Align Pilates® Minneapolis

This new year, make a resolution to check out Align’s brand-new reformers! Designed by Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel (founders of the Pilates Center in Boulder and Adrienne’s teachers) and manufactured by Balanced Body, the new CenterLine equipment replicates the original reformer designed by Joe Pilates himself. These reformers have been specifically designed for the classical style of Pilates that Align teaches–you’ll love the how the clean and simple design feels in action. From the alignment of the headrest to the slight drag of the carriage wheels (the better to engage your core!), these reformers have been designed to facilitate ease of movement and encourage fluidity in your Pilates practice.

Reserve your spot in class so you can experience the new equipment for yourself! Coming to Align in January. Visit Balanced Body for a video tour of the new CenterLine reformers.

Fun fact: Align co-owner Adrienne Fitzmaurice is responsible for naming the CenterLine suite of equipment!

The new CenterLine reformer is specifically designed for the classic Pilates repertoire.

The morning workout. Sounds like a drag, doesn’t it? The skies are turning significantly more dark and chilly, making it exceedingly hard to drag myself out of bed in the wee hours. And I simply cannot be trusted to put on an acceptable gym outfit at 5:30 in the morning. I hardly know who I am at that hour. So I love it when we stumble upon things like these: Pilates Moves to Energize Your Morning.

This fab Pilates circuit can be done in between rubbing the sleep from your eyes and heading for your first cup of coffee, right from the comfort of your bedroom, or wherever you prefer to exercise in your P.J’s. There’s nothing like a long and lean stretch to jumpstart your day. Send a little fresh air to your muscles and you’ll feel refreshed and energized before you even hit the shower. Just remember to take those jam-jams off first.

Bonus: If reading the pose how-to’s doesn’t quite cut it, here are some visual aids:

Ball Roll

Single-Leg Stretch

Single-Leg Circles

“9 AM – 3 PM”

Half Roll Back

While no one can deny the exceptional powers and strength of instructor-led fitness classes, sometimes you need a little home practice to really get the full effect. DVDs, books and internet how-to’s are great when you want to brush up on your fitness skills from the comfort of your own living room. But after a while, they tend to lose their zing. When you start reciting the video host’s repetitive script and the pages start falling out of your favorite book, you know it’s time for a change. So why not enhance your practice from the very thing you are practicing on—your mat?

Dig this Self-Guided Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat. Here you have 28 popular, physician-certified yoga poses right at the tips of your fingers and toes. No need to pause and peer up at the TV screen or flip a page. With the self-instructional mat, you can “tune in, chill out and shape up all at the same time.” So why stop at Yoga? Self-Guided Eco-Friendly Mats are also available for your Pilates and Ab workouts. No wonder we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Mr. Billy Blanks in a long while.

Lululemon Athletica, purveyor of clothing for life’s sweaty pursuits, is bringing the Twin Cities fitness community together. In honor of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Friday February 12 through Sunday February 14th, 17 studios throughout the Metro Area are offering over 40 free classes to Lululemon members and guests, and Align Pilates is one of them!

What: FREE Pilates Mat 2 Class

Where: Align Pilates Studio

When: Saturday, February 13th
10:30 am

How: It’s easy as 1, 2, 3:
1) Stop into the Lululemon Minneapolis Showroom
2) Pick up a postcard
3) Bring the postcard into Align on Saturday, February 13th @ 10:30 am to enjoy FREE Pilates!

But wait, there’s more! Bring your Align-signed postcard back to Lululemon and receive a participation gift. It’s that simple. In addition, prizes will be given to those fitness gurus who complete the most classes throughout the Metro. Check in at Lululemon for a list of participating studios.

Physical exercise is good for us—this is not to be disputed. However, we tend to place so much emphasis on conditioning the body that we often forget a very essential part of our being: the brain. Keeping your brain fit and agile is just as important as keeping your physical self in line. As this Prevention article explains, doing “mental aerobics” can stave off “cognitive impairment” and certain diseases which often accompany age.

http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/wp-content/gallery/einstien/einstein_tongue.jpg

What, exactly, does “mental aerobics” include? Good question. Prevention suggests a regimen of game-playing (such as their online teasers or a rousing game of chess), doing the daily crossword puzzle and even attending the theater to keep your noggin in tip-top shape. Basically, any mind-engaging task that you can amuse yourself with for 20 to 30 minutes several days a week will help keep those neurons stimulated.

Experts also suggest learning something new to keep your brain engaged. If you are new to yoga or Pilates, this sounds like the perfect time to try a Reformer or mat class—kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and keep both the brain and body in fit and fabulous condition.

Plus, it sounds way more fun than chess. Checkmate.

Pilates = elongation and core strength. When you practice the Pilates method, you are working to fortify the core muscles—the abdominals, lower back and pelvis—in order to create balance and alignment. Hence, the “Pilates body” walks around with improved, self-assured poise and posture. But did you know that a regular Pilates routine can do just as much good on the inside as it does on the outside? A strong core and prim posture can also mean enhanced digestion, improved sleep patterns, fewer headaches and healthier bones.

We know you didn’t really need another excuse to pursue Pilates—once you start practicing, it’s hard to deny the positive effects. But, as they say, the more you know, the more you grow. Check out this Natural Health article to find out more about the internal benefits of proper physical alignment.

Ah, 7:00 am sessions with the Reformer: part finely-tuned and elegant fitness machine, and part early morning torture device. But somehow, some way, we find ourselves at the end of three summer Boot Camp series. And much to our dismay, it didn’t kill us. Therefore, we must give props to Jennifer Roberts, Align Pilates Reformer instructor extraordinaire.

Totally supportive of our very 7:00am-esque attempts at gracefulness and elongation, Jennifer got right in there and showed us what’s what, in a good way. Always there to show us the right form and perfectly willing to answer our pre-coffee, fuzzy-headed questions, Jennifer had a great knack for showing us how to navigate the Reformer’s tough-love ways while making us feel like we figured it all out on our own. And now we’re feeling pretty savvy in the world of Pilates. Swan? Under control. Elephant? It took a few tries, but I think we got it. Teaser? Well, not without laughing. But we’re getting there.

Even though this summer’s Boot Camp Series has come to a bittersweet end, we’ll be back to the Reformer. Why? Because she’s got us hooked. Literally. (I’m talking straps and pullies, people.) And now that I’ve had time to reflect, I’m pretty confident that the Reformer exercises have allowed me to be more aware of my physical and mental well-being…despite the equipment’s medieval connotation.

Patient, knowledgeable and all-around superior death/severe injury avoidance coach. What more could you want in an instructor?!

This morning, I took my first Pilates reformer class.

As this was only my second experience with Pilates (the first being a mat class I took a million and a half months ago), it certainly does not come naturally to me. And at 7:00 am, it comes even less naturally. Ergo, I struggled with certain details, like figuring out where to put my feet, hands and limbs so I didn’t go flying off of the equipment and become the first woman ever to suffer a Pilates-induced concussion.

Luckily, I love a class that can laugh…both with me and at me.

When I walked into Julie Odderman’s class, I immediately admitted that I did not, by any stretch of the imagination, know what I was doing. Julie replied, “That’s really very okay.” She wasn’t lying. Throughout class, she was equally attentive to her four students, was quick to adjust and help correct our postures and, in my case, point us in the right direction. Literally. And all this with a smile and an optimistic joke. Her good humor and support kept the class enjoyable and lighthearted. And I indeed felt really very okay.

Thus, I managed to get through my first class without any significant bodily damage and I feel great. I’m already looking forward to the next session.

But the best part? When it came time for pushups, Julie went easy and allotted only three to me.

I think this is the start of a beautiful reformer relationship.

What happens when an old MTV VJ and Nintendo come together? You get Daisy Fuentes Pilates.

This summer will mark the arrival of the first Pilates program for Nintendo Wii Fit, and Daisy Fuentes—a long-time celebrity Pilates lover—will guide the virtual workout.

In place of a real-life instructor, the program will use the Wiimote to detect your movements and offer instant responses, so you can make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. An onscreen timer and motivational cues from Daisy herself will help you stay the course.

If you have a Wii Fit, this looks like a great way to delve into the world of Pilates and start learning the ropes (if you haven’t already). If you don’t have a Wii Fit, I think this might be a pretty good excuse to get one.

A healthy creation via an MTV VJ and Nintendo. I guess the 90’s brought us something useful after all…well, besides Hypercolor and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

J’aime pilates!

Ich übe pilates

Amo pilates!

¡Amo pilates!

M’encanta Pilates

Volim Pilates

Jeg elsker Pilates

Miluju Pilates

Ik hou van Pilates

Ma armastan Pilates

Rakastan Pilates

Imádom Pilates

Jag älskar Pilates

Kocham Pilates

Ben Pilates TR

I love pilates!