This past October I was invited to fly out to L.A. and audition to become a POP Pilates®Master Trainer. I was so excited to meet Cassey Ho, who is the creator of POP Pilates® and Blogilates. It was an amazing weekend full of learning and sweating, and at the end of it, I was thrilled to be offered a spot on the team.

POP Pilates® is a Pilates-inspired dance fitness class that fuses ab-chiseling and total body defining moves choreographed to upbeat pop songs. This intense, mat-based workout challenges students to rhythmically flow from one exercise to the next, developing a rock solid core while leaving no muscle untouched. Most POP Pilates® moves originate from classical mat Pilates and share the fundamentals of breathing and core engagement. The difference is in the class design, the relationship with music, and the sequencing and reps. We like to say that the class is like a “dance on the mat,” and while the movements are challenging your body, the flow of the class is challenging your brain and strengthening your coordination skills. And my favorite aspect of POP Pilates® is the inclusive nature of the class, with options to modify and progress most movements to make them an appropriate challenge for all fitness levels.

As a POP Pilates® Master Trainer, my job is to travel across the country to lead day-long instructor certification classes. Each one starts with a POP Pilates® Master Class, and then we dive deep into the structure of the class, how to work with music, and teaching techniques. Typically only about half of my students getting certified have ever taught a fitness class before, and that creates an incredible learning environment for both new and seasoned instructors. Experienced instructors are amazing resources for the beginners, and the beginners bring a fresh perspective and energy that is so inspiring. And the incredible part about teaching POP Pilates® is the community of teachers there to answer questions, give advice, and offer support and encouragement to one another. I stay in touch with many of my certification students, and it’s so exciting to see them now taking on permanent classes in their hometowns. One of my students is taking her teaching to the next level and is actually in the process of opening her own studio!

On Sunday, March 18th MINT will be hosting a POP Pilates Instructor Certification class from 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM at the Downtown studio. I’m so excited to lead a training here in DC, and I’m looking forward to bringing more amazing POP Pilates® instructors to our area. If you or someone you know is interested in teaching fitness, I encourage you to sign up for the training here.

And if you’ve never tried POP Pilates®, I’d love to see you in class on Wednesdays at 9:30 AM and Sundays at 2:35 PM in the main Mind Body studio at MINT Dupont!

If you have questions about the class or the certification training, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at kathryn@mintdc.com

Why do I keep getting the same injuries when I run? – Part 1

Are you frustrated with constantly dealing with same running injuries over and over again? Are you tired of thinking you have recovered only to have the same injury come back several months later? Read on to find out why you are dealing with repetitive injuries.

A wise man once said “running reveals weakness and if you run enough, injury is not too far away.” When you run, you experience 2-3 times the force of your own bodyweight!.. with every step! Over the course of a run you experience an extreme amount of force through your joints which can lead to injury.

What if you could get to the underlying cause of your injuries that keep plaguing you and keep you from doing what you love? What if you knew exactly what to do to prepare for your upcoming 5K,10K, or even half marathon?

Research has shown that up to 80% of runners will experience some injury during their running lives.

The most common injury they will experience is knee pain. The knee is a simple hinge joint that is wedged between your hip and your foot, and the reality is that your knee is usually not to blame!!

Knee pain is usually either a result of poor hip control or over-pronation issues. Pronation is a natural motion of the foot that happens when your foot contacts the ground and your arch goes inward. Over-pronation is when your arch collapses too
much, placing increased stress on all the joints above.

In Part 2 of this blog post (stay tuned next week – March 3, 2018) we will discuss about what to do about your over-pronation issues. The first joint above the foot/ankle just happens to be your knee, and often takes the brunt of any issues in the foot.

Poor hip control and hip muscle weakness is another common problem that leads to increased stress on your knee, and we will explain more about how to avoid this issue in Part 3 of this blog post ( stay tuned week of – March 11, 2018)

So to answer the question in the title of this blog post: if you continually get the same injury as you ramp up your mileage, then rest and/or whatever “treatment” you’ve had to solve the problem is not removing all the underlying causes of the injury.

In today’s unfortunate healthcare world, clinicians are often forced to see many more patients per day than they should. If a patient has knee pain, they only have time to look at the knee … but as you’ll see in the next two articles, this will often lead to missing the whole story, and therefore failing to address why you keep getting the same running injuries over and over again. If you need help, Call my office at once at (202) 670-8874 or visit me at the Mint Health Club to schedule your 30 minute consultation to see how Physical Therapy can help. Don’t delay–schedule now so we can assess your specific issue and get you fit and injury-free for the Rock N Roll Marathon on March 10, 2018.

Pigeon pose is the king of all hip openers, one of the most versatile and potent poses to address tension and improve range of motion in the hips and lower body. It is a fantastic pose to dive into more deeply if you are a regular yoga practitioner—it is likely already a part of your practice in some form. But pigeon is also a great tool to incorporate into your routine more generally as a way to release and lengthen after running, cycling, or other types of exercise. It is also an essential counter-pose for all of us who sit for long hours during the day. However, pigeon is a complex pose that requires poses to open and prepare the body, to ensure that the knees, hips and low back are safe as you explore this deep stretch.

If you’ve never done pigeon before or if you have restricted movement in your hips or sacrum, or any knee injuries, start with the reclined version of pigeon pose on your back. To begin, lay on your back with knees bent, feet hip-width distance apart. Cross your right ankle over your left thigh, above the knee. Actively flex both feet then you can begin to draw your left knee towards your chest, threading your hands behind the left thigh. Make sure you continue to flex your right foot strongly to protect the knee joint and then gently press the right knee away from you to deepen the stretch in the outer right hip. Keep your head and shoulders releasing down to the mat to avoid creating tension in the neck. Do the other side.

When you’re ready to come into the full version of pigeon pose, start from table or downward facing dog. Bring your right knee forward to land slightly behind and to the right of your right wrist. Your shin can be diagonal or can come more parallel to the front of the mat depending on your flexibility. Engage the right foot to protect the knee joint. Then make sure your back leg is neutral, left outer thigh and outer hip rolling down into the mat. Actively lengthen the back leg down into the mat and lengthen up and out of the floor to elongate the left hip flexor and psoas muscles. If there is space between your right hip and the floor, place a block or folded blanket there for support. Breathe in the upright shape or begin to fold forward onto hands or forearms or rest onto a block in front of your front shin. Explore the other side—particularly with hip openers, you may find that the experience on one side of the body is different than the other.

In pigeon, as with all yoga poses, if you feel any pain or discomfort in your joints, back off and try a different variation. You may feel some intense sensation in this pose—make sure to keep breathing deeply!

Benefits of pigeon pose: Increases range of motion in hips, lengthens hip flexors, prepares body for backbends and seated poses, can reduce lower back pain associated with hip tension. Good counter pose for runners and cyclists as well as desk warriors—start with the reclined version if you haven’t practiced this pose before!
Contraindications: knee injury, sacrum instability or lower back injury.

We will be exploring variations on pigeon pose all month in our yoga classes. If you have questions or would like to dive deeper into your pigeon practice, talk to any of our MINT yoga instructors!

By: Kristin Adair

Ready to go for MINT gold? All February, join in the MINT-lympic fun by training across every event! Members and class goers will strive to attend as many classes across each genre (barre, cycle, dance, intensity and yoga), and at the end of the month, prizes will be given to the top three participants who attended the most classes across ALL of the genres! The more varied your workouts, the higher your medal count!

Get outside your comfort zone, cross train, learn a new skill…and get yourself on that MINT medal podium! Register here

Join us at either 9am or 6:15pm for special MINT Cycle rides. Piper will be riding along to an upbeat mix of songs, all inspired by or related to MLK’s legacy. .

Sign up