Thought about rolling out your feet but aren’t sure if you’re doing it “right”?

Assuming that bunions and foot pain are just part of the aging process?

Starting a new training program (running, walking, hiking, pilates, yoga etc.) in 2019 and want to prevent injuries? 

Start the year off right! 

Join us and learn how to make your feet as happy as they can be. 


When:
Saturday January 19th, 2019 1-3:15 pm
(please arrive 10-15 mins early to get checked in)


Where:
Spirit of Yoga
1420 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282



Description:
Our feet are our foundation, but are often overlooked or mistreated. 

Let’s give them the attention they deserve!

We will review a general idea of relevant anatomical landmarks without getting too mired up in the details. 

With that information in mind, we will be rolling, squeezing, stretching, and balancing. Basically, you will learn how to use the tools in your new foot kit to create optimally balanced and functional feet. 

Once you get the hang of that, we will add on some foot  and lower leg exercises to develop strength, mobility, endurance and balance. 

Then we get really practical by exploring how to put it all together in full body movement and alignment/posture. 

You will learn specific exercises to work on at home and get a clear understanding of how they can help you. A practical set of tools and supportive info packet are included in your registration. The new skills you’ll learn and practice will help keep your feet happy and healthy. 


Registration is capped at 22 participants to allow for individualized attention.


Sound good? Click here to register now. 


Price:
$75  early bird-registration until December 19,2018
$85 December 20, 2018- January 18th, 2019
$95 at the door


Register now to guarantee your spot!


What you get:
-2 hour & 15 minute workshop.
- A foot kit that you will use in the workshop and then take home with you, which you will hopefully keep using!
- A thorough handout with pictures, directions, and room for your notes to help keep your memory fresh long after the workshop. 


How to register:
Click on this link.
Once you register, please keep an eye out for a confirmation email with some helpful details. 

The Holidays are Coming!

Jump-start your health, wellness, and workouts in the New Year!

Packages of 3 Pilates lessons and Bulletproof Coaching are available for a limited time. 
Prices Valid 11/23/18- 12/14/18


Package of 3 Pilates Studio Lessons
$225 ($75 each)
currently a $255 value at $85 each, maximum of 2 for each client
Arcadia Studio location only (32nd St & Clarendon)


Package of 3 Bulletproof Coaching Sessions
$180 ($60 each)
currently a $240 value at $80 each, maximum of 2 for each client
Coaching Sessions via Zoom, FaceTime or phone call 
https://www.pippaspilatesstretch.com/bulletproof-human-potential-coaching.html


To Purchase Packages:
-email me at pframe@cox.net
-clarify which packages you want and how many
-I will email you an invoice via Square
-pay online via Square
(Prices Valid 11/23/18- 12/14/18)

Gift Certificates are always available at regular prices.
FST sessions and/or Pilates sessions make great gifts!

As of January 1, 2019 there will be a slight increase in my prices.

​Current clients have the option of buying extra sessions or packages at the current rate with an extended expiration date. 


You will be able to use the sessions in a package within a year from day you use the first session in that package. i.e. if you buy a package of 10 FST sessions, and use the first one on 3/13/19 and your package is good until 3/13/20. 


Please find the new prices listed below. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any more information.


Pippa’s Pilates & Stretch LLC Price List 
January 1, 2019 
Fascial Stretch Therapy
55-60 minute sessions Single Session $99
 5 sessions ($94 each) $470
10 sessions ($89 each) $890 


Studio Pilates (on the apparatus) 
55-60 minute private lessons
Single session $89
10 sessions $840 ($84 each) 


Mat Pilates (using mat and props)
clients must be able to get up and down off the floor easily 
55- 60 minute private lessons
Single session $74
10 sessions $690 ($69 each) 


Here is a list of current prices for reference.


Pippa’s Pilates & Stretch LLC Price List 
January 1, 2017 
Fascial Stretch Therapy
55-60 minute sessions 
Single Session $95
 5 sessions ($90 each) $450
10 sessions ($85 each) $850 


Studio Pilates (on the apparatus) 
55-60 minute private lessons
Single session $85
10 sessions $800 ($80 each) 


Mat Pilates (using mat and props)
clients must be able to get up and down off the floor easily 
55-60 minute private lessons
Single session $70
10 sessions $650 ($65 each) 


All packages must be used within one year of purchase. All purchases are non-refundable. 

​

How can Pilates help you prepare for pregnancy, enhance your experience while you are pregnant, and recover from childbirth?
(What is Pilates? click here)


Before

Pilates can help you prepare for pregnancy by strengthening your core, balancing your body, and improving your posture. Muscle memory developed before and during the early stages of pregnancy will help you recover faster after you give birth.

 

During

Pilates will keep you moving within a safe range of motion, focus on your breathing skills, help ease physical discomforts, and improve or maintain your balance skills as your body changes. When your workouts are designed for you specifically through all the stages of pregnancy, you can get a gentle, yet demanding workout that doesn’t raise your heart rate, cause undue strain, dehydrate, or overheat you.

 

After

Pilates is a wonderful way to get back in shape after pregnancy.  You will learn key Pilates concepts that can be practiced at home and applied to your everyday movements. Pilates will help you get reacquainted with your post pregnancy body by strengthening your abdominals, engaging your pelvic floor, realigning your posture, and connecting with your breath to increase your energy as well as soothe your nervous system.
 

Click here for more information, prices, and special packages 
 
Gift Certificates Available

 ​

The Hundred Series is a classical Pilates exercise that is designed to warm up the body on many levels. It is named the Hundred Series because it is designed to include 100 breaths and/or arms pulses. Breathing and Coordination are key Pilates Principles. (click here for more info)


When done in the traditional manner it increases our body temperature, activates the whole body, and increases our breathing capacity. It is often regarded as a bit detoxifying because the breathing pattern pushes all the old air out and draws new, fresh air in. You are warming up and releasing tension in your intercostal muscles, which can get very gluey and tight due to our everyday movements. 

​Want to learn more about breathing? click here 


In my group classes and private lessons, I often modify the form of this traditional exercise in order to focus on the breathing pattern. We also usually start with some building blocks of breath work and arm activation to ensure our most successful attempt at the full exercise. 


Want to get better at the breathing pattern?
Just like anything else, the best way to improve or get more comfortable is to practice it more often than you might see me. 


Here are some tips:
-Start with a gentle warm up, get moving and breathing. Try to focus on your full body awareness and coordination. 


Pick a position to try the Hundred breathing pattern. If you have been sitting all day, I suggest trying it standing up! You can play around with hand placement, it may give you some extra awareness and therefore success if you have a hand or two on your sternum or at the base of your ribcage. 

• Practice some accumulating breaths. (inhale for 1 beat, exhale for 1 beat, inhale for 2 beats, exhale for 2 beats, inhale for 3 beats, exhale for 3 beats, inhale for 4 beats, exhale for 4 beats, then inhale for 5 beats, exhale for 5 beats)
• Practice the full 5 counts in, 5 counts out with a smooth breath
• Practice the full 5 counts in, 5 counts out with a staccato breath (sniff or puff for each beat)

How did it go?
Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.


If you are interested in trying some private lessons or need some guidance on cultivate a way to have Pilates in your life, click here to contact me directly.

What is Biohacking?
Although this may seem like a simple question, there are a lot of aspects to this movement of people taking charge of their own unique biology. 


There are some people on the cutting edge of this movement. While what they are doing is very interesting and will probably influence how we look at self care in the future, it can make it seem like you need to invest a huge amount of time, money, and energy to get any results. That simply isn’t true. 


If you break it down, it really does mean that you are hacking your own biology. You are finding different ways to improve your human experience by tweaking your environment, daily habits, nutrition, movement practices, and thought patterns- just to name a few. 


You can  go with the high tech route, using technical gadgets and testing as well as smart drugs or new treatments. Some examples would be the oura ring, the muse headband , or cryotherapy. 


You can also start with a simpler (cheaper) route by improving their sleep habits, adopting a meditation practice, becoming fat adapted (keto), adding in some Bulletproof coffee, or trying some intermittent fasting- then tracking their results and personalizing it as they go for optimal effects.

Or- you can mix and match! 

​
Who does it?
I think on some level, everyone who is interested in feeling better or living a healthy lifestyle is doing to some extent. You don’t need a huge budget or the latest gizmo to make small, incremental changes that ultimately enhance your health and overall well being.


How do I do it?
You can try changing some of your habits one at a time, and tracking your results. See what gives you the most effective changes and then keep adapting different things until you get to what you might feel is an ideal balance of effort, results, and practicality. 


For example, if you were to focus on your sleep hygiene or habits you might start by deciding how much sleep you want to get every night. Then, try setting and ideal bedtime (10pm) and an ideal wake time (6am.) Do that for a week, keeping a journal of how it goes. After about a week, look at how it is going and adjust it so that it works a bit better for you. Once you get that pretty set you might want to look at screen time, how you wind down or get ready for sleep, eating times etc. etc.


If that sounds interesting but daunting to do on your own, you can hire a life-coach. Our job is to understand your goals, facilitate strategies to achieve them, provide accountability when desired, and adapt or reroute when needed. Usually, you commit to a minimum of 6 sessions and meet on a consistent basis in order to get the most out of your investment. 


Want to know more about how that could work for you?
Click here to connect with me. 

I offer everyone a free introductory life coaching session. It gives you a feel for what the process is like and if we might be a good fit. 

Most of us understand the importance or benefits of training for exercise, especially specific practices such as Pilates, Yoga, running, jumping or lifting. We see the direct correlation between good or ideal form and alignment with athletic abilities as well as injury prevention. 


We work our full body movements (squats)  as well as isolated areas. (biceps, quads, abs etc.)


What about the pelvic floor?


How do you feel when you laugh, cough, or sneeze? Is anything else happening?​

Where or what is my pelvic floor?
Imagine the area between your pubic bone and tailbone, then your two sitbones. Then, visualize those 4 points coming in towards center and up towards the sky. That area is your pelvic floor or diaphragm.  Want more detail? Watch this you tube video, it is an anatomically correct 3D tutorial. 


Why is it important? 
This area is responsible for bladder control. bowel control, sexual function, support of the reproductive organs, and is often seen as the foundation or deepest layer of our core. 


Some pelvic floor disorders are overactive bladder (OAB) or urinary urgency, stress urinary incontinence (leaking), pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and chronic pelvic pain. 


Are there other parts of our body or activities we could improve by training this area? Yes! Posture, SI dysfunction, chronic lower back pain, gait, and more. 


Do I have to isolate it in order to work or strengthen it? No! In fact when we use facilitated muscular contraction by recruiting other areas such as the glutes, transverses abdominus, or hip muscles we get a much stronger connection. 


Why do we need to add different forms of training?
The pelvic floor muscles are composed of both fast twitch (fast contraction time, fast fatigue) and slow twitch (endurance) fibers. They require different types of challenges to improve fitness, and we ideally want balance in the ability of these fibers. Traditional plyometric training can hypertrophy or enlarge the fast twitch fibers. Too much bracing or static training isn’t ideal either. We want a dynamic, strong, and adaptable pelvic floor so we train for endurance, coordination, and strength. 


How can I tell if I’m doing it correctly?
There are specific ways to measure contraction or activation of this area, but they aren’t always necessary. When we try different exercises (in different relationships to gravity) and work that idea of facilitated muscular contraction (getting other areas involved to feel more of an action) you can usually start to develop a more fine tuned awareness. 


Once you find your most successful exercises to practice, consistency is key.
Just a few minutes every or most days will have a huge impact! 


Want to learn more?
Register for my pelvic floor training workshop. (click here)
Read my blog post on my Pfilates training. (click here)
Contact me to set up a one on one Pilates session. (click here)

Check out this post by guest author Susan Treadway of ​ https://rehabholistics.com/.

​When life starts to get out of hand, you sometimes just have to stop and smell the roses to gain perspective. But you don’t have to reach a breaking point before you allow yourself to do this. If you instead practice self-care on a daily basis, you can drastically reduce the amount of stress, depression, and anxiety in your life. 


Self-care doesn’t even have to take up that much time in your day. Sometimes, just taking five minutes to check in with yourself can make all the difference.


Practice Meditation


Meditation provides a structure where you can pause your day to reflect and check in with yourself. Although the goal of meditation is to turn off your thoughts for a few minutes, there is no right way to meditate. You can spend five minutes or an hour doing it. You can be sitting, laying down, or walking. And if your mind wanders, that’s okay too. Psychology Today notes that practicing daily increases your ability to regulate your emotions and cope with stress. 


If you are having trouble building the habit, try creating a space for yourself in your home. The area should be simple but private. Keep the space uncluttered, and decorate it with objects that help you relax, like smooth stones, flowers, or candles. The goal is to create a soothing place you want to retreat to.


Learn to Set Boundaries


Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is say “no” to someone. Whether that’s to taking on extra work from your boss or going out with friends when you really could use a night in, it’s not easy. However, if you always say “yes” to everything, the pressure will build until you can’t take it. This is why it’s important to set boundaries and learn to protect your relaxation time.


Do not take on more work than you can handle. Your boss will respect you for speaking up. Remember, they do not want your performance to suffer, because it will reflect badly on them too. If you need a night relaxing in front of the TV, it’s okay to turn down drinks with your friends. 


You can even do this in small doses, according to the Huffington Post. When you feel overwhelmed in the moment, give yourself a minute to breathe by taking a short walk around the block or organizing your desk. Walking away allows you to refocus and tackle the problem with fresh eyes.


Take Care of Your Physical Health


Physical and mental health go hand in hand, which is why it’s necessary to build healthy habits. Sleep is perhaps the most commonly neglected health practice. Though it’s not always easy to head to bed at a reasonable hour, you should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Try turning off your electronics and unwinding by reading a book to help you fall asleep.


It’s also important not to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol, whether you’re trying to solve a stress- or sleep-related issue. A glass of wine a couple of nights a week is usually a perfectly safe way for people to unwind after a long, anxiety-filled day. However, relying too much on substances to reduce your stress can be a slippery slope to bigger problems (like addiction) which can be a direct threat to your physical and emotional health.


Your diet needs to be a balance of brightly-colored fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. In order to keep what you’re eating in check, Health Magazine recommends planning your meals in advance and surrounding yourself with healthy snacks.


Exercise should not be neglected, either. The average adult should aim to work out five times a week with a combination of aerobic and strength training. This will help you maintain your weight and keep your muscles active. To help you break a sweat, pick activities you enjoy, and consider signing up for a class. 


This does not mean you can’t indulge in the occasional cookie or stay up late and have a night out on the town. Being healthy is a lifestyle; let the indulgences be just that.


Keep the Stress at Bay


Life does not need to be a sprint. With so many things to do and so many people to see, it can be tempting to just go from one thing to the next without stopping, but take the time to slow it down. Not only will this make stress manageable, but you’ll be healthier for it. 

by Susan Treadway of ​ https://rehabholistics.com/.​
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.