Teaching a Mixed Level Reformer group class is both enjoyable and rewarding. I believe the challenge is to ensure each client’s individual progression and growth; to motivate each person and provide clear and measurable goals. My research is based on my own experience with an established group of 6 women, ranging in age from 40 – 65. The classes were structured using the BASI Block System with certain exercises to provide a measurement of their individual growth and accomplishment, as well additional exercises to enhance strength and flexibility to support their goal exercises.The individual progress of this group over a 3 month period, 2 classes per week was considerable. One of the unexpected surprises is how this diverse group of women became so close throughout the process, encouraging each other and rejoicing in each other’s growth and accomplishment.

In this study case I will demonstrate how Pilates helps recover from delivery. After delivery the body is fragile, women often encounter postnatal issues such as diastasis recti, pelvic floor weaknesses with urine incontinence, postural changes, back ache. Pilates has been one of the most efficient but also safest way to recover and get back in shape after the child is born. It’s also one of the only method allowed in post-partum from 6-8 weeks after delivery. I will indicate how, and with which exercise it really makes a difference in postnatal recovery compared to other technique; The uniqueness of Pilates method, as whole mind-body conditioning, bring to women holistic health in their motherhood journey and help reconnect after what is one of the most important change in human’s body. Pilates method associated with the proper breathing, appropriate knowledge of anatomy of birth and woman’s pelvic floor, as well as very kind and human touch regarding this particular moment of life, is secret to a real wellness and well-being for women after birth. This moment of life is made of changes, emotional tornado and and anxiety regarding self, the baby and the body. Pilates not only because of its physical’s efficiency but also thanks to its mind body connection, education, and the human relationship it requires, helped me to support hundreds of mothers in their postpartum.

Prenatal prophylaxis is a very debatable issue in the world, so it is also a topical issue, the prominent progress in birth rate increase recently recorded in Romania, have been a strong urge to bring the knowledge and principles of physical activity into prenatal period . (Ionescu A., 1969, p. 5) In the present paper I aim to highlight the benefits of Pilates, personalized and standardized exercises based on subject and individual needs, through enhanced and welldefined prenatal education. I believe that bringing a child to the world is a difficult phenomenon, but also the most beautiful thing for a woman, and so I want to implement the notion of prenatal prophylaxis in order to create a healthy decade in which women who are preparing to become mums possess a luggage of knowledge about the period that is to change both the body and the life.

В современном мире люди все больше и больше времени проводят сидя. При этом люди не знают, как сидеть правильно, они не используют свой мышечный корсет для поддержки, облокачиваясь на спинки стульев, округляя поясницу, перенося вес с седалищных бугров на копчик и крестец. Кроме того сидя за столом, люди часто стопы ставят под стул, излишне сгибая колени, таким образом точки крепления мышц задней поверхности бедра сближаются; при постоянном статическом положении в итоге они укорачиваются. Стопа человека создана функциональной и подвижной, но люди заковали ее в обувь, не всегда подходящую по размеру, слишком узкую или со слишком жесткой подошвой. Таким образом, стопа вынуждена привыкнуть к этому положению, по факту мышцы стопы не работают, суставы становятся тугоподвижными, стопа жесткой и негнущейся. При этом в случае наличия каких-либо травм, тело подстраивается, избегая боли, мышцы адаптируются, где-то сокращаясь, а где-то удлиняясь, смещают при этом кости и слишком большая нагрузка идет на суставы. У мужчин изначально мышцы менее эластичные и укорочение мышц поясницы, задней поверхности бедра, голени и снижение мобильности голеностопа для них типичная ситуация. Эта студенческая работа предлагает оптимальную программу тренировок по BASI block system для улучшения эластичности мышц поверхностной задней линии для мужчин.

ESports (competitive gaming) is a fast-paced and rapidly growing global sport. Video gaming has moved beyond a hobby to a commercial industry worth billions of dollars and, as with any commercial sport, the ability to compete at a peak level and be just the tiniest bit stronger (mentally and physically) than the competition is vital. The top eSports participants train for up to 12 hours a day at a computer and have to maintain concentration and situational awareness throughout. With sedentary training and competition, eSports carries a high risk for loss of postural strength and the BASI pilates repertoire and its whole-body approach is ideal for building and maintaining core stability to support the spine. Moreover, with its emphasis on mind-body connection, pilates offers a holistic tool in a conditioning program that takes an athlete’s mental and physical conditioning to the next level.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art which is based on grappling and ground fighting, and this leads to BJJ practitioners being twisted and stacked on a constant basis. As a result, significant tension is placed on the muscles attached to the lumbar spine, which could lead to chronic back pain. This study focused on determining whether Pilates would be beneficial to a BJJ practitioner in preventing lower back pain. This was approached by understanding the most significant muscles required to ensure core stability, and then focusing the exercise programme on these, while also providing stretching in the opposite direction to most BJJ moves. The programme entailed 2 one-hour sessions per week, and increased in difficulty as the weeks progressed. In addition, as the client became more advanced, more specific muscles were targeted to build strength. A significant improvement in muscle strength and awareness was observed over the course of the study, and the client also experienced no lower back pain, even though he increased his hours of practicing BJJ.

The focus is on postural thoracic hyperkyphosis, related to poor posture, more specifically a fatigue posture. This condition is characterized by an excessively rounded thoracic spine, with the pelvis tilted forward, shoulders rounded forward and a hyperextended neck. As a result, the posture is out of balance and out of ideal alignment. The aim of the case study is to determine the extent to which the client’s poor posture, which is causing the hyperkyphosis, may be improved by using pilates, specifically the BASI Block System. The paper deals, with reference to figures, with the various muscles which are affected by this condition. The paper sets out in great detail the two exercise programs which were followed over a period of three months. The purpose of each exercise is explained with reference to the various muscles and parts of the body involved. The progress made by the client and the outcomes after the study period are discussed. The overall result is positive, indicating improvement in the client’s body alignment and increased awareness of her incorrect habitual posture. Of note is that the client is free from neck and lower back pains suffered as a result of the hyperkyphosis before the exercise regime was implemented.

I would like to take this research paper as a great chance for me to create a Pilates session for young age baton twirlers to support their everyday life as athletes, in a way I could not do for myself. I will focus on improving twirlers’ balance and health, in order to allow them to perform free of pain. In my opinion, it is the key for them to keep on a long and healthy athlete’s life. I would like to base this paper on my own experience as baton twirler and find out how Pilates could have supported me. I also want to discuss what type of habits twirlers tend to fall into due to their unique movements compared to other performers or athletes. I would like to analyze twirlers’ movements and create specific exercise to help them improving their performance quality while having a better life as athletes.

The Turkish Get Up is a complex, yet graceful, movement revered by kettlebell enthusiasts as both a tool for assessment and a multi-faceted exercise. Like Pilates, the Turkish Get-Up requires awareness, precision, balance, and harmony of the body. (Isacowitz, 7.) It is a total-body movement incorporating strength, mobility, and stability. Additionally, the Turkish Get Up provides functional benefits, as the movement itself mimics developmental movement patterns such as rolling, kneeling, crawling, and standing. (Marker; Pavel, 37.) This paper will discuss the mechanics of the Turkish Get Up and develop a program for an athlete seeking to utilize Pilates as a cross-training tool to master the Turkish Get-Up.

In this paper I aim to demonstrate how practising Pilates, in particular following the BASI® approach, can develop a deeper understanding of your body and mind. Emphasis on awareness and understanding of scoliosis and its implications, limitations or necessary modifications when creating a Pilates exercise plan, will also be a key focus. Using my personal experience of having scoliosis I will explore the physical aspects of this condition while also considering mental and emotional factors present to investigate how Pilates can benefit all these areas of a person’s wellbeing. I decided to begin my ‘research’ into this topic as soon as I became a BASI student and this paper displays how and why I developed the following Pilates program from June 2018 until present.

According to the 2010 US Census 2% of the US population is over 80 years old and with the continued advances in healthcare that number continues to grow. Many Americans are living longer but what about the quality of life in later years? This is a question of importance as more and more people are living well into their 80’s. The human body is ever evolving. This extremely evident in later years of a lifetime when many physical and cognitive changes occur. Of course, the how and the speed of the aging process is dependent on genetics and lifestyle. But no matter what, it’s safe to say that by the time we hit 80 we’ve done a lot of living. Healthy lifestyle choices like a healthy diet and regularly exercising can have a big impact on the quality of life of an octogenarian. Finding an effective workout for this mature population can be challenging because by this time in life things like illness treatment, surgery, or physical impairments can be compounded. Because of this octogenarians may have difficulty finding an exercise modality that’s accessible to their abilities and meets their specific needs. That’s where Pilates comes in. It offers a great low impact form of mild resistance training, targeting all of the needs of the octogenarian’s physical health; core strength, mobility, stability and strengthening the mind body connection

The knee joint is a synovial hinge joint, consisting of the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral articulations. It controls the centre of gravity and transmits forces along the kinetic chain to perform functional movements (Nordin & Frankel, 2012). Movement occurs primarily around the tibiofemoral joint in the sagittal plane. Ligaments play a major stabilizing role, preventing excessive range of movement of two articulating bones in relation to another (Hall, 2015). They are composed primarily of collagen and elastin, giving them the capacity to sustain large tensile loads (Nordin & Frankel, 2012). They will return to their original length after being stretched, unless stretched beyond their elastic limits. When the ultimate tensile strength of these structures is exceeded, complete failure occurs and their load-bearing ability decreases significantly (Hall, 2015) Hypermobility is defined as an excessive range of joint motion as a result of ligamentous laxity, which is mostly hereditary (Beighton, Grahame, & Bird, 2012). Abnormal loading of the joint surfaces of the knee can accelerate degenerative changes and this is directly proportional to the degree of joint laxity (Beighton, Grahame, & Bird, 2012). The hamstrings and quadriceps co-contract assist the ligaments to stabilize the knee joint (Nordin & Frankel, 2012). Using the BASI Block System, a 12-week program was designed to improve the dynamic muscle stabilization around the knee joint of a 26-year old female, diagnosed with genu recurvatum and chondromalacia patella.

Hernias in the abdominal wall are a common phenomenon, having a prevalence of 1.7% across the general population and 4% in for people over 45 years and more often present in men than in women. Hernias occur due to a combination of weakness in the musculature of the trunk and increased pressure, causing internal organs and tissue may protrude through the weak spot. Left unchecked in adults, hernias will not heal by themselves and are likely to grow over time. This paper aims to review the anatomy of a hernia and how a Pilates conditioning programme can support clients with a hernia who are cleared to exercise by their physicians.

Degenerative Spondylolisthesis (DS) is the slipping forward of one or more vertebral bone, most frequently L4- L5, or L5-S1. The term is derived from the Greek words Spondylo meaning vertebra, and Listhesis meaning translate or slip forward. The condition occurs when the weakened pars interarticularis separates, allowing the injured vertebra to move forward out of position. DS is more commonly found in women, and usually occurs after the age of 50. The individual with DS may develop lordosis, chronic lower back pain, pain in thighs and buttocks, stiffness, muscle tightness, sciatica due to nerve root compression, a forward lean during gait, core weakness and poor posture. Treatments for DS can range from non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and physical therapy, to epidural steroid injections, to spinal fusion surgery. Depending on the degree of slippage, Spondylolisthesis is graded from I to IV: Grade I: 1% to 25% slippage Grade II: 26% to 50% slippage Grade III: 51% to 75% slippage Grade IV: 76%-100% slippage

The society requires prolonged sitting posture in the work place. There are common tightness regions in client’s body. Because of slouch sitting position, A few clients showed iliopsoas & deep hip extensor tightness and lack of motor control on their own pelvic motion. It causes overactivation in superficial muscles than deep and stabilizer muscles such as transverse abdominals, pelvic floor and diaphragm. This makes the client unable to feel core activation effectively during pilates private session. The clients only felt distal muscles soreness such as arms and legs rather than deep core muscles. In order to activate the proper muscles that a instructor is looking for, simple and effective posture assessments and stretch method are needed before jumping into core strengthening exercises. Plus Everybody has different learning process. Depend on the clients, instructors are required to choose most effective cueing among visual, tactile and audible methods to improve the client’s motor control ability about their own pelvic motion to turn on proper muscles without compensatory strategy.

Pregnancy is a special time in a woman’s life but it can also be demanding on the mind and body. One key point that is worth noting for all new mothers is that pregnancy changes the body to accommodate the needs of a baby. The uterus expands, the stomach muscles stretch and become weakened, weight gain changes how one carries herself and compensates for that weight, and because of these changes, shifts in posture take place and sometimes make women feel like they don’t even know or understand their new bodies, once they give birth. Pilates, which strives to marry the mind and body through movement and breath, can help a woman become re-acquainted with her body by regaining strength and re-patterning new habits. Pilates is the perfect way to stay in shape and get one’s body ready for delivery and then back in shape post-partum, and it can alleviate pain and stress.

Upper crossed syndrome (UCS) is one of the most common patterns of muscle imbalance in the upper body. It doesn’t take too long to know if you or someone else suffers from it. Common signs include a rounding of the upper back and shoulders, accompanied with the head moving into a forward position. The most common culprit of this condition is the hunched-over posture adopted by individuals who sit at a desk for prolonged periods of time. However there is another population whose daily routine is incredibly conducive to developing the symptoms of UCS and that is mothers of young children. From pregnancy through babyhood, the toddler years and even into early school years, the mother’s daily routine puts her in an almost permanent state of forward flexion, forward tilt of the head and internal rotation of the shoulders. This paper will discuss the causes and symptoms of Upper Cross Syndrome particularly in relation to the young mother, and develop an exercise programme based on the BASI block system designed to combat the muscle imbalances and joint dysfunction that go along with it.

The health of our spine cannot be overstated, your spinal health affects your entire body and so really your whole being. When spinal health is compromised through age, injury or structural defects it can drastically affect your quality of life. I was hit by a car at age 15, and subsequently had a cervical spine fusion, followed 7 years later by a lumbar fusion. I am now 56, very active and mostly pain free. I find that I am not the norm, however, and I have given a lot of thought as to why that is. I truly believe that maintaining functional flexibility and strength are the key. I have been a Yoga teacher and fitness professional for the better part of 25 years. I have also been an avid Pilates student for 18 years prior to taking the Basi training. This paper looks at how Basi Pilates has helped me and 2 of my students; one who has had a cervical fusion and one who has been working hard to not have one. I thank them for their feedback and time-they inspire me!

Working as a Registered Nurse in Labor & Delivery for many years prior to enrolling in the BASI Pilates Certification Program, I have assisted with many labors and deliveries of patients during the intrapartum period. Throughout my career, I have always noticed that patients who are in good physical condition and who have exercised during pregnancy tend to have an easier labor process, including a shorter duration of labor, shortened second phase of labor (pushing), and better maternal pushing efforts. I believe this is due to patients having a strong core and pelvic floor to assist with maternal pushing efforts and optimizing fetal position into the birth canal during the labor process. In this paper I will discuss how Pilates can be utilized during pregnancy to prepare the woman’s body for the intense physical process of labor and delivery of the infant.

Within the hospitality industry, restaurant chefs are performing a tremendous amount of lifting, bending, reaching, twisting, shaking, scooping, and standing. All of which are oftentimes done in a repetitive motion, for long periods of time, on a daily basis. These job required movements are often the main cause for acute/chronic postural imbalances and spinal abnormalities, which can lead to pain and discomfort. Physically speaking, this profession requires standing upright all day long on unforgivingly hard tiled floors, while leaning over surfaces that are not designed to accommodate the correct height for each individual. Repeatedly lifting heavy pots and pans from one surface to another. When these items are hot, naturally they tend to be carried further away from the body to prevent additional injuries. Repeatedly performing these scenarios can lead to strain of various parts of the body such as the back, neck, and shoulders. Which as a result can create spinal deviations and muscle imbalances. It is not uncommon for chefs and cooks to put in 50-70 hours of work per week, averaging at 10-12 hour shifts each day, while oftentimes skipping their legally required breaks. The culinary world is very competitive and requires a lot of physical and mental strength of those who desire to be a part of it long-term. Physically and mentally, pilates can help these culinary professionals in many aspects such as improving their plumb line, strengthening postural muscles, correcting muscle imbalances, improving gait-cycle patterns, and relieving stress.