Author: RuthJoM

New classes after the autumn break

From the 22nd of October onwards, I will be teaching three new Pilates classes.

Pilates matwork for beginners (without previous knowledge) in Volksdorf

Monday, 28.October – 16.December · 7:45pm · 8 weeks

Introduction to the Pilates matwork training with a special focus on breathing, balance and precision

Bookings about Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban

Fascia Pilates in Farmsen

Wednesday, October 23 – December 18 · 5:00 – 6:30 pm ・9 weeks

In Fascia-Pilates I am not only working with breathing, precision, centering and control like in any Pilates class. By adding turning, jumping, bouncing and stretching exercises, I also focus on the stretching and mobilisation of the fascia and its elasticity.

Bookings at Volkshochschule Hamburg

Prenatal Pilates in Altona

Thursday, starts from 24th of October at 5:30pm

Pilates as a holistic training method allows a safe and soothing workout during pregnancy.

•     Deep breathing
•     mobilisation of the spine
•     better balance
•     more stability, mobility and flexibility
•     an improved posture
•     and stronger arm and leg muscles

are part and goal of my prenatal Pilates course. Stretching the whole body relieves tension, and the additional mobilisation of the shoulder girdle and spine helps to prevent and treat neck and back pain. Keeping the body agile during pregnancy while strengthening the arm and leg muscles will help you to carry the increased weight during pregnancy and the baby afterwards. Pilates training during pregnancy will prepare your body for the time after birth and will help it to regain its shape.

Bookings at ElbPilates

New Classes from August onwards

From August onwards I will be teaching new Pilates classes in Volksdorf and in Farmsen.

At Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban in Volksdorf I will be teaching two new classes.

Pilates matwork for Intermediate level

Monday, 12th of August – 16th of December · 6:40 pm · 16 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the transitions.

In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will understand the Pilates matwork as a flowing, continuous movement and will integrate more advanced exercises.

Pilates matwork Over60 and Beginners

Thursday, 15th of August – 19th of December · 10:15am · 16 weeks

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for mind, body and spirit.

And of course I will continue teaching the following course:

Pilates matwork Over60 and Beginners

Monday, 12th August – 16th December · 10:15 am · 16 weeks

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for mind, body and spirit.

The courses will not take place during the Hamburg October school holidays and the week before.

All bookings please at Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban. For more info please contact also the studio or me.

In addition, I will be teaching in the Volkshochschule (community college) Farmsen from 21 August

Fascia Pilates

Wednesday, 21st Agust – 25th September ・6 weeks

In Fascia Pilates I will not only be working with breath, precision, centering and control like in any Pilates class. By turning, jumping, bouncing and stretching exercises, I also focus on stretching and mobilising the fascia and improving its elasticity.

Bookings directly at Volkshochschule Hamburg

The Wednesday-evening Pilates Mat class in Bergstedt continues at the usual time and place.

Pilates matwork for beginners

Wednesday, 14th of August ・ 7:30 pm ・continuous

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training beginners with and without previous knowledge. I put special focus on body awareness and balance, mobilisation of the spine and all joints and precision and control in the execution of each exercise – the ideal training for mind, body and spirit.

The course is ongoing and beginners are always welcome. Bookings with me

New Classes from May onwards

From May onwards I will be teaching new Pilates classes at Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban in Volksdorf.

Pilates matwork Over60 and Beginners

Monday, 29th April – 15th July · 10:15 am · 10 weeks

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for mind, body and spirit.

Pilates matwork for Beginners (with basic knowledge)

Monday, 29th of April – 15th of July · 5:30pm · 10 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the six Pilates principles: breathing, centering, precision, concentration, control and flowing movement.

This course is a sequel of the Basic course running since January. We will deepen what we have learned and add new exercises.

Pilates matwork for Intermediate level

Monday, 29th of April – 15th of July · 6:40 pm · 10 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the transitions.

In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will understand the Pilates matwork as a flowing, continuous movement and will integrate more advanced exercises.

Pilates matwork for Intermediate level

Friday, 26th of April – 21st of June or 12th of July · 6:40 pm · 8 or 11 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the transitions.

In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will understand the Pilates matwork as a flowing, continuous movement and will integrate more advanced exercises.

The courses will not take place during the Hamburg May school holidays and Whit Monday.

The Intermediate course on Friday can be booked in two variants: 8 weeks or 11 weeks

All bookings please at Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban. For more info please contact also the studio or me.

Ease & Harmony

‘When all your muscles are properly developed you will, as a matter of course, perform your work with minimum effort and maximum pleasure’ wrote Pilates in his book ‘Return to Life Through Contrology’.

I consider this as an essential statement on the essence of the Pilates method.

Pilates is known as a muscle building and muscles strengthening training method. And not a few people start the Pilates exercises, because they have problems with too weak (usually back) muscles.

And most of the Pilates apparatus, which often seem to a lot of new students, who have not seen and used them before, like torture devices, are reminiscent of gyms and their muscle-strengthening workouts.

But building a strong muscular system alone does not create a strong body. It needs much more the holistic strengthening of all muscles, especially the so-called intrinsic muscles.

The training on the Pilates equipment, in particular, causes the muscles to be strengthened, but not shortened, as can often happen when training with weights. And through the many different exercises that strengthen the balance, the inner muscles are stimulated too.

The term ‘powerhouse’, synonymous with the body center, can be understood as pure muscle center, showing its strength in form of a six-pack. Much better fits in my understanding, however, the ‘powerhouse’ as a center in which the power lives, and extends outwards. This is what the Pilates principle ‘centering’ describes: from the center to the limbs and vice versa, i.e. the connection of the extremities to the middle of the body.

The goal is a strong body that allows movement. From the strength of the body center to the mobility of the extremities, from stability to agility, from the power inside to lightness outside, from strength to ease. This is in my opinion what Joseph Pilates described as minimum effort and maximum pleasure.

Or as my very first Pilates teacher Vesna Matthies always said, ‘If it’s not looking beautiful, it’s wrong.’

New classes from April 2019

The 10-week Pilates classes at Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban in Volksdorf will end in mid-April.

There will be new and more courses from 29th of April onwards:

Pilates matwork Over60 and Beginners

Monday, 29th April – 15th July · 10:15 am · 10 weeks

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for mind, body and spirit.

Pilates matwork for Beginners (with basic knowledge)

Monday, 29th of April – 15th of July · 5:30pm · 10 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the six Pilates principles: breathing, centering, precision, concentration, control and flowing movement.

This course is a sequel of the Basic course running since January. We will deepen what we have learned and add new exercises.

Pilates matwork for Intermediate level

Monday, 29th of April – 15th of July · 6:40 pm · 10 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the transitions.

In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will understand the Pilates matwork as a flowing, continuous movement and will integrate more advanced exercises.

Pilates matwork Basic course

Friday, 26th of April – 12th of July · 5:30 pm · 11 weeks

This basic course is an introduction to the Pilates method and is particularly suitable for beginners with no previous Pilates knowledge, who would like to get to know the Pilates training.

The special focus is on the first four of the six Pilates principles: breathing, centering, concentration and precision.

At the end of the course, the basics for a continuing Beginner course are laid.

Pilates matwork for Intermediate level

Friday, 26th of April – 21st of June or 12th of July · 6:40 pm · 8 or 11 weeks

One-hour Pilates matwork with a special focus on the transitions.

In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will understand the Pilates matwork as a flowing, continuous movement and will integrate more advanced exercises.

The courses will not take place during the Hamburg May school holidays and Whit Monday.

The Intermediate course on Friday can be booked in two variants: 8 weeks or 11 weeks

All bookings please at Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban. For more info please contact also the studio or me.

Holiday program

The March school holidays are around the corner. For this reason, in the next two weeks Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban will be hosting a special holiday program.

Because of your numerous requests, I will now offer three instead of the originally planned two courses.

Here is the current holiday program. Please register with Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban or directly with me.

Pilates mat Ü60

Monday, 4th and 11th of March ・ 10:15 Uhr

One hour holistic Pilates matwork training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for body, mind and soul

Pilates mat for beginners

Monday, 4th and 11th of March ・ 17:15 Uhr

One-hour Pilates matwork training with a special focus on the six Pilates principles: breathing, centering, precision, concentration, control and movement flow

Pilates mat for intermediate level

Monday, 4th and 11th of March ・ 18:30 Uhr

One-hour Pilates matwork training with a special focus on the transitions. In the spirit of Joseph Pilates, we will see the matwork exercises as one big movement, staying constantly in the flow of moving.

Above all, learn how to breathe correctly !

Breathing is one of the six so-called Pilates principles:

• breathing
• concentration
• centering
• precision
• control
• flowing movement

And although Joseph Pilates never speaks of the ‘Pilates principles’, he uses and describes these terms in great detail in his two books, “Your Health” (1934) and especially in “Return to Life through Contrology” (1945).

In “Your Health,” he writes in the “Chapter 8: First Educate the Child!”
“Before any real benefit can be derived from physical exercise, one must first learn how to breathe properly – this all-important function requires individual instruction, not only by precept but by example.”

And in “Return to Life Through Contrology,” he writes,
“To breathe correctly you must completely exhale and inhale, always trying very hard to ‘squeeze’ every atom of impure air from your lungs in much the same manner that you would wring every drop of water from a wet cloth. When you stand erect again, the lung will automatically refill itself with fresh air. ”

One page later, “Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our life depends on it. Since we cannot live without breathing it is tragically deplorable to contemplate the millions and millions who have never learned to master the correct breathing. One often wonders how so many millions continue to live as long as they are doing this tremendous handicap to longevity. Lazy breathing converts the lung, figuratively speaking, into a cemetery for the deposition of diseased, dying, and dead germs as well as supplying an ideal haven for the multiplication of other harmful germs. Therefore, above all, learn how to breathe correctly.“

As a Pilates teacher, I often observe that new students and beginners have little awareness of their breathing. Many breathe very shallowly, and if they want to breathe deeply, they often pull up their shoulders when trying to fill their lungs with plenty of air.

Now there are various techniques and tools to mediate ‘correct’ breathing.

• To raise awareness of breathing, put one hand on the chest and the other on the stomach. Watch as the hands raise and lower as you inhale and exhale. Try to breathe deeper, “down into the stomach” – then the “belly” hand should lift more than the “chest” hand.
• To achieve deeper inhaling and to fill the whole lungs with air: breathe in deeply and lift your arms, exhale long and “deep”, lowering your arms and exhaling until no air seems to be left in the lungs to exhale while the upper body automatically is rolling down or bending forward a bit … and then exhale a bit more. The impulse for inhalation comes automatically and intense. The upper body straightens and the lungs fill with air.

When the awareness of deep inhalation and the complete exhalation is awakened, I practice with my students the conscious guidance of the breath. The techniques described above result in deep breathing, but often also cause the front of the body to open very much and the center of the body (the well known Pilates Powerhouse) loses its stability. The following exercises help my students:

• Place a cloth (scarf, towel, etc. or even a Thera © band) around the lower ribcage (make sure that the cloth rests smoothly on the back) and cross over at the front. Hold with both hands and exert a slight pull. The light resistance that the cloth exerts on the inhaling and expanding chest, directs attention to the back of the ribcage, helping to breathe deeply while still holding the front of the midsection stable.
• Cross your arms in front of your chest and put your hands on your shoulder blades – hug yourself, so to speak. Inhaling deeply, you can feel the movement of the upper posterior thorax and the stretch between the shoulder blades.

Since shallow breathing is often accompanied by a bad posture, slightly bent shoulders and a round upper back (and it is arguable what is the cause and what the effect), I observe in all my students after a only few classes a significant improvement not only in breathing, but also in posture.

Therefore, above all, learn how to breathe correctly!

Watch out: Pilates classes during March School Holiday!

You can now sign-in for the holiday classes running in the Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban during the Hamburg March school holidays.

My courses will take place on Monday, March 4th and 11th. Please find below all information about the courses. Registration directly at Studio Elisabeth Urban in Volksdorf.

Holiday program Pilates Matwork Over60

4th and 11th of March

One hour holistic Pilates mats training for seniors and beginners with a special focus on precision, control and balance – the ideal training for body, mind and spirit

Monday, 10:15

Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban • Volksdorf

Holiday program Matwork for Beginners

4th and 11th of March

One hour of Pilates matwork with a special focus on breathing, balance and precision

Monday, 18:30

Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban • Volksdorf

Holiday course: Pilates for Teenagers

during the Hamburg March school holidays

In this holiday course you can get to know the Pilates method: strengthening the muscles, improving the posture and with a special focus on the flow of exercises, it also promotes endurance.

The course only takes place with at least three registrations. It is planned as an intensive course in the afternoon. Depending on your interest it will run:

• either daily for one week or
• three times a week throughout the holiday

Info with me – the course takes place in the Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban ∙ Volksdorf

New classes from January !

Mat Pilates for Over60

starts on 21st January

Monday, 10:15am

Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban • Volksdorf

Mat Pilates for teens

starts on 21st January

Monday, 5:30pm

Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban • Volksdorf

Mat Pilates for beginners

starts on 21st January

Monday, 6:30pm

Pilates Studio Elisabeth Urban • Volksdorf

Mat Pilates for beginners

starts on 23rd January

Wednesday, 7:30pm

Physiotherapie Karlotta Piening • Sasel