercise because of “medical advice” that their uterus would fall out, to sneaking into marathons dressed as men, to the now multi-billion dollar fitness industry powered by women.

This book does a great job digging into specific trends through each decade and talks about the big names behind those movements.  Unlike other pop culture fitness books which paint fitness gurus and trends in a favorable light, Friedman holds no punches and lays out the dirty laundry for all to view.  

I honestly had no idea how much societal trends, culture and government policies influenced women’s fitness.  This book is a must read for all women or folks who work with women in fitness.

*It was super light on the Pilates info.  Maybe 2 sentences.  Total bummer there, but the rest of the info was fantastic.

3) how to keep house while drowning

“how to keep house while drowning” isn’t technically a fitness book.  It’s more of a cleaning and organization book for folks with ADD/ADHD.  However, this little book packs a wallop and really stood out with some sound advice.  Plus, I really liked how the entire book was formatted and easy to read.  (I did audio and print book for this one.)

One of my favorites from this book was the concept of doing your future self a favor.  I have sat with this phrase for a long time and find myself doing little things like going for that extra dog walk instead of having a hyper dog later, cleaning up the studio right now instead of tomorrow, finishing up a small task today instead of saving it for tomorrow.  These small things in the now make life a little easier for future me.

There’s a current Instagram trend that encourages women to ditch their goals of training for a “summer body” and working out instead for their “old lady body”.  This idea of doing my future self a favor really plays well into this idea.  Doing Pilates, Strength Training and Running are how I’m training for my old lady body and doing my future self a few favors.

4) Yoga for Bendy People

Yoga for Bendy People is a MUST READ for all of my hypermobile and hEDS folks.  While hypermobility is nothing new and it’s something fitness trainers have been working with for decades, diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is fairly new and it’s an extremely difficult and obscure process.

Libby Hinsley does a great job of taking this very complex and often misunderstood topic and really making it personable, easy to read and scientific.  And she does it all without oversharing her own story, writing a dull/dry scientific paper or adding confusion to an already obscure topic.

I really enjoyed this book and learned SO SO much.  EDS and Hypermobility are definitely things for all movement instructors and bodyworkers to be familiar with, and this book provides an excellent intro into further research and study of the topic.

5) The Way Out

Last, but not least, we have The Way Out.  If you are living with chronic pain, this book will blow your mind.  When you’re in the studio with me and we’re working past injuries or old pain patterns, we talk a lot about Mental and Emotional safety.  We spend so much time building confidence and awareness around specific movements and muscle patterns, in order to reach functional movement.

It turns out, that what I have been teaching totally by instinct, is an actual scientific thing, called Corrective Experiences.  Part of the Pain Reduction Therapy (PRT) protocol, Corrective Experiences are the things you do that affirm that you are safe in your body and that doing certain activities are safe.

The Way Out details multiple scientific studies and the research done by Alan Gordon and his team around chronic pain.  One of the controversial takes from this book, is that the majority of chronic pain is mental.  Gordon presents his position that pain without structural cause is caused by our brains misfiring.

This book was fascinating and gave me some new tools to use while working with clients, as well as validated some of the work that I’m already doing.  If you have chronic pain or work with folks who do, this is an excellent read.

That’s all for this month!  Have an awesome weekend and hope to see you in the studio soon!  Let me know if you read of any these books and what you think!

How do I safely increase my running, hiking or cycling mileage?

Posted on July 1, 2023 by pilatesnative

In this quick video, we’ll go over how you can safely increase your running, hiking or cycling mileage. This method is one of the best ways to help prevent injury while increasing training.

Taking your body on a stretch date

Posted on September 30, 2021 by pilatesnative

Stretching should feel good.  Lemme say that again. 

STRETCHING SHOULD FEEL GOOD. 

None of that “no pain, no gain” bullshit.  I’m serious, folks.  When stretching, you want to aim for a pleasant tension.  Any burning, stinging, ripping, tearing or pain while stretching is a sign that you’ve gone too far.  So back it up (waaaaay up) and apply “The First Date Principle”.

The First Date Principle…Or how to take your muscles on a stretch date

1 Go slow.  Sloooooooow.  Even slower.  Take your time and ease into each stretch slowly and gently.  Move too quickly and date’s over!

2 Be gentle.  If you are aggressive, your muscles are going to metaphorically run away from you and hide.  No second date for you!

3 Be a good listener.  Listen to the signs your body is giving you, whether it’s telling you to slow down, back off, or proceed with caution.  How well you listen to your muscles is going to determine how well this stretch date goes and whether or not you’re getting that metaphorical 2nd date.  You want that 2nd date.  You NEEEEED that 2nd date.

 What if it’s awkward and uncomfortable?

By rule, all 1st dates are awkward and uncomfortable.  If it’s been a while since you’ve taken your muscles on a stretch date, you may feel some new sensations.  Some positions may be tight, uncomfortable, feel a little awkward, or have an “increased awareness” around them.  You know the difference between these things and pain.  It is your job to listen and pay attention and make sure these sensations never dip into the pain pool.  Remember, pleasant tension.  

Cheers to you having an amazing stretch date!

-Rubecca

Lessons from the Garden: What Sunflowers Taught Me About Strength, Stability and Flexibility

Posted on September 11, 2020 by pilatesnative

It was 90 degrees in Denver on Monday and snowing wildly on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Our pollinator garden went from incredible summer project to disaster zone in less than 24 hours. 

To be honest, I almost cried on Tuesday when I got home from work and saw the destruction the snow had wreaked on our sunflowers.  As I surveyed the damage, I started to think of my grandparents and how stoic they were and how they always seemed to weather any storm with an eye for what lessons we could take from the destruction.  What could we learn?  What could we do better next time?  What did we forget this time?  What was the course of nature?  What did we need to let go?  With that reframe, I noticed so many more things about the garden. 

The sunflowers that were big and tall and strong but lacking flexibility, snapped.

The sunflowers that were smaller, and more willowy but lacking stability, didn’t snap but were uprooted.

The sunflowers that were flexible and stable but lacking strength were contorted into strange shapes.

When we think about it, we can easily apply that to our own lives.  When we are so strong but lose range of motion or flexibility, we are more likely to have posture issues, or rip, tear, or strain a muscle, snap a tendon, or herniate a disk.

When we are super flexible but lacking in strength, we lose the ability to function at full capacity and start to see things like poor posture, loose joints, weak muscle tissue and all of the associated pains with those issues.

When we have no stability, we again experience poor posture, loose joints and poor balance.  Poor balance leads to running into things, falling often, or being clumsy in general.  Poor balance can also be associated with lots of over use injuries as our body does what it can to hold us together.

Unsurprisingly, the sunflowers that were strong, stable and flexible, got a little beat up, a little bent and they’re tipping like drunks but they survived the storm intact.  

Whether it’s a slip on a patch of ice, tackling a 14’er, training for a marathon, enduring an MMA fight, or whatever else we subject our bodies to, when we are able to balance our strength, stability and our flexibility, we are better able to survive whatever trauma comes our way.  We may encounter a few bumps, bruises, scrapes and minor injuries, but for the most part, we’ll be alright.

The same is true for the sunflowers.  The balanced flowers will need a little extra TLC and some rehab, but they’ll be alright.  The uprooted sunflowers can be replanted and stabilized.  The contorted sunflowers can be tied up and retrained.  The snapped flowers, unfortunately, can’t be fixed or rehabed.  The damage those guys sustained was too great. 

The lesson here, for me, was that strength without flexibility was the most damaging condition.  The same is true for people.  Our most traumatic injuries stem from inflexibility.

Unexpectedly, there was one more casualty in the storm…flowers that were strong, stable and flexible got crushed under the weight of other flowers who were unable to maintain themselves in the storm.  These flowers suffered under the stress applied by an external force.  

The same can be true for us.  There are so many times when we have found the right balance of strength, stability and flexibility in ourselves but are crushed under the weight of external stresses.  No matter how solid we are in our condition, the external stress can destroy us.

Whether you need to focus on developing flexibility, stability or strength, Pilates Native can help. 

If it’s a break from external stresses you’re needing, we can help with that too. 

Everything we offer is designed to help you balance flexibility, stability and strength while also relaxing the parasympathetic nervous system and giving you a much needed break from the stress cycle.

Best wishes from the garden,

Rubecca