Sasha
and I met for a cup of herbal tea and a chat at the clinic on a Wednesday
afternoon. Sasha was a little woozy due to jet-lag following a week away in Las
Vegas and had a treatment with Octagon clinic Chiropractor Rachel Hodson before
our interview. Not generally a city associated with healthy living Sasha
had gone to the city for an international Pilates conference, adding further
knowledge to her 13 years of theory and practice within the field. Sasha
has been a patient and friend of the staff at the Octagon for 4 years and it
was a delight to talk to her about a practice and profession she is so clearly
enthused about.
The
interview culminated in me signing up to a weekly Pilates class at Sasha’s
studio Precision Pilates, located in a lovely area of Chiswick, a few minutes walk
from Turnham Green underground, through Acton Park. Since the interview I have
enjoyed two Pilates classes with one of Sasha’s students Andrea, whom she is in
the second year of training through the Pilates Foundation. Although the outer
thigh series proved a challenge to the gluteal region, I came away from the
class feeling refreshed and calm and, although after just two classes I might
be imagining it, feeling more toned too!
1.
Hi
Sasha, what is Pilates and what benefit does the practice have?
The Pilates
Method of Rehabilitation and Exercise Fitness maximizes muscle strength and
flexibility using safe, low-impact techniques. Ideal for everyone, the Method
can play an important role for those requiring remedial therapy or with
restricted access to 'traditional' exercise.
Pilates'
fundamentals derive from a thorough understanding of human anatomy which the
teacher applies to create a comprehensive exercise programme. This is tailored
to the client to achieve a greater sense of physical balance and control. It is
this holistic approach that sets the method apart from many other forms of
exercise.
Osteopaths, Physiotherapists,
Chiropractors and General Practitioners recommend Pilates as one of the safest
forms of exercise.
2.
So who
is Pilates suitable for and is it OK for pregnant women to practice?
My clients are all shapes and sizes and
differing levels of movement awareness. My client base ranges from a fifteen
year old with scoliosis, to elite level dance students at the Royal Ballet
School to an eighty-five year old client.
I also teach pre and post-natal women as well as post-surgical patients
in rehabilitation. From Commonwealth level rowers, to office workers sitting at
their desks all day and everyone in between.
Importantly Pilates exercises
can be incorporated into a rehab programme, a programme that might include your
surgical team, Chiropractor, as well as your Pilates teacher, all helping you
to get back to full functioning healthy movement.
3.
Why
is Pilates a particularly good form of exercise for dancers? And athletes?
Pilates works the whole body not just
focussing on major muscle groups but also the smaller joint-stabilising
muscles. The founder, Joseph Pilates,
created his excercises during the Industrial Revolution having observed the
unbalancing effects of repetitive movement.
Dance rehearsal is by its nature repetitive, and Pilates can rebalance
muscle development. Golfers, rowers and
swimmers can similarly benefit from Pilates.
 |
Joseph Pilates demonstrating the reformer |
4.
What
is the purpose of using a machine in a Pilates class?
Pilates apparatus provides support and resistance. An
initial approach to Pilates uses floor-based mat work to offer an understanding
of awareness of ones body and self. Apparatus provides further challenge in the
refinement of movement and is target specific on the musculature.
5.
Pilates is sometimes described as
being good for “the bodies core”, is this correct and what exactly is meant by ‘core’?
The
phrase ‘core stability’ has a real buzz around it at the moment from a research
paper published a number of years ago in Australia. The paper researched chronic lower back pain
and the affect on the ‘core’ abdominal muscles.
This has since been taken perhaps out of context to sometimes a detrimental
effect. My understanding and utilization
of the term is somewhat different to others’.
I
believe that the ‘core’ is a three-dimensional whole body muscular structure,
starting at the feet and assisting in suspension of the spine allowing it to
float within our body. I think that the
Pilates concept of ‘centring’ is a far more useful term. It is my personal feeling that people often
concentrate on the abdominals only, leaving out other integrated connections
and movement planes and directions. This
can, over time and incorrect reinforcement, understanding and training actually
lead to rigidity and further onto spinal complaints and pathologies.
6.
Does
Pilates improve flexibility?
Yes! It’s more about a strength-flexibility
combination, getting a balance between developing a body with
short/bulky/powerful muscles and one that is long/loose and overly mobile,
rather than too much of either, Pilates aims to help you achieve a balanced
body between those two extremes.
7.
Is
Pilates helpful for those with low-back pain?
Care needs to be taken in the short-term and acute pain requires
treatment for pain-management but once clearance to exercise has been given by
a qualified practitioner Pilates can be
useful for working on musco-skeletal development and spinal support.
8.
Like
yoga, is Pilates beneficial for those at risk from, or with osteoporosis?
Yes. Low-impact weight-bearing exercise has been
shown to be a good preventative measure for those at risk from osteoporosis and
osteoporotic changes. You have to be careful with clients who have been
diagnosed but I do work with several clients with osteoporosis.
9. you just
read it yourself?)
9.
r werng upper-body bone density as well as what you
might expectut once clearance to excerise haHow
many times a week should you practice Pilates?
Joseph Pilates said that practicing four
times a week for three months was required to make a difference. I will often
send my clients home with self-practice homework, the ones that actually do it
tend to be the ones in pain and those eager to assist in self pain relief. On average my clients practice one to three
times a week for an hour to hour and a half.
10. Is it advisable to learn Pilates from a
DVD or a book?
I would say if you are using a book or DVD for this to be
a supplement to your work with a teacher. If travelling this might be a good
way to maintain your Pilates practice, with more digital media now available,
as now there are several podcasts and subscriptions available. Significantly as a teacher myself I still
take classes with other teachers. Working on your own you can end up doing the
exercises you like best, or find easiest and missing out others. But I do understand
with austerity measures that doing some work from home might be necessary and
I’d rather people were exercising than not, with the kind of sedentary life
that a lot of people lead.
11. As a patient at the Octagon Clinic do you see
a relationship between Pilates and Chiropractic treatment?
One hundred per cent! As a dancer and viewing my own body
as a ‘tool’ if something isn’t right seeking treatment is key. Coming to the Octagon
has benefited me in a lot of ways, particularly by helping address long-standing
imbalances in my own body. Referrals go both ways between the studio and the
clinic. With client permission I’ll
speak to Rachel, Hazel or Steve about a client’s condition, or even request a
scan of an existing x-ray to benefit the client’s exercise programme. Treatment patterns and paths definitely over-lap.
12. So what is your own background, why did you
get into the practice originally?
Originally from Sydney
Australia, I got started with my Pilates practice as a dance student
there. I came to London to continue my
dance training and graduated from Brunel University, Rambert School and became
a qualified Pilates teacher, gaining a distinction from the Pilates Foundation
in 1999. Having studied The Pilates Method for several years and after
successfully rehabilitating a dance injury through Pilates, I decided to train
to teach. I brought to my training an understanding of movement through
different dance disciplines. I have a reputation of precision and accuracy in
refinement of movement for professional dancers, athletes and rehabilitating
clientele. I am known for being tenacious and enthusiastic with my clients’
development.
I promote self-accountability in health and fitness and I never tire of the
awareness and excellence a Pilates studio brings the individual. After running
the Pilates Foundation Workshop Committee I was invited to sit on the Pilates
Foundation Board from 2009-2011. I fully endorse the organisations’ aim to
uphold the highest standards of teaching and teacher training in the Pilates
Method. After gaining a PGCE (Stage One) I went onto to train teachers. To date
I have assisted in the training of 12 Pilates Practitioners with a 100%
successful pass rate with the Pilates Foundation.

Emma Silverthorn is a receptionist at the Octagon Chiropractic Clinic