INTRO TO PILATES WORKSHOP
Intro to Pilates Workshop with Melissa Muniz!
Friday March 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th / 7-8pm
Welcome to the Dance 101 Pilates Workshop!
Curious about Pilates? It’s trending everywhere nowadays, but dancers have known about it and trained with it for decades. If you’re curious about why Pilates is such a big deal, this workshop will clearly lay it out for you. What is it about Pilates that has caused it to spread like fire now? What do Pilates enthusiasts know that you don’t? How does Pilates tone and stretch you – how does it work, exactly? Why do professional dancers and sport athletes rely on this training to achieve extraordinary physical abilities and to rehabilitate injuries?
This workshop will answer these and all your questions and more. You will emerge from this experience with a strong foundational understanding of this physical science and how to use this training for your personal benefit. Get ready to learn about your anatomy!
Workshop includes 4, 60 minute classes, held once a week during the month of March. Also included is a private 30 minute session on the Pilates Reformer*.
*The reformer session is scheduled separately and will cover the 5 basic strengths of the Reformer: the jump board, long/short box, barrel, foot/arm straps & balance board.
But first, a little history…
About 100 years ago a man named Joseph Pilates created a form of exercise called “Contrology.” Today, we know and love it as “Pilates.” This form of exercise didn’t just happen for Joseph–he had grown up a sick child, but later became a very strong and healthy adult through various types of exercise. It seems like some of the best discoveries in life come from intense or humble beginnings.
Joseph Pilates believed Contrology was the complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.
Taught by Melissa Muniz, you couldn’t be in better hands. She’ll tell you that after teaching Pilates for nearly 25 years, she can attest to how this practice has impacted herself personally and professionally. “I am hands down a stronger dancer mentally and physically now at 49 than I was in my 20s.”
“Pilates enables you to view yourself through a new lens, giving you the tools you need to examine, assess, and fix where you may be physically imbalanced. After all, how we hold ourselves in life and how we breathe, makes a difference. Whether it be in a dance class, on stage performing, or even doing every day tasks, Pilates improves it. There is a beautiful and harmonious feeling when you are aware of your mind and body working as a team instead of solo players and pilates teaches you how to achieve this.”
In the words of Joseph Pilates:
“Physical Fitness if the first requisite of happiness”
“It’s the mind itself that builds the body”
“Breathing is the first act of life and last, our very life depends on it”
And our favorite…
“Change happens through movement, and movement heals”
What to Expect From This Workshop
By the end of this workshop you will be able to complete a full pilates mat class with newfound mind and muscle awareness. Over the course of four classes, students will learn:
- The major muscle groups needed to recruit in a pilates class to avoid injury
- Proper engagement of each muscle while keeping the body in alignment
- Confident and smooth transitions between exercises
- How to utilize breath, lungs, and respiratory system to its fullest
All in all, you will leave this workshop having a completely new relationship with your body and how you approach living in it.
Day 1 – Introductions
Who is Joseph Pilates?
- How Pilates came to be
- Clara the “True Teacher”
Pilates and its roots
- The Science: Kinesiology
- The Application: Physical Therapy
- The Goal: Functional movement
Pilates impact on your every day life
- Understand how each exercise strengthens the way you move – whether in dance, sports, work and all your daily activities
Core Pilates Principles
- How to properly warm up/prepare the body for injury free movement
- How Pilates targets the muscle groups it works
Day 2 – Anatomy Day
Learn about the cervical, thoracic, and pelvic and feet regions, and why they are so important and how they are connected.
Understand the core and breath
- Rib cage
- Intercostals
- Lungs
- Obliques
- Spinal muscles
- How proper engagement allows optimal results
Neutral spine
- Pelvic tuck
- Pelvic tilt
- Scoop vs. tuck
Touch on oppositional forces in muscles
- How they elongate
- And how it helps you with length decompression and balance
Day 3 – Introduction to the Mat
Here we go through a traditional mat class step by step, taking time to explain each movement/exercise and the transitions between them.
Day 4 – The Big Day
Everything comes together on this day. You will apply all you’ve learned and the wisdom you’ve gained during a mat class in real time (as you would expect).
