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Pilates for Youth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!Amy Lewandowski Ridgeway!

CTTC 2014!Whitefish, MT!

September 17, 2015!!!!!

! While the topic of children’s health is hardly new, the concerns for the health of

today’s youth and our upcoming generations have certainly heightened in the recent

years. Childhood obesity is at an all time high in the United States and throughout the

world. We've also seen an increase in sports related injuries starting at a young age. In

order to counter these, and many other escalating health problems in children, we not

only must pinpoint the causes behind them, but also pursue relevant and attainable

solutions. !

! Contributing factors of poor health in adolescents include lack of nutrition as well

as varying life styles. On one hand, some children are growing up in a stagnant gaming

world. Technology is taking place of outdoor play and activities for many children.

Working at computers, gaming, spending time hunched over smart phones and devices

can limit physical activity and also have a negative impact on posture and spinal

alignment which, in turn, will likely create a whole new gamut of problems. The opposite

extreme of this lifestyle is active children heavily involved in sports. Kids are starting to

choose and specialize in one sport at a very early age sometimes missing the

opportunity for well rounded strength. !

! With the increase of childhood obesity, stagnant lifestyles, as well athletic

specialization in youth, it seems education for proper posture, spinal health and

muscular balance should be a priority. Education in nutrition is, of course, crucial and

should never take a back seat to any exercise program. In regard to physical fitness,

however, I believe Pilates for youth would be a great fit for a health enhancement

program in our education system. The practice of Pilates is not only used as an

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important type of strength training in adults, it is also a successful form of physical

therapy used to correct muscle imbalance as well as healing an injury. I chose to

research the proper way to introduce Pilates at an early age so we can train children to

practice correct alignment in their everyday movements. Doing so would

promote lifelong health, body awareness and balance of muscle groups for healthy

spinal alignment decreasing the need for correction later in life.!

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Table of Contents

THE ANATOMY OF A CHILD ................................................................ 6

CASE STUDY ……………………………………………………………7

PILATES PROGRAM FOR CASE STUDY .............................................. 8

GENERAL STUDY…………………………………………………………10

PILATES PROGRAM FOR GENERAL STUDY.................................... 11

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 13

Bibliography ................................................................................................ 14

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Pilates for children promotes lifelong health, body awareness and balance of muscle groups for healthy spinal alignment eliminating the need for correction later in life. Why not start our youth on the right track?

There are many factors to consider when addressing the decline of health in today’s youth. Lifestyle changes are one of them. Technology is taking place of outdoor play and activities for many children. Working at computers, playing video games, spending time hunched over smart phones and devices can limit activity but also have a negative impact on posture and spinal alignment which, in turn, will likely create a whole new round of problems.

Anatomy of a child: !

In general, a child’s body is similar anatomically to that of an adult. However, what is

more notable when considering the posture, alignment, and skeletal/muscular health of

an adolescent is that children are resilient and have an amazing ability to absorb

information and to train their bodies. The sooner you can help a child create healthy

habits, the better his chances are of sustaining them for life. If we can bring a foundation

of body balance into our youth, we greatly reduce chances of injury during the many

years of youth athletics as well as set them up for a lifetime of healthy and active

lifestyles.

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! I believe in the general rule that an individual’s passions carry into every part of

her life as well as the lives of all her surrounding loved ones. We tend to want to share

what we love with those we love. While I’ve enjoyed Pilates for many years, it is only in

the last two years that I have become completely immersed and passionate about

practicing, teaching, and sharing it with others. As a mother of three with a background

in education, it was only natural to start working with my own children and research how

I may help other kids as well. While a portion of my paper will be focused on my 13 year

old daughter, Luci, I will also outline the programming I used for other children with

whom I’ve worked in the past 12 months. !

! As Luci entered into her preteen years, she struggled a little bit with her body

image and confidence. She also had some knee pain during and after strenuous activity

due to mild lateral deviation of the distal tibia. Her posture suffered. We started

practicing Pilates at home beginning with learning the 10 principals as well as the basics

of spinal alignment so her form would be correct from the start. We worked on

fundamental mat exercises each night repeating and applying the principals within the

block system. We then started to give a little extra attention to strengthening her outer

thighs and hip abductors to help the alignment in her legs and knees. When I felt she

was ready, we moved into the equipment room at the studio. !

! One year later, Luci has transformed into a confident 13 year old, standing tall

and proud. She carries her Pilates practices with her throughout her day. She is a

confident equestrian, a leader on her volleyball and basketball team, and is excited to

join track for the first time this next year. She will be the first to tell you that Pilates has

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dramatically helped her build strength, confidence, and create balance in her muscular

structure. !

A typical equipment program for Luci:!

**SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING

WITH CHILDREN. ALWAYS START OUT USING THE LOWEST AMOUNT OF

RESISTANCE**!

Start with standing roll down x3 !

Warm up on Reformer: all springs attached and client in supine on carriage!

- Pelvic curl, Spine Twist supine, Chest lift, Chest lift with rotation!

Foot work on Reformer: 2 1/2 springs as a beginner (emphasis on keeping knees

aligned with toes, may use ball between knees to assist)!

- Parallel heels, Parallel toes, Open V heels, Open V toes, Calf Raises, Prances,

Prehensile, Single leg heels, Single leg toes!

Ab Work on Reformer: !

- Hundred Prep, Hundred, Reverse Knee Stretch (full body integration)!

Hip Work on Avalon:!

- Frog, Circles down/up, Openings!

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Spinal Articulation on Avalon Chair:!

- Pelvic Curl (added shoulder bridge prep and later shoulder bridge to further strengthen

hip extensors) !

Stretches on Ladder Barrel of the Avalon Chair: !

- Adductors, Hip flexors!

Arm Work on Wunda Chair:!

- Shrugs, Tricep press sit, Side kneeling arm!

Leg Work on Wunda Chair:!

- Leg press standing, Backward step down (using handles for balance and support on

medium springs), Hamstring curl!

Lateral Flexion Rotation: !

- Side kneeling stretch!

Back Extension!

- Basic swan!

Finish program with Standing Roll Down x3!

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In addition to working with individual children like Luci,

I was asked to bring a mat class series into a local

high school health enhancement program. I also had

the pleasure of teaching a series of week long

summer camps for younger children. We offered a

Pilates mat class camp for children ages 8-12 and a

Pilates group reformer camp for children ages 13-16.

The owner and director of our studio wrote the

guidelines for the camps. Her vision included keeping

the program fun and positive as well as catering to the level of fitness and ability of each

child. We agreed to keep the groups small so we could give individual attention to form

for safety. We created teamwork activities often using fun props and always

incorporating the block system. We played games that coincided with the specific

principles we discussed that day. Each camp was five days long so we were able to

introduce two of the ten principles each day and then review all that we had learned at

the beginning of each class. We had open

discussion on general health as well as

individual goals. The boys and girls in

these camps were all very motivated to

use Pilates as a strengthening tool for their

activities such as baseball, hockey,

gymnastics, dance, and soccer. They used

what they had learned to apply the principles to their daily lives in order to reach their !!�10

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goals. One ten year old boy asked me what exercises he could add to his program to

become a stronger pitcher on his baseball team. We added extra abdominal work and

back extensions for core strength, shoulder strength and mobilization, as well as hip

extensor/flexor focus. !

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An example of day one of a five day mat class camp program for ages 8-12:!

Principles to introduce: Awareness and Balance !

Props: Blindfolds, BOSU balls, playground balls, little plastic bugs, and a wooden segmented toy snake !

Begin by discussing the history of Pilates and giving short background on Joseph Pilates. Explain the fact that they will learn 10 principles and introduce the first two (2 per day) and the importance of and meaning behind them. Next, play a game where we stand on the BOSU, touch a finger to various parts of our bodies: head, shoulders, knees and toes. Then do the same blindfolded while discussing body awareness which will also take us right into balance. We partner up and, standing on the BOSU, toss the playground ball back and forth between partners trying not to fall off. Challenge each other by throwing a little high, low, or to the side. We also discussed another meaning of balance regarding balancing each of our muscle groups and how that applies to spinal health and alignment. !

!Foundation: (After starting with three standing roll downs) !

- Pelvic curl prep (introduce neutral spine, using the small plastic bug under lower back

and tilt from neutral to imprint spine, squishing the bug), Chest lift, Chest lift with

rotation.! !!�11

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Ab Work: !

- Hundred Prep, Double Leg Stretch, Roll up!

Spinal Articulation: (demonstrate first using the

segmented wooden toy snake) !

- Pelvic curl, Spine stretch!

Bridging: (with hips on BOSU ball and shoulders

on mat) !

- Scissors, Bicycle !

Lateral Flexion/Rotation: (with side on

BOSU ball and hand behind head) !

- Side kick kneeling!

Back Extension: (on BOSU) !

- Swimming !

Push back into resting position, breathe here for a moment, then tuck toes under and straighten legs, pushing into mat with hands and slowly roll up to standing, one vertebrae at a time, reminding them of the segmented wooden toy snake. End with three roll downs. !

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! By the end of each week long camp with these groups of children, they were able

to fully understand the principles of Pilates and apply them to each exercise when

asked. Whether I’m working with one child individually, teaching a group of 25 high

school students, or creating a program for youth camps, my conclusion is always the

same. The practice of Pilates for people of all ages is extremely beneficial for mind,

body, and soul. Starting at a young age with any health regimen is only going to create

and encourage healthy habits. One of the most beautiful pieces to this practice is that

these children are not only learning how to use Pilates principles to take care of their

bodies, they are learning how to apply them to living life. It is important in society to be

aware of ourselves, of others, and of our surroundings. We also must find balance

between the many things pulling us in all directions. It is important to learn to breathe

through all the ups and downs we experience. We teach the children to concentrate on

things that matter, learn to control not only our bodies, but also our emotions, actions,

and reactions. They learn to find their physical center, as well as prioritize the figurative

centers of their worlds. Our activities teaching efficiency and precision show them how

to manage their time and go through life with intent. In class, we imagined ourselves as

individual particles of water who still must learn to go with the flow of the river. All of this

together creates a beautiful harmony that will surely benefit each child as he or she

grows into a well balanced and healthy adult.!

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Bibliography: !

!http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3005642/!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953286/ !

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/!

http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/nov09/clinical8.asp!

!Isacowitz, R. (2000-2012). BASI Mat Movement Analysis Workbook. Body!

Arts & Sciences International.!

!Isacowitz, R. (2000-2012). BASI Reformer Movement Analysis Workbook.!

Body Arts & Sciences International.!

!Isacowitz, R. (2000-2012). BASI Study Guide. Body Arts & Sciences International.!

!Buckmaster, Delia. (2015) Mission for Pilates for Children - Camp Series. !

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