December 2011 Body Wellness - Swimming Prep Exercise
This exercise is harder than it looks. It is considered a closed chain exercise because your hand and knees are on the ground. Therefore, it is excellent for pelvic, spine and scapular stabilization.
January 2012 Movement Education Center Course Schedule
Yoga Basics
Enhance your strength, flexibility and improve your posture with yoga at APT. With a focus on proper breathing, we will flow through a series of poses to increase your strength and flexibility while helping quiet your mind. This class combines the benefits of yoga with our anatomical cuing to help you learn how to keep your body in the correct neutral position during the poses. Props will be used when modifications are necessary to keep you in neutral alignment.
Thursdays from 12 – 1pm, starting 1/5/2012
This 5 weeks class is $60
Taught by Jennifer Thornton
Pilates for Aging Gracefully
This class is for individuals with mobility limitations as a result of the natural aging process who would like to increase strength and flexibility SAFELY. The class is a gentle workout that can be performed by all ages and ability levels -- while exercising mostly from the comfort of an armchair. By targeting pelvic, abdominal, back and shoulder muscles, this program will enhance your level of functional fitness and therefore help you to perform daily activities with greater ease. Additionally,
December 2011 Letter From the Editors
Happy Holidays!
I hope you are surviving this busy season. We are very excited about our new Movement Education Center course offerings. This January we will offer our first yoga class at APT! We will begin our exploration of this powerful exercise tool while teaching a balanced, neutral joint and whole body alignment. Our Pilates for Aging Gracefully Class is an excellent option for those of you who want to do Pilates but have a hard time getting down on the floor. Exercises in this class are performed while sitting on a chair or in standing, using the chair for balance. Check out these offerings in this month's newsletter.
Best From All of Us,
Pat Staszak, PT
Michelle Carlevato, PT, DPT
Catherine Lewan, PT, DPT
Dennis Frawley, PT, DPT
Jennifer Hungate, PT, DPT, WCS
November 2011 Body Wellness - Marching: the Next Step
By Pat Staszak, PT
Last month we reviewed the very basic March exercise: While lying on the floor, we used our deep abdominals to stabilize our pelvis and low back as we moved our legs. To make the exercise more challenging and functional, we will apply the same concepts, but while you are in an upright position. Working against gravity and introducing a component of instability will increase the workload for the core stabilizers. Most of us spend a lot of time sitting – this is another opportunity for us to learn the correct alignment and practice staying in this position with day-to-day activities.
| Marching on the Stability Ball |
Sit on a stability ball so that hip and knee are bent to 90 degrees and your pelvis is in a neutral position. Remember from last week that your pelvis is in neutral when your pubic bone and ASIS are vertical. Another cue we give is, “keep your SITS bones wide.” This will help you avoid tucking the pelvis underneath and rounding out the lower back.
Keep in mind that you will need to shift your center of gravity slightly so that your pelvis is centered over the supporting leg as you attempt to take one foot off the floor. Imagine your pelvis
