“I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They would be happier.”

Joseph Hubertus Pilates.

Named after its creator Joseph Pilates, Pilates is a series of exercises that focus on stretching and toning muscles. While most people believe Pilates is an exercise regimen primarily concerned with enhancing core muscle strength, it is so much more!

The main principles of Pilates, including flow of movement, centering, stability, and control of breathing, have the combined objective to restore the body to a place of balance by gaining healthy postural alignment, relieving overworked muscles, and gaining spinal mobility. Finding and utilizing one’s core strength allow for greater ease and freedom in movement. Workouts are performed on specialized, spring-based resistance equipment as well as on the mat. By toning and aligning the body through the use of Pilates, the goal of Pilates is to enhance movement, fitness and health in all areas of your life. Pilates is also an excellent method of injury rehabilitation spanning from back pain to brain damage. It addresses chronic symptoms and its exercises help treat joint problems and muscular tension.

Who can benefit from Pilates? Anyone. Whether one is young or old, super fit or convalescing from an injury, the main benefits of Pilates are:

• Improve Athletic Performance
• Increase Power
• Develop Body Awareness
• Develop Posture
• Balance the Body and Develop Muscular Symmetry
• Develop Core and Abdominal Strength
• Develop Greater Range of Motion
• Decrease and/or Eliminate Back and Neck Pain, Joint Pain
• Decrease Physical Stress
• Minimize Risk of Injury
• Connect Body and Mind Through Low Impact Exercise

Pilates dramatically transform the way your body looks, feels, and performs, and Women can particularly benefit from practicing Pilates. Not only because it increases muscle strength and endurance (pelvic floor, buttocks, back, and abdominals), but also because Pilates, if combined with Physical Therapy could improve a woman’s health in a way that no other exercise method can. A Pilates based physical therapy (PBPT) can help and improve women in the following areas or with the following issues:

• Pre-and Post-Natal Conditioning
• Incontinence
• Pelvic Floor and SI joint Pain
• Osteoporosis
• Breast Cancer
• Menopause

PBPT is grounded in the therapeutic movements and techniques of classical Pilates as well as traditional physical therapy. Women who have had babies often need more directed attention than they would normally get in a general Pilates class. Pilates classes designed specifically for post-natal strengthening can greatly improve pelvic floor function, minimize incontinence issues, decrease pelvic floor and SI joint pain. Women who are dealing with osteoporosis or osteopenia can also benefit from PBPT with modified Pilates exercises that focus on body alignment, spine lengthening, increased balance and coordination, and core muscle strengthening and that do not put the client at risk of vertebral fracture. The benefits of PBPT for women who are battling breast cancer or have recently completed treatment are numerous. They include: decreased chance of lymphedemia, increased range of motion, increased strength in the scapular and upper back muscles, decreased compensation patterns, increased overall fitness and wellness.

Often, these conditions to be treated successfully require knowledge of physical therapy administered by a specialist. To receive the maximum benefit in a safe way, Pilates classes taught by a Physical Therapist/Pilates instructor would be ideal.

For more information on Pilates for women, please contact:

Acupressure is an ancient healing art. Finger pressure is used on key points to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. It encourages the release of muscular tension, the increased circulation of blood, and the flow of the body’s vital life force (often called “chi”) simply by pressing these special points. Like acupuncture, acupressure accesses the energy of the body through the points and meridian pathways to influence health and well being.

In this system, symptoms are considered an expression of the state of the whole body. For instance, a tension headache may originate in the shoulder and neck area. Using points, acupressure can relieve the local head pain and discomfort. Additionally, acupressure can reestablish the body’s balance before the stress and strain can cause more problems in other areas of the body.

Naomi Rayman, whom you may already know from Synergy+, is a Pilates instructor and has recently earned her acupressure therapist certification. As a certified Pilates instructor and a certified acupressure therapist, Naomi finds that the two forms of body and mind awareness are complimentary…and, indeed, synergistic!

Naomi can be reached by phone at 415-596-9314 or by e-mail at naomirayman@gmail.com. Hew new acupressure studio is located on the third floor just above Synergy+.

Pilates is an excellent method of injury rehabilitation spanning from back pain to brain damage. It addresses chronic symptoms and its exercises help treat joint problems and muscular tensions.

Pilates is also used to correct bad posture, to sit and to stand correctly, to walk and run better, and to increase strength, flexibility, and coordination to improve your game.

Pilates is a mental and physical program that trains the mind and the body work in synergy.

Some signs that you should seek expert help from a doctor or Physical Therapist for the treatment of your shoulder include: 

• Inability to carry objects or use the arm 
• Injury that causes deformity of the joint
• Shoulder pain that occurs at night or while resting 
• Shoulder pain that persists beyond a few days
• Inability to raise the arm 
• Swelling or significant bruising around the joint or arm

The treatment of shoulder pain depends on the cause of the problem. Therefore, it is very important to understand the cause of your symptoms before embarking on a treatment program.  There are, however,  some things that most everyone can do to maintain the health of their shoulder and minimize pain.

Exercise!: It may seem counter-intuitive. Your shoulder hurts, so your doctor or physical therapist recommends exercises. Yet, why go through more pain? The truth is that exercising an injured shoulder at the appropriate time and with the appropriate intensity will reduce and cure pain.

Practice Pilates to strengthen your core: Lack of core strength can lead to poor posture, specifically a rounded back and forward head. This creates a significant imbalance in the muscles of the shoulder and neck. Pilates is all about posture!  The more you apply what you are learning in your pilates sessions to your daily life, the less chance of injury, and better chance for healing post injury!  Pilates should help you gain the strength and flexibility you need to properly align your joints and body in order to minimize injury and allow your body to heal.

Two exercises that you can do at home are:

1. Rowing: Using a theraband,  pull your elbows back, retracting your shoulder blades. Repeat between 10 and 30 times as you can tolerate without any discomfort. (Therabands are available for purchase at the studio.) 
2. Wall push up: Face a wall with your hands on the wall and your feet about a foot apart. Slowly push out from the wall. Repeat 5 times, holding for a count of five. Repeat twice daily.

This is not a complete shoulder program, just and example of some shoulder exercises.  We are happy to work with you individually to design a program that is appropriate for you!