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Sunday, December 22, 2013
Happy Holidays from Westside Pilates!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Knowing Your Limits
There have been several instances in my life where knowing my limits has been tested. I am sure that everyone has different opinions about it and everyone is entitled to their own opinion therefore I am going to give mine.
There is a fine line between pushing yourself (or letting others push you) and hurting yourself. I enjoy being pushed, I enjoy the extended stretch and the very deep massages. However there have definitely been times in my life when I have pushed it too far and I regret it the next day (and sometimes even the next week!). Looking back at most situations, I could see where the situation went wrong.
There is a difference between working hard and pain. One needs to learn that difference for themselves. It is something learned and unfortunately it has to be learned by the individual. I do not know how the other person's body actually feels, I know how mine has felt and I have experienced many types of issues which I try to empathize with but I am not in the other persons body therefore I cannot have a 100% understanding but I hope to have a 95%.
Last week, I went to yoga, the instructor asked me if it was my first time and about my past issues and my previous yoga experience. Normally I don't say all of my issues only due to the fact that I am an instructor and I know my body now and how to modify (I don't advise that for the average person and especially as an instructor, I do like to know everything. Majority of the time even if one doesn't tell me, old injuries show up in Pilates and I can normally tell something is going on anyway). However that day I felt compelled to tell the instructor about my body. I mentioned my torn disc, my scoliosis and my bulging disc and that I was overall feeling tight. He told me that everyone is tight and that my injuries were old and that it is time for me to push through them and even when I think I can't go further, go further. He said I should feel discomfort but not pain. In my case, I do not agree. Here is why...
I "injured" my back in 2005, that's when my disc tore (I heard it) and the disc bulged as a result I developed sciatic pain. In 2007, I developed a chronic pain and had to go to physical therapy from sitting at my corporate job. In 2009, I could barely walk due to a flare up from standing too much during the day. In 2011, minor flares which put me back on anti-inflammatories. Beginning of 2012, I got a massage and she irritated my L4 nerve which put my back into spasm and I couldn't walk for 2 days.
Yes, my injury is old but when looking at my history, it is recent due to the inability to walk and my chronic pain.
So the question becomes... Should I push through? I do not think I should push through to discomfort. The discomfort is a preliminary sign for me that I will have pain. Our body like to give us warning signs and that is mine. Do you know yours?
I believe you need to follow your gut feeling, if something feels off, it probably is! Never let someone force you into something you do not feel comfortable doing!
There is a fine line between pushing yourself (or letting others push you) and hurting yourself. I enjoy being pushed, I enjoy the extended stretch and the very deep massages. However there have definitely been times in my life when I have pushed it too far and I regret it the next day (and sometimes even the next week!). Looking back at most situations, I could see where the situation went wrong.
There is a difference between working hard and pain. One needs to learn that difference for themselves. It is something learned and unfortunately it has to be learned by the individual. I do not know how the other person's body actually feels, I know how mine has felt and I have experienced many types of issues which I try to empathize with but I am not in the other persons body therefore I cannot have a 100% understanding but I hope to have a 95%.
Last week, I went to yoga, the instructor asked me if it was my first time and about my past issues and my previous yoga experience. Normally I don't say all of my issues only due to the fact that I am an instructor and I know my body now and how to modify (I don't advise that for the average person and especially as an instructor, I do like to know everything. Majority of the time even if one doesn't tell me, old injuries show up in Pilates and I can normally tell something is going on anyway). However that day I felt compelled to tell the instructor about my body. I mentioned my torn disc, my scoliosis and my bulging disc and that I was overall feeling tight. He told me that everyone is tight and that my injuries were old and that it is time for me to push through them and even when I think I can't go further, go further. He said I should feel discomfort but not pain. In my case, I do not agree. Here is why...
I "injured" my back in 2005, that's when my disc tore (I heard it) and the disc bulged as a result I developed sciatic pain. In 2007, I developed a chronic pain and had to go to physical therapy from sitting at my corporate job. In 2009, I could barely walk due to a flare up from standing too much during the day. In 2011, minor flares which put me back on anti-inflammatories. Beginning of 2012, I got a massage and she irritated my L4 nerve which put my back into spasm and I couldn't walk for 2 days.
Yes, my injury is old but when looking at my history, it is recent due to the inability to walk and my chronic pain.
So the question becomes... Should I push through? I do not think I should push through to discomfort. The discomfort is a preliminary sign for me that I will have pain. Our body like to give us warning signs and that is mine. Do you know yours?
I believe you need to follow your gut feeling, if something feels off, it probably is! Never let someone force you into something you do not feel comfortable doing!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Fat Girls Diets... Seriously... I had to do take a double take!
Last weekend, while I was at an antique store, I came across The Workbasket and Home Arts Magazine from April 1968. I flipped through the pages and landed on page 27. If this were written today I don't think it would be published.Fat girls diets...
Just let that sink in for a minute. Diets for fat girls...
You can purchase 5 of these diets for $1, 10 for $2 or all 20 for $3.25. Money back guaranteed... Now that's a deal ;)
You can purchase 5 of these diets for $1, 10 for $2 or all 20 for $3.25. Money back guaranteed... Now that's a deal ;)
I did a google search for Ruth Pfahler. One can still find some of her pamphlets on Amazon: Special Diet for Fat Hips and Thighs. I wonder what she is up to now.
How do you think we have changed as a society regarding diets?
And do you think it is appropriate to call these diets, Fat Girls Diets?
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Westside Pilates Logo
I have been receiving a lot of comments lately regarding my logo for Westside Pilates. I have to say that I am so grateful that one of my best friends created this logo for me, Jenny Eikenkamp. We worked together at Accor hotels and she inspired me to work on my artistic ability. Yes, I realized that I actually have some and that artistic abilities comes in different forms than one expects. I learned CSS codes, more about my digital SLR and photoshop.
There was no doubt in my mind that she was the person for me. She knows me, she knows Pilates and more importantly she understands the relationship that I have with Pilates which I knew she would make me a logo that I would love. Jenny created a first round for me but none of them struck me and I definitely did not want to settle. In June, when I was visiting her in Berlin, we discussed my logo and how I felt about the preliminary options she had for me. The next morning she had created the logo... it is simple and to the point, I loved it!
There was no doubt in my mind that she was the person for me. She knows me, she knows Pilates and more importantly she understands the relationship that I have with Pilates which I knew she would make me a logo that I would love. Jenny created a first round for me but none of them struck me and I definitely did not want to settle. In June, when I was visiting her in Berlin, we discussed my logo and how I felt about the preliminary options she had for me. The next morning she had created the logo... it is simple and to the point, I loved it!
Although Jenny is German and lives in Berlin, she does global work. She speaks fluent English and understands the US market.
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| Island of Skye, taken by Jenny Eikenkamp |
Her contact information:
mail@ten-11.net
www.ten-11.net
+49 01 577 466 1016
She does do skype calls too
mail@ten-11.net
www.ten-11.net
+49 01 577 466 1016
She does do skype calls too
She does designs, websites, blogs, photography, furniture restoration etc. If you like one of her photos I am sure she would sell it to you ;)
Check out her personal blog: http://www.ker-wat-schoen.de/
Check out her personal blog: http://www.ker-wat-schoen.de/
Although it is a vacation, Jenny will be here, in New York City the second week of December and she will be taking some new studio and headshots for me. I can't wait!
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