Improve Your Movement

... with the 6 essential pilates concepts: Part 2 – Concentration Concentration is the pilates principle that brings full attention to the exercise, linking mind and body.  Practicing this principle instills a sense of presence.  This self awareness and entrance into the present moment is essential for changing old habits and creating new ones.

Concentration, PilatesThe advanced pilates student is not the one that can do the most ab exercises, it is the student who finds the hardest work in the most simple exercises.

To practice concentration let us attempt a basic exercise.  In fact we will take it a step further.  Lay down on your back before exercising and bring the attention to your body. Sound easy?  Notice your current postural habits set in.  You may feel your shoulders roll forward, your ribs pop up and your abs release. This awareness is the first step.  Now try to bring your body into the most efficient alignment.  Feel the back of your head, shoulders, ribs and pelvis press into the floor, tighten your abs, lengthen your spine, pull your shoulders away from your ears, reach your arms long by your sides, draw your shoulder blades down your back, drop your chin to lengthen the back of your neck... the list of cues goes on and on. Now concentrate and focus your attention on these details for a full minute.

Not so easy anymore to lay down, is it? When laying down to prepare for an exercise becomes the exercise, you are finding the concentration necessary for changing habits and improving your body.

“It’s the mind itself which shapes the body.” – Joseph Pilates

Part 1 - Centering

Improve your movement

... with the 6 essential pilates concept: Part 1 - CenteringTracey Katof, Enforced Arch Centering means beginning movement from what is referred to as the powerhouse or core. In pilates, the center of the body is located between the lowest ribs and pubic bone.  By initiating all movement from this region, the rest of the body will be able to align and move more efficiently.

Many people think the core is just the abdominals and then think of a crunch or situp. In pilates we know that the core includes the abdominal, lower back, and buttocks.  It is a misconception that in order to engage your core, you must bend the spine (like in a crunch), hold your breath & press your abdomen outward. In actuality, it is the opposite!  First of all the spine does not need to bend in order to engage your core.   The core can engage without any structural change of the body. Second, breath is essential for your muscle strength and endurance.  And Finally, a strong core is a tight and pulled in feeling.

Try it out: This can be done standing, sitting, laying down and basically in any other position. If someone is watching you, they should not see your body change positions.  I like to think of the core as I would a fist.  To make a fist I curl my fingers in, wrap my thumb around and squeeze.  I ask my clients to engage their core in a similar way.  Think of pulling the core muscles inward and like a fist, wrap the muscles around the spine. You will feel an intense 360 degree tightening of the core.  This is your powerhouse!

Part 2 - Concentration

Lauren Cox: Arrest Yourself, Part 1 of 4

Arrest Yourself, Choreography by James Koroni"Ignorance Is Bliss?" Arrest Yourself! By avoiding inconvenient and unpleasant information we hide from the worlds current state. Whether it be Factory Farming, Green House Gas or Social Justice we must understand and address these issues before it's too late. 'Mover,' James Koroni choreographed a piece entitled 'Arrest Yourself' to remind people that they are personally responsible for their own demise. To properly present this as a performance piece his dancers also shared their opinions on how this issue is prominent in their own lives.

Lauren CoxLAUREN COX, "I've noticed that we walk around day to day bombarded with opinions from our peers, media and limited by our own comfort zones. We allow so much of it to guide our steps and we are often afraid of embracing new information because somehow it will disrupt our current state of heaven when, in fact, it’s the contrary that leads to the path of happiness. And we all do it! We all struggle to find our own happiness outside of ourselves…this makes absolutely no sense, so 'Arrest Yourself!' Hold yourself captive, if only to give way to the inevitability of change. By being an active participant of my own dream and staying open-minded to the dreams of others I sew anonymous benefits upon the world. It is through collective dreams that we realize we are all deeply interconnected and can progress for each other on our short visit to this earth. It is a daily choice…carpé diem!!"

Lauren Cox

She is a lifetime student and teacher of dance and movement. Starting at the age of 6, Lauren trained rigorously and competed as a passionate Rhythmic Gymnast around the U.S. for 11 years with the aid of ballet, modern dance and pilates, eventually achieving 4th in the nation for level 9 and 20th for level 10. During college she discovered a love for Sociology, hip hop and youth advocacy through Culture Shock Dance Troupe in Oakland, California where she received training with prominent guest choreographers such as Nappy Tabs, performed at events such as S.F. Aids Walk, Monsters of Hip Hop and the ACL Championships with LL Cool J & Amerie and was a part of their competition team, CS Allstars, winning consecutive silver and bronze metals at the U.S. & World Hip Hop Championships in Los Angeles. After co-founding and dancing for Groove Against the Machine San Francisco and exhibitioning annually at events like World of Dance and Battlefest Bay Area she set out to learn yet another style in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she studied Samba, African and Street Dance for one year. She returned to the States to accept Broadway Dance Center’s Summer Intensive Internship and has been training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and freestyle for the past 7 months in order to converge and solidify her deep passion for the universal language of music through dance. She is now the Portuguese translator for Broadway Dance Center, teaches Hip Hop at Center Stage New Jersey and has just started a choreography project called “The Ladies Freedom Party” bringing conscious light to music & movement.

Performance of Arrest Yourself, February 19th 2011 @ 7PM!

Kumble Theater- One University Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201

TICKETS Discount Code: BeKind

SCOTT HAMILTON: Arrest Yourself, Part 2 of 4 KIET LAM: Arrest Yourself, Part 3 of 4 JAMES KORONI: Arrest Yourself, Part 4 of 4