sugar sugar

posted in Pilates

i always have some variation of the following list in my home: dark chocolate, raw almonds, eggs, granola, toastable bread, candy, homemade soup/stew, and popsicles. mostly this stuff is there for me to be able to have quick snacks between clients if i’m having a crazy day or the like. a couple dozen almonds and a few squares of dark chocolate feels like lunch and makes you happy. it’s protein and a little sugar and food that makes you feel good.

do you have it for lunch EVERY day? um no, but it sure is nice when you have thirty seconds, three more clients and low blood sugar…. Continue Reading

"ugly duckling pilates because sex matters"

posted in Pilates

as originally posted on matt mernagh’s blog but it bears reposting: [incidentally matt is a marijuana activist who has found cannabis to be the only useful pain reliever for his fibromyalgia. i believe it also makes it easier for him to move at all but i’m not a doctor and my opinion is just that, an opinion]

The best Christmas gift I received last year was an Ugly Duckling Pilates session. With my Rosedale pilates instructor Angela Barsotti’s assistance I’m feeling mostly fantastic. Sans fibromyalgia flare ups, scoliolsis pain and recovered shattered shoulder grief. Tonight (Thursday, Dec. 2) on Sex Matters, Angela will be discussing Sex, Breath and the Pelvic Floor. A topic she recently taught at Come As You Are…. Continue Reading

picking teachers

posted in Pilates

several years ago i convinced my sister, who was then suffering some pretty serious repetitive strain issues in her neck/shoulders, to try pilates. since she was living in another city she found a local studio and off she went. this teacher started her off with the hundreds and the roll up, she walked out in more pain than she walked in and eventually found an amazing yoga teacher who helped her immeasurably. she found her by looking for someone who talked about the work the way i did rather than concentrating on their “method.”… Continue Reading

Marie-Jose Blom

posted in health, movement, Pilates, teaching

Ugly Duckling Pilates is delighted to present Marie Jose Blom for two workshops over three days (friday april 22nd to sunday april 24) in lovely downtown Toronto, Canada. Workshops: The Essential Role of the Shoulder Girdle and Thorax in Taking the Weight From the Shoulders (sunday – 8 hours) Embrace the Curves and Unravel the… Continue Reading

yeah

posted in Pilates

not too much happening.

i was struck amused by something today. someone said that i seemed like a really active and busy person what with all the stuff i was doing and i realised. i am!

for example today, i went and took a class at my favourite studio with my favourite teacher and only one other girl showed up so we worked on some really crazy stuff that ‘she wouldn’t teach to beginners’ like our psoas muscle. it was damm fun let me tell you and I am worked out in a couple of places that really needed it…. Continue Reading

lost minutes

posted in Pilates

This is one of the first “pilates teacher blog” moments in my old personal blog; to be found here if you’re curious. there is some great stuff there but as i used to say at the jcc “if i said it more than three months ago i probably don’t think it anymore.” opinions grow and change, so do writers, people and the universe… Continue Reading

food glorious food

posted in Pilates

[i wrote this ages ago and am basically using it as a placeholder while i build this blog :)]

lately i have been spending a lot of time studying food and nutrition and not just how it relates to weight and it’s loss or gain; or maybe i’ve been studying food habits?

it started with the idea, last december, that it was time to get my ass in gear and chuck the last 20 pounds. my goal was to start the summer at my usual end of summer weight (which i did) and then finish the summer ten pounds lighter than that so that my christmas weight would be my former summer weight…. Continue Reading