The Magic Touch - Jillian Hessel

Magic
touch
Jillian Hessel learned about the power
of hands-on guidance when teaching
Pilates from masters Carola
Trier and Kathy Grant. Here,
she shares their unforgettable
techniques that will soon become
your studio’s secret weapon.
by Jillian Hessel • Exercises modeled by Emily Gocke
Garfield with Jillian Hessel
© Copyright 2012 Pilates Style. All rights reserved.
Shot by Rod Foster at The Studio at Padaro Beach; hair and makeup by Katie Vollmer; Jillian’s outfit by ElisabettaRogiani.com; Emily’s top by Prana, bottoms by Lululemon Athletica.
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Anyone who has seen archival films of
Joseph Pilates knows that his approach
to guiding a private session was very
hands-on. Although Joe’s personal style of
teaching looks rather rough on film, the fact
is, hands-on guidance has always been a
part of learning and teaching Pilates, dance,
yoga, gymnastics and just about any other
form of movement training you can think of.
I learned to teach Pilates while
apprenticing with Carola Trier in New York
City from 1981 to 1982. Carola was the first
person trained by Joseph Pilates to open
a studio with his blessing. Her teaching
style was extremely specific, and she was
a hard taskmaster. She was also a certified
massage therapist, so she naturally elevated
her hands-on style to a fine art. She liked to
call her guided exercises “candy,” and she
drilled her apprentices endlessly on how to
impart resistance, pressure and guidance
to clients—without injuring our own bodies.
Carola was a great businesswoman:
Everyone knows how addicting candy can
be, and her hands felt SO good that her
special touch kept clients coming back for
more, for years and years!
Hands-on techniques can help to
stimulate or inhibit a specific muscle group
to fire. They can also help to impart an
organic rhythm (along with the breath)
as to how the dynamic of an exercise is
performed. Inspired and knowledgeable
hands-on guidance can enhance the
execution of an exercise, gently leading
our students to a deeper place of physical
understanding and performance, which they
would not otherwise achieve on their own.
With the popularity of Pilates group
classes, and the current emphasis on
new equipment design and continuing
education, it is imperative that we maintain
hands-on guidance in our teacher’s toolbox.
A great teacher-training program should
include discussion and practice of handson guidance, and in this litigious society,
we need to learn the correct way to touch
and guide clients safely and confidently.
Here are some of the exercises I learned
from Carola, and from my other mentor,
Kathy Grant. Also included are a couple of
self- guided exercises that can be done in a
group setting. Enjoy the candy! PS
MAT
Rib Cage Breathing
Prop: none
Purpose: trains the student how to perform posterior/lateral
breathing and avoid “vertical” breathing (raising the shoulders) on
the inhale; employs deep, lower abs to scoop on exhale
Setup
Student: Seated and rounded over in spinal flexion; elbows
resting on the thighs for support.
Teacher: Stretch the palms and fingers of both hands as long as possible,
then place on the posterior/lateral portion of the student’s rib cage.
1. Monitor the student’s breathing.
2. Give the student feedback to open the ribs and expand posteriorly/laterally
as he or she inhales through the nose.
3. Cue the student to use the transverse abs, intercostals and obliques to fully
empty the lungs on the exhale through the mouth.
Teacher Tips:
• If the student is “hiking” the upper trapezius and extending the cervical spine
on the inhale, place your hands on the upper shoulders to monitor this.
• Hint for a group class: Instruct students to wrap a wide exercise band
around their rib cage, tying a knot in front, then have them round over to
open the sides and back of the ribs (as shown here). The band will give
feedback in a similar fashion as the hands. If no bands are available, pair
off students, and guide them to monitor one another. This works well if you
are training teachers.
Want more teaching insights from Jillian and her teachers? Don’t miss her
outstanding new DVDs, both historical gems, Learning from Two Masters (live
footage of Jillian teaching a workshop) and Carola Shares (footage of Trier from
a 1989 workshop), both available for $44.95 at www.jillianhessel.com. Or, catch
Jillian in the flesh at her upcoming workshops at Inner Idea in La Jolla, CA, on
October 26, and at the PMA Conference in Las Vegas on November 9 (she’ll be
co-presenting with Deborah Lessen on Carola Trier’s Legacy).
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Breathing 100s
Prop: none
Purpose: teacher assists student in performing a
breathing exercise, accessing the upper abs for flexion
of the upper body (rather than the neck flexors) by
providing manual support of the head and neck; helps
to cue the transverse abs to fire on the exhale; monitors
proper leg height to avoid “pooching” of the lower abs
Setup
Student: Lying in Breathing 100s position.
Teacher: Kneel alongside the student, and place one hand
or forearm under the student’s upper back, reaching all the way
to the base of the shoulder blades so the student’s head rests
comfortably in the crook of your elbow. Place your other hand on
the student’s lower abdomen.
1. Cue and monitor breathing, making sure the student inflates
the lungs posteriorly/laterally on the inhale while keeping the
neck relaxed.
2. Have the student lower the extended legs just to the point of
control and contract the abs forcefully on the first count of the
exhale.
Teacher Tips:
• Don’t forget to remind the student to engage the lats—NOT the pecs and upper traps—during rhythmic arm beats. Avoid
locked elbows, as this will disengage the lats!
Roll-Up
Prop: Roll-Up Bar
4. Have the student inhale to roll to the back of the shoulder
Purpose: enhances the student’s understanding
blades, exhaling slowly to return the upper body and head back
to the starting position. On the final rep, kneel or squat behind
the student’s head, holding onto the Bar and give them a final
stretch.
and execution of the exercise by providing manual
resistance/stretch at the top and bottom of the exercise
Setup
Student: Lying while holding the Roll-Up Bar in an
overhead position. Never allow the Bar to touch the
floor—keep a “window frame” around the head, with the
lats engaged so the shoulders don’t hike up.
Teacher: Standing near the student.
1. Have the student inhale and float the Bar to the ceiling, then
exhale, raising the head to look through the “window.”
2. The student should continue exhaling to form a perfect
C shape in forward flexion, with the shoulders placed in vertical
alignment over the hips.
3. Kneel or squat in front of the student’s legs, holding onto the
Bar, and provide resistance.
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september • october 2012
Teacher Tips:
• Use your core center to resist against the student’s core, and
make sure you maintain proper body alignment as you provide
resistance. It’s a workout for you too!
• Cue student to: engage the lats and drop the shoulders down
away from the ears; contract the abs to open up the sacrum
and back of the ribs; and to maintain the “window frame”
throughout without hiking the shoulders.
• Upon completion of the final repetition, have the student lie in
the starting position with the lats engaged. Cue straight legs
pressed together with flexed feet, and a posterior tilt of the
pelvis with the glutes “wrapped.”
Self-Guided Pelvic Press with Threshold Breathing
This exercise helps teach the teacher—you’re the student this time.
Prop: none
Purpose: teaches how to articulate one vertebra at
a time, either rolling up or down through the spine
while using manual feedback, as well as how to move
only on the exhale in small increments; develops
superior spinal articulation
Setup: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet
hip-width apart. Place the thumb of one hand directly
above your pubic bone on your low belly.
1. Inhale to prepare.
free hand under your pelvis, mirroring your back thumb to
your front. Pause as you inhale.
3. Exhale as you articulate one vertebra up. Pause to replace
your thumbs, moving them up one more vertebra. Repeat
until you arrive in full Bridge, then reverse the process to
return to the starting position.
Tip: Once you have trained yourself to move slowly with
maximum spinal articulation, try performing this exercise
more quickly, peeling up on one full exhale and peeling down
on one inhale.
2. Exhale as you scoop your abs and posteriorly tilt your
pelvis, peeling your spine off the mat from your tailbone
sequentially. As soon as you can, insert the thumb of your Self-Guided Teaser
This exercise helps teach the teacher—you’re the student this time.
Prop: none
Purpose: teaches how to initiate a lower-body
Teaser using the deepest abdominals—not the hip
flexors
Setup: In a seated position, spread the fingers of
both of your hands (as in Rib Cage Breathing), and
place the backs of your hands under your sacrum
to cushion the sacroiliac area. Lean back onto your
hands, placing your elbows and forearms on the mat and
bending your knees, toes barely grazing the floor.
1. Inhale as you extend your legs out into a Teaser position.
2. Exhale as you posteriorly tilt your pelvis (you should feel
slight pressure on the backs of your hands) to move your legs
closer to your body.
3. Inhale as you lower your legs back to a Teaser position. Do
2 sets of 10 reps with a rest in between.
Tip: Keep the movements small—your legs should only move
a few inches up and down due to the posterior tilt of the pelvis
on the exhale, which causes the legs to lift higher. Your legs
will lower on the inhale as you release the posterior tilt.
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REFORMER
Single Footwork/Relevé-Plié
Spring Setting:
2. Change the grip of your hand
depends on client’s size,
proportions and strength
that is supporting the arch to
the heel of the student’s foot,
reaching under the bar to do
so, and pull the heel as the
student pliés (against your active
resistance) to return the carriage
home. Do 3 repetitions.
Prop: none
Purpose: teacher
assists the student in
achieving maximum
articulation of the foot
to facilitate walking, running,
dancing, balancing, etc.
Setup
Student: Lying on the
Reformer with the metatarsals
and toes of one foot placed on
the footbar (either in parallel
or turned out), directly under
the hip of the working leg. The
non-working leg may be flexed
at the knee (easier position), or
extended straight over the top of
the footbar.
Teacher: Have the student
roll up onto the highest point of
the metatarsals, and then brace
across the forefoot with one of
your hands. Reach over the footbar with your opposite hand to
support the underside of the arch.
1. Hold onto the foot as the
student extends the carriage
out. Once the student has fully
extended the knee, instruct him
or her to lower the heel of the
working foot down under the bar.
Carola’s Double-Leg
Stretch Teaser
Carola did not have much space to teach mat.
She combined Double-Leg Stretch, Teaser and
Rolling into this spectacular combo on the Long
Box. It is beautiful to watch, and tremendously
satisfying to master!
Spring Setting: All springs should
be fastened to stabilize the carriage, as
this is really a matwork combo exercise
transferred to the Long Box
3. Reverse the sequence, holding
the heel under the bar as the knee
extends, cueing the student to
rise to a forced-arch relevé with
a fully extended knee. Change
your hand position to above the
bar, and support the underside of
the arch to plié in high relevé to
return the carriage home. Repeat
on the other foot.
Teacher Tips:
• Make sure to remind the
student to track the kneecap of
the working leg directly over the
center of the foot on the plié.
• Make sure that the student is
“wrapped” at the top of the
glutes, and is using the core
center to rise to relevé—the
heel should not pop up to the
toes from the ankle and foot,
but rise slowly from the entire
body, lifting up and away.
Prop: Long Box
Purpose: the teacher assists and
spots this exercise until the student
can confidently perform it solo; teaches
coordination and body-breath control.
Setup
Student: Lying on the Long Box, with the
wing tips of the scapulæ over the edge of the
top of the Box, holding onto the outer ankles.
Lift the upper body into a ball shape, as in
Rolling. Exhale all air out before you begin.
Teacher: Cradle your student like a baby,
supporting the upper body with one hand, and
holding the lower legs with your other hand.
1. Guide the student as he or she inhales to
extend the arms and legs out to a Mini Teaser,
hooking one thumb into the other, as you hold
the student’s lower legs with your other hand.
2. Stabilize the legs as the student sustains
the inhale, rolling backward until the arms are
extended straight overhead with the upper body
leaning into the well of the Reformer.
3. Still holding the inhale, have the student
circle the arms open to the sides.
4. Continue to spot as the student exhales
forcefully as the arms pass shoulder level,
moving dynamically to arrive in Teaser position.
5. Cradle the student again on the next inhale,
as he or she folds into the top position of
Rolling, then exhales to control the roll down to
the starting position.
Teacher Tips:
• Make sure the student is okay with their head
going upside down and knows how to balance
in Teaser before you give them this exercise.
• Provide security when the student arches back
into the Reformer well by holding onto the
lower legs; this will prevent the student from
falling backward.
• As the student gains confidence, back off on
the spotting, and let them do it on their own;
applause is optional, but appreciated!
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september • october 2012
Gear Guide
Balanced Body Wall Tower (used as a mat) and 32” Maple Dowel ($1,395 and $19, respectively; www.pilates.com)
Balanced Body Ultra Fit Circle ($34, www.pilates.com)
Balanced Body Studio Reformer and Standard Sitting Box ($3,295 and $175, respectively; www.pilates.com)
Balanced Body Pilates Trapeze Table ($3,694; www.pilates.com)
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CADILLAC
Sit-Up Combo
Spring Setting: 1 or 2 on the Push-Through Bar
4. The student inhales, squeezing a Magic Circle and rolling
Prop: Magic Circle
up to Bridge. The student exhales and returns to starting
position.
Purpose: trains the upper body to open and
stabilize the shoulder girdle as the arms push and
pull on the springs; articulates and lengthens the
spine; provides extra massage and resistance
Setup
Student: Lying supine at Tower end, an arm’s length from
the top of the bed, with a Magic Circle between the knees.
Arms are extended and holding the Push-Through Bar,
hands directly over the shoulders and scapulæ riding flat
against the back of the ribs.
1. Have the student inhale, bending the elbows out to the
position, then exhales to return, one vertebra at a time, to
the starting position. Repeat entire sequence 3 times.
6. After first and last rep, climb onto the back of the table to
massage the student’s upper back with your feet.
Teacher Tips:
• Throughout the entire exercise, cue scapular stabilization,
closing the front of the ribs, and spinal segmentation,
including the head, neck and shoulders.
2. Then, the student should exhale, passing the Bar
• Test the student’s upper-body strength before adding
2 springs—you may have to assist on the Push-Through
Bar sequence.
overhead, as you lunge to assist the overhead stretch: Place
one hand just above the hip socket and one on the bar, and
press them apart.
• Make sure to caution the student to hold the Bar firmly
until you say they can release it; if they release it too soon,
it can be dangerous for you.
sides and maintaining the integrity of the ribs and shoulders.
3. The student should return to the starting position on the
next cycle of breathing.
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5. The student inhales as he or she rolls up to a seated
september • october 2012
Tower
Spring Setting: 1 placed
from the bottom of Tower end
Prop: none
Purpose: opens up the
hips and lower-back area;
strengthens the core
stabilizers and hamstrings/
glutes area; trains sequential
movement of the spine against
resistance
Setup
Student: The student is lying an
arm’s length from the top of the bed
while holding onto the poles with
straight arms. Feet are in Pilates
stance on the Push-Through Bar,
knees open in Frog position.
Teacher: Begin standing to the side
of the student.
1. On an inhale, the student rotates the
feet to parallel and hip-width apart,
wrapping the toes around the Bar.
2. On the exhale, as you guide their
body, the student initiates the roll up
from the tailbone with a posterior
pelvic tilt into shoulder stand. Once
in shoulder stand, stabilize the pelvic
area by placing your hands on the
front and back of the torso.
3. On an inhale, the student bends the
knees as you cue pelvic stability.
4. On the exhale, the student
straightens the knees. Perform 3 knee
bends with this breathing pattern.
5. The student should inhale at the top
of the move, then exhale to roll down
vertebra by vertebra, as you guide
them sequentially.
6. The student should bend the knees,
returning to the setup position, and
reach the tailbone down toward the
mat. The student should breathe, relax
and repeat the full sequence 2 more
times.
7. Provide a hip stretch with the heels of your hands on the base of the thighs to finish.
Teacher Tips:
• Don’t allow the student to change the foot position to high relevé during the
inverted knee bends—the knee extension should be initiated from the hamstrings
and glutes, not the feet!
• Notice the position of the teacher during the final hip stretch: the shoulders are
aligned over the hands and the hips over the knees to provide better leverage.
• Historical note: Carola Trier used to stand on her students to provide this stretch,
as she was only 5’1”! She supported herself by holding onto the Cadillac bars at
the top.
For two bonus moves from Jillian, check out our upcoming e-newsletter. Sign up for free at www.pilatesstyle.com.
Jillian Hessel, a former ballet dancer, has been teaching Pilates for more than 30 years. Her mentors include Kathy Grant, Carola Trier and Ron Fletcher.
Among Pilates aficionados, she is nicknamed “the teachers’ teacher,” and is known for her concise verbal instruction and clear imagery. She is the author
of Pilates Basics (Gaiam Americas, 2003) and has been featured in several Pilates exercise videos produced by Gaiam International, as well as in many
self-produced DVDs for Pilates teachers. For more information, visit www.jillianhessel.com, or send an email to [email protected].
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