Small Steps for Big Changes. A PILATES space to benefit bodies.
It is a dream come true to have a space entirely dedicated to Pilates, to a pain-free way of moving that is liberating and joyous. The idea of My Body My Pilates germinated from a nasty knee pain which found relief and freedom with Pilates.
Now we have a space where people can come, regardless of their body condition, age or level and fully benefit from what Pilates can do for their bodies.
Our renewed sense of joy and fully enjoying our lives is the gift Pilates has for us, and making Pilates a natural way of life is the best way to show what Pilates can really do.
At My Body My Pilates, it is important to us to offer high-quality Pilates classes so you can truly enjoy the benefits. Whenever a client walks out with their head high and shoulders relaxed and body aligned, we know we have done our job and Pilates has once again worked its magic.
Whether you are completely new to Pilates or have done it before, there is much to look forward to at My Body My Pilates. By keeping class sizes small (maximum 5 in a group) our experienced and certified instructors are better able to assess each individual body and plan what it needs.
Here we are going to show you a variety of exercises you can expect at My Body My Pilates.
It is only a very tiny part of the vast vocabulary Pilates offers. Every exercise serves a purpose and is aimed at alignment, finding balance, building core strength and toning muscles, all without forcing the body to go beyond what is safe and healthy. Every little step counts and it is the many steps you take regularly in each Pilates class that leads to a real and lasting change in your body and mind.
Each level has its own set of exercises and what we love about Pilates is how logical and well thought out everything is. Just as every bone and every ligament has its function and place, once you understand how the body moves, what it needs, the Pilates exercises you will encounter as you progress through the levels will make absolute sense to you. Let's look at what each level focuses on and what you can expect in each one.
Beginner Level - Discovering Yourself
Beginner Level Pilates - Balancing using the OOV
If you are a beginner, there is a world of discovery waiting for you in Pilates. We love working with absolute beginners. They are wonderful pieces of tabula rasa, all open and ready to receive and very hungry for changes!
Be Real
Many may not be aware of how their bodies work and how the different body parts come together as a whole to make our movements efficient and free. At the beginner level, our instructors assess what your body needs - we listen to your history of any pain issues or habits and we look at how you move in class. As the famous dancer, Martha Graham famously said, "the body never lies". Every single movement gives the instructors valuable information. That is why we keep our classes small, so that instructors can focus on each body and give an accurate assessment. In large groups, even with the best instructors in the world, there is still just one pair of eyes to look at so many bodies.
Awareness is Key
We want to help you learn about your movements and build awareness. Awareness is a key first step to bringing about change in your body. We love seeing the look on our clients' faces when they suddenly feel a muscle or we move them into a certain way and they are able to execute a movement easily and pain-free - the look is priceless. That is where awareness starts.
I didn't even know that muscle existed in my body!
In the Moment
Pilates is not about forcing a change nor about making huge sudden changes that do not last. What we love about Pilates is how human it is and Pilates respects how each body is at the very present moment. At the beginner level, clients are also not highly aware of how their physical state affects their minds and how they feel. We work with you based on how you are the day you come to class.
Because we keep our administrative system clean and simple, coming to class becomes fuss-free, stress-free and we know each client is there with us because they want to. While many maintain a regular practice with us because Pilates has become a natural way of life for them, we also take into account how each client is feeling on the day of the class, independently of how regular they are in their training. They may be tired from work, or dealing with an old injury that has suddenly crept up, or simply are trying their best to cope with personal issues that are draining their energy. Our instructors then decide on the best exercise suitable for each client´s current state.
See and Feel the Change
The beginner level is a wonderful journey of self-discovery. We learn how to notice our own alignment, what the body feels like when it is aligned, and it is also probably the level where clients enjoy the most how free their bodies can actually feel. It is amazing how quickly a body and mind can change when everything falls into place. We see our clients stand taller, they love stretching instead of dreading the feeling of pain, we see a certain glow in their faces when they make little achievements, we see them wanting more and more of this good feeling. Clients who are hungry for change are very rewarding to work with.
Take a look at some of the exercises we do at the beginner´s level. We work on achieving a mix of stretching the body, building balance, toning the muscles, gaining strength and creating a sensation of spaciousness in the body.
Intermediate Level - Building Confidence and Enjoying a New Body
Intermediate Level Pilates - Climb a Tree
When you get to the intermediate level, that is where you have built up quite a bit of confidence and have been enjoying moving your new body for a period of time. This is an important stage where we want to continue building the solid foundation we have worked so hard at the beginner level, and also start to take a few more steps to gradually challenge the body. This is also a rewarding stage as you now have a little more autonomy over your body, you have more knowledge and experience working with your body, and most importantly, you are still hungry for more! This is the stage where confidence really consolidates and keeps growing.
A Supportive Community
Clients who have been with us from the very beginning of their health journey continue on to the intermediate level and they make up a beautiful community of Pilates practitioners who come together to share healthy and joyful living. With small group classes, clients get to know each other well and as everyone shares the same goal of using Pilates to enjoy a healthy life, people become very supportive of each other´s achievements.
All Through Your Life
Our environment is a friendly and open one, where people of different backgrounds and nationalities can come together. Our instructors speak a variety of languages, so communication is well taken care of at My Body My Pilates. We also have pre and post-natal Pilates as well as Pilates for children, so Pilates is literally there with you at every stage of your life!
Never Miss a Class
As our boutique studio is filled with group classes across the day, clients who now want to take more sessions can do so easily, even on Zoom if they happen to not be in town a particular week. Many of our clients feel they need Pilates at some point in the week to help them stay grounded and balanced.
Here are some intermediate level exercises you can look forward to doing at My Body My Pilates. We love the names of these exercises - they are not randomly given to sound cute. There is a logic and sense to why each exercise is given a certain name, and perhaps our conversations in the studio would sound rather strange to someone who does not know anything about Pilates!
Have you climbed a tree today? Oh yes, that felt really good, I managed to climb a bit higher today!
How's your Jack Rabbit going? I really worked those back muscles today, I think my Jack Rabbit is getting stronger and more stable!
Advanced Level - Being Curious and Experimenting
Advanced Level Pilates - Magician
The Advanced level is not where we sit on our haunches and think we have it all figured out and we are done with Pilates. As Pilates is a natural way of life for us, there is actually no end point to ´graduating´ from Pilates. It is a constant journey of discovering what our bodies can do and what they need.
The Advanced level is also not a level where we do dangerous, scary acrobatic exercises. If anything, what we enjoy about the Advanced level is how playful we all get in classes! We love experimenting with different exercises, challenging ourselves safely to take one step more, and always with a lot of curiosity about our bodies and enjoying how wonderful it feels to have efficient and aligned movement.
It's Simple … Is It?
You will notice that some exercises can look deceptively simple. That is why we say the advanced level is not all about acrobatics. Even a simple balancing exercise can really test the body's strength and how precisely the balance sensors are working. Pilates works on strength in a very quiet way. We sweat a lot in Pilates as well, but we also focus on breathing and using the breath to aid movements. It is not about who gets more breathless and who sweats more. In Pilates, we are not here to huff and puff and blow any houses down. We focus more on building a rock-solid body that is strong, toned, supple and balanced!
I thought "wiggling" on the OOV was a walk in the park. I really had to engage all my muscles and stay very focused so I don't topple off it! If you want a challenge for your core muscles, this is it!
Safety First
There is no competition in Pilates, only the challenge to help the body move more freely from one day to the next. Pilates exercises are never set and fixed with no room for variation. We find it is more effective to vary an exercise and allow the body to train well, than to insist on a set way of doing it or go for the full exercise without any consideration of how the body is. Our instructors guide clients to move on to each exercise when their bodies are ready for the next challenge. It is important to us that our instructors are experienced and certified, as we want our clients to work with people they can trust. We are here to lead pain-free lives. To put a client who is not ready on an advanced level exercise will put the client at risk of an injury and the whole point of Pilates is to teach the body to move in the best way possible to avoid injuries.
Here are some advanced level exercises and if you visit our studio, you will hear quite a lot of cheering from the advanced level classes when someone manages to do one of these exercises cleanly and well!
Going Beyond
And here is a little treat to watch. This is a Super Advanced Level exercise which some of our clients who have been doing Pilates for a long time love trying out. Our instructors also continue to train in Pilates. While they are here to do a job, Pilates is also a natural way of life for them, which means they never stop training themselves to go further. A good instructor never stops getting curious about their own body movements and they never stop learning about themselves. This is what makes our instructors wonderful people to work with. They love what they do and they have so much to give to the clients, and they themselves never stop learning either.
Whatever your level, our instructors have the appropriate exercise for you on the relevant machines and apparatus we have in the studio. We want clients to be able to have a complete training in Pilates, which is why it is important for us to make sure we have all the most important and latest Pilates equipment. Each machine, each apparatus has something for each level, so exercises are never boring.
Each level has its own takeaways, and you will enjoy getting to know your body through the different levels. Each class you attend, each exercise you do, each muscle you feel is a series of small steps that ultimately lead to a big change. We "live¨ Pilates at My Body My Pilates - we have seen and experienced for ourselves how real and lasting changes can come about when Pilates becomes a natural way of life. When you start thinking in terms of Pilates in every little action you do outside the studio, that is when you know Pilates has become a part of you and your body is learning a new language, a new way of supporting you and allowing you to move. Even going up the stairs, how you sit at the table, how you bend down to pick something up, you will notice your body reacting and engaging certain muscles to keep you aligned and safe in your movements.
Are you curious enough to take your first small step with us? Come visit our studio and all you need to do is simply book your first session. And we will take care of the rest! It is time to experience a new body and a new way of moving that can give you a real, lasting change.
TOKYO PILATES Studio
Our Pilates studio is at 3 丁目5ー11元麻布 1/F Pilates Studio, Block C Majes Motoazabu Gardens, 港区 Tokyo 106-0046.
Contact My Body My Pilates to discuss your Pilates exercises.