Pilates Mat Class (Elizabeth Larkam)
Familiarity with conventional mat exercises may not address asymmetries in lateral translation, lateral flexion and rotation of the spine that can impede fluid movement. These mat sequences that require non-habitual movement responses are designed to illuminate kinesthetic blind spots and re-awaken the delight of discovering new motor skill. Each exercise in the sequence integrates breathing with local core control and the global sling systems while connecting the eyes and feet with the pelvis, spine, arms and hands. The first sequences presented do not use any equipment. Subsequent sequences use small apparatus to add degrees of freedom and challenge stability.
Mobilize your body in this class using stools and mats. A 3-dimensional and spiraling movement system that stimulates the nervous system and wakes up your body.
Gyrokinesis® methodology is a unique exercise system developed by Juliu Horvath. A gymnast and ballet dancer, injuries ended his career and he set out to find a way to recover. His search led him to a deep study of yoga and other disciplines resulting in the creation of Gyrokinesis® methodology.
He later invented GYROTONIC® exercise equipment to accompany the Gyrokinesis exercise program.
Now people of all ages and from all walks of life can benefit, gaining strength, flexibility and co-ordination.
This workshop makes the myofascial meridians (from Thomas Myers Anatomy Trains) clear through movements on the Pilates ARC with the mat and reformer.
This Workshop will demonstrate how this unique exercise system is applied to the Pulley Tower apparatus with the emphasis on Spinal Motions and breathing patterns.
The Pulley tower has been designed around the human body , thus making it the perfect tool for explaining the Gyrotonic® methodology.
Come and find your rhythm, sensuality and confidence by walking the way nature intended with Africa’s only Hellerworker:
Walking is meant to be a whole body experience with you looking relaxed and fluid.
Your core is meant to be doing most of the work by moving in 4 different directions when you walk. Your limbs should flow and react to that movement, yet how often do you see clients who walk like its hard work?
They may look like they’ve got a pole up their butt or slouch like a sack of potatoes - either way it’s not energy efficient and it doesn’t look good!
Come find out how good YOU can look, because everybody can turn heads once they’ve been taught how to walk properly.
Hellerwork combines deep connective tissue work with movement education, whilst looking at what your body says about you. People learn to walk, sit and stand the way they were originally designed; becoming more confident, elegant and pain free.
Familiarity leads to adaptation. This workshop takes the Classical Mat repertoire [which eventually feels well oiled and systematic], adds cardiovascular elements and creates a workout beyond the Classical Mat! This is a practical workshop. Level: Advanced
Clarify movement relationships between the lower extremity, and the pelvic floor by examining models of the foot, knee, hip, and pelvis . Identify the myofascial meridians that connect the feet and legs with the pelvic floor. Build a model of the pelvic floor, then experience and learn to teach movement sequences that activate these structures. Deepen your appreciation of the functional strength, stability and balance that results when the sole of the foot connects with the pelvic floor.
Relationship Awareness: Connecting with clients (Shelley Lewin)Relationship Awareness: Connecting to clients and understanding how to work best with different personalities.
Wouldn’t it be great if your clients came with an instruction manual on how they like to be trained? Becoming a Master Pilates Instructor doesn’t only require instruction and understanding of the hard skills (anatomy, Pilates theory, cueing etc). Mastery, in an industry of service, requires the soft skills of how to be “good at” relationships; relating to each client in a way that they appreciate and enjoy. Psychologist, clinical therapist, educator and author Elias Porter Ph.D. developed Relationship Awareness Theory. It is a learning model that provides insight into what drives you and what drives others- an understanding that empowers you to communicate in a way that achieves instant rapport and connection. It is a dynamic and powerful way of looking at human relationships that helps build communication, trust, empathy and ultimately more effective personal and professional relationships.
A conditioning workout for the "ballerina" in all of us - to attain the strength and length of a ballet dancer's body.
This workshop is specifically geared towards those in the health and fitness profession - pilates instructors, therapists, personal trainers.
What is Foot Mobilisation?
Poor foot mechanics lead to spinal problems and related health complaints.
Years of ill-fitting shoes and neglected foot care causes mis-alignment of the bones, ligaments and tendons.
The relationship between our feet and the rest of our body should
not be underestimated.
There are 28 bones, 4 different arches, hinge and gliding joints, approximately 20 muscle insertions with tendon and ligament attachments,
veins and arteries and over 150 ways of moving the feet!
The foot is a mechanical marvel – a short, flexible rod which must support, propel provide hundreds of postural combinations for the body above it. Foot deformities and faulty foot mechanics have knock on effects and can cause back and postural problems as mis-alignment calls for compensation
higher up in the body.
Foot mobilisation attempts to correct this. The treatment is done while the person is lying face down on a mat or therapy bed. Gentle, yet effective techniques are used to loosen and re-align the bones of the feet. This causes the ligaments, tendons and muscles to either relax and release or tighten and support the bones of the feet.
The benefits of Foot Moblisation:
Improved circulation in the feet and the rest of the body
Relief from aching feet
Re-alignment of the bones
unblocked energy pathways
knock on effect on postural aches and problems elsewhere in the body
Workshop Details:
Learn the anatomy of the foot – bones, some muscles and joints
Safe and effective mobilisation and stretch techniques
The treatment takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete but small sections of the treatment can be used to stretch and relax the feet as an add-on to a basic massage or at the end of an exercise section.
It is amazing how this simple treatment helps to relax the person as a whole.
Movement sequences for thoracic rotation and the rotation / counter rotation patterns that occur in gait.
“Core Training” is a buzzword that has been around for some time now and with it has come a variety of training methods both in the physical therapy and fitness industries that promise to improve the core. What does that actually mean to us as movement practitioners and how do we work with other practitioners to compliment core training programmes? More importantly do we know where exactly the core is?
Most of our methods focus on training specific muscle stabilisers of the trunk and pelvis including the abdominals, erector spinae pelvic floor and Psoas. But what if the core extended down into the arches of the feet and up into the scalenes and toungue, what then? How do we develop core training methods that improve movement quality quickly efficiently and effectively and how do we teach it? As Educators our role is to provide the best possible training with the most up to date core training research.
As well as the latest research we will be borrowing core training principles from a variety of movement disciplines to “Journey to the Core” and in this workshop we will have the chance to explore
Where exactly is the core and what’s its function
The importance of whole body breathing and how to teach it
The importance of language and how it affects movement quality
How to use clever cues to get the desired response
How to develop body awareness using the “effortless effort” technique
How to teach core control easily in prone, supine, side lying, kneeling and standing
How gravity affects core control and how to work with and against it
How to teach and maintain good core control from mat to Pilates equipment.
How to incorporate body awareness and core control in your client’s daily life
Discover the Goddess in you! The classes are FOR women, designed BY women, and are to explore YOUR femininity. This workshop will include a floor warm up, standing and wall work, and a little bit of swinging on the pole! Besides getting a great workout, it’s an opportunity to move freely, love your curves, re-discover your sensual and feminine side, and just enjoy yourself.
Come unleash your wild, fun, sassy, sensual self with us and discover just how exhilarating the Goddess Workout really is!
Anything can happen when you do a pelvic curl with your feet propped up against those of another person. You can stabilise, mobilise, analyse and benefit in many different ways from the unpredictability of working with a human accessory. Would you trust yourself to do a pushup when another person, possibly a stranger to you, is your support? And vice versa - how supportive are you as the pillar of unwavering strength?
Flowin is a unique system involving a large mat and pads for knees, feet, and hands. Discover a wide variety of functional exercises to develop core stability, strengthen legs and upper body, and challenge co-ordination and balance.
Pilates Mat: stand and walk (Elizabeth Larkam)Walking is a complex activity that challenges motor control in all planes of motion. Injury interrupts coordination patterns and can lead to compensation. If asymmetries are not addressed and re-trained they may become habitual. Familiarity with conventional mat exercises may not address asymmetries in lateral translation, lateral flexion and rotation of the spine that can impede fluid movement. Learn safe, effective mat sequences that are functionally relevant to improved walking. Each exercise in the sequence connects the eyes and feet with the pelvis and spine.
Feldenkrais Class (Barbara McCrea)Experience how effortless change in the body can be, using the plasticity of our brains to retrain movement patterns. Feldenkrais neuromuscular exercises offer a unique way of not just pushing muscles about, but changing things in the brain itself. The class will also give a sense of ease, well-being and enhanced body awareness.
This energetic and fun dance class gives a great workout with some South American spice!
Hip and Knee replacement: Pilates Programs (Elizabeth Larkam)Physiotherapy is recommended after hip or knee replacement surgery. Following release from physiotherapy the client may be referred to a qualified Pilates instructor in order to continue progress in activities of daily living and gait. Clients who have had a hip or knee replacement will most likely have become accustomed to compromised gait before surgery. Following surgery a well-designed mat program may contribute to restoration of comfort and ease during gait. Movement sequences on the mat can facilitate normal gait by addressing foot and ankle mobility, rotation of the pelvis and thoracic spine, and balance of the myofascial meridians that connect the legs with the pelvis, spine, shoulder girdle and arms.
Pelvic floor: The case against strengthening (Corina Avni)Basic intro to the pelvic floor and its many functions
Strength vs length
What about the abdominals?
Bipedal movement; why walk when you can drive?
The not so obvious differences between guys and girls…
This workshop aims to help the pilates instructor to understand and meet the specific needs of the equestrian client.
It will include a basic outline of dressage technique, the communication between the rider's body and the horse, and will explore some strategies in using Pilates to enhance both of these skills.
Eric Franklin, creator of the Franklin Method, has developed a unique curriculum of band exercises that were originally used as cross training for dancers. These movement sequences for the feet, lower extremity, trunk and upper extremity offer an effective, portable conditioning opportunity that brings new appreciation of tensegrity.
Introduction to Kettlebells: Ed BothaThis workshop will introduce students to the incredible physical benefits offered by Kettlebell training. Basic lifts and techniques will be covered, as well as safety. Discovering the secrets of kettlebell training will enable students to benefit from stronger abdominals, increased flexibility and cardiovascular endurance.
The Art of Exercising and Beyond®
This Workshop will demonstrate how this unique exercise system is applied to the Pulley Tower apparatus with the emphasis on Spinal Motions and breathing patterns.
The Pulley tower has been designed around the human body , thus making it the perfect tool for explaining the Gyrotonicâ methodology.
This workshop will explore how the observation and analysis of a movement pattern can yield valuable information on the movement habits of each person. What is the invariant in movement, which shows up no matter the position or function?
Habitual movement patterns often result in ‘wear and tear’ pain and dysfunction. Traditionally specific exercises are given to help correct the movement of a particular joint, and to “fix” one part, but little attention has been paid to unravelling the pattern of the movement, and to the relationship of parts.
It is becoming increasingly understood how movement patterns are set and changed in the brain. The workshop will look at some of the latest research into how to access the brain to change the pattern.
This workshop will introduce rhythmic movements to Pilates repertoire. A fun and practical session accompanied by drumming! A basic routine will be broken down and taught over the two hours, culminating in a continuous half-hour Rhythmic Pilates class.
Pilates Mat for Sports with Rotation (Elizabeth Larkam)Sports that emphasize rotation include complex movement sequences that challenge motor control in all planes of motion. Familiarity with conventional mat exercises may not address asymmetries in rotation of the spine that can impede fluid movement. Learn safe, effective mat sequences that are functionally relevant to golf, tennis, squash and other activities that require rotation. Each exercise in the sequence integrates breathing with activation of local core control and the global sling systems.
Rocket Yoga (Sarah Stone-Francisco)Bend, Fly, and Turn it Upside Down
Wake up and enliven your body with this dynamic series of yoga poses designed to strengthen your mind, your core muscles, and your ability to fly. This workshop will be an accessible version of the Rocket II sequence of poses founded by Larry Schultz of It's Yoga San Francisco. The series is called the Rocket because "it gets you there faster!" Come to have fun, learn to strengthen your body, soften your judgments, and leave realizing you're stronger than you thought you were! Please bring a yoga mat or towel to practice on, an open mind, a smile, and an empty belly.
Stretch Class (Renee Watson)
This one hour stretch class will take you through a full body stretch and release. Great after a workshop weekend when those muscles need to relax!
Clarify movement relationships between the lower extremity, pelvis and spine by examining models of the foot, knee, hip, pelvis and vertebrae. Identify the myofascial meridians that connect the feet and legs with the pelvic floor, deep abdominals, diaphragm and tongue! Learn to teach reformer movement sequences that activate these anatomical structures to create functional strength, stability and balance for standing, walking, recreation and sports. The reformer environment will be enhanced with the roller, rotator discs and Arc. These movement sequences can be taught as components of a Pilates studio program or as a one-hour plus reformer class.
Where exactly is the core and what’s its function
The importance of whole body breathing and how to teach it
The importance of language and how it affects movement quality
How to use clever cues to get the desired response
How to develop body awareness using the “effortless effort” technique
How to teach core control easily in prone, supine, side lying, kneeling and standing
How gravity affects core control and how to work with and against it
How to teach and maintain good core control from mat to Pilates equipment.
How to incorporate body awareness and core control in your client’s daily life
Poor posture, over a prolonged period, will lead to repetitive stress and strain on the body which eventually leads to injury and chronic conditions. Help your clients improve postural awareness while at work, driving or holding their children. Teach your clients how to set up their work stations effectively, adjust their driving posture and to hold their baby in the least strenuous position. The course will include stretching exercises for releasing tension and strengthening exercises to emphasise better posture.
Kathy’s Alchemy of Movement Workshop, based on Nia, is a body mind approach that sharpens and enlivens dialogue and relationship with self and others. Using a variety of great music and simple movement, Kathy brings fun back to exercise, invigorating the spirit through the body’s unique energetic language.
A comprehensive and challenging exercise system that combines the training principles of martial arts and Pilates. Focus is on the core unit, the centre, breathing, posture and form. Training efficiency is maximised by keeping the body and the mind guessing. No sequence of exercises is ever the same, thus preventing the physical and the mental from “plateauing”.
The session runs for an hour (excluding warm up and cool down) and covers the four below categories (and every muscle group):
- Cardio and functional
- Flexibility and mobility
- Stability and balance
- Strength and endurance.
There are roughly fifteen exercises for each category, but each exercise is drawn completely randomly as the session progresses. Each exercise is performed for 45 seconds with a fifteen second break before the next.
The intensity of the four above mentioned components and the targeting of muscle groups is therefore left entirely up to the luck of the draw… may the Universe be friendly on that day.
Participants are required to bring a sweat towel and water and can choose to wear trainers or to go barefoot.
A healthy dose of mindfulness is essential as well as the appetite for a challenge….
*you might want to consider bringing an extra change of clothing.