[00:00:00] Welcome to Pilates Students' Manual, everything you want to know about Pilates in one place. I'm Olivia, and I'll be your host. Jump in the conversation on Instagram @pilatesstudentsmanual, and be sure to subscribe for updates on new episodes. Let's learn something new together.

Hello, hello everybody. Welcome back. I've got some exciting adventures to share with you today. I am riding the energetic high of Momentum Fest, so I want to tell you a little bit about that adventure, and also why it's important to do things that make you [00:01:00] happy, which I don't know. Maybe that's not Pilates specific, but Pilates is definitely something that makes me happy. So let's talk about how your movement can also be a form of self care. 

Momentum Fest is like a Pilates conference, but it's not quite a Pilates conference. It's almost like a Pilates retreat. The way Momentum Fest kind of frames itself is as a way to remember why you fell in love with movement. It's a three day conference, in which you attend tons of workshops and party and all of this stuff. There's like a big dance party thing that happens as well. Like it's a really fun community gathering. 

It's a big get together in Denver, Colorado. This year, it was not in Denver, Colorado, because no one is going anywhere this year. It did happen virtually. The difference really in this conference is yes, there were a lot of Pilates teachers there, but it's also for students.

The goal is [00:02:00] not for teachers to get their continuing education credits as a result of attending these workshops. It's really just for fun and that's different because most conferences, and definitely conferences I've attended, I've attended them because I needed continuing education credits as a Pilates teacher.

Here, you just get to do things and take classes with great teachers. And there isn't really a pressure to learn something necessarily. You can just experience it and have fun. Are you going to learn things? Obviously. You're taking classes with some of the most incredible teachers imaginable. You just get to be in your body and be a student. As a teacher, that's really valuable. As a student, I mean, that's why you're doing it. 

Even though it's a Pilates focused conference, there's definitely an emphasis on Pilates and all the classes I took had elements of Pilates in it, it's definitely beyond Pilates as well. There were yoga classes, meditation classes, barre classes, Afro funk [00:03:00] dance. It was really a fusion of all things that are good, which I also really loved because sometimes when you go to a Pilates studio, especially if it's a Pilates equipment studio, like you're going to be using the equipment, obviously like that's what you came for, but that may not be the only form of movement that you enjoy.

So it was really nice to take classes with Pilates teachers who were also barre teachers who are also yoga teachers who are also meditators and really see how all of those things can really mesh together. It was ton of fun and just super joyful. Even virtually the community aspect is just really fantastic that you saw people and they're saying, Oh my gosh, I remember you from last year or, Oh, I wish I could give you a big hug. And it was just like a really positive, fun adventure for sure. 

I'm going to tell you a little bit about the classes that I took and really just a little bit, because I was taking five or six classes a day. They're all only an hour long. So that's another difference. If you ever go to like a Pilates conference, like Pilates [00:04:00] on Tour, or like the PMA conference, which you can definitely go to as a student, but those are almost intensives. Those are usually two to three hour workshops, and sometimes you may have an all day workshop that's six to eight hours at one of those conferences. These were all short and sweet one hour sessions. So you really could do a lot in those three days.

 On my first day of classes, which is Friday, I took four movement classes. Oh my gosh. My body is still very, very sore. I took a mat class that was about the curves of the spine and really exploring all the ways that the spine can move. I took a class on posterior chain power and we used resistance bands, and we tied loops at either end of each resistance band so that you could have one on your hand and one on your feet and you could do these really cool stabilizer moves ,and just like posterior chain power. Like, yes, it was posterior chain for days. 

I did a really cool class with Anula [00:05:00] Maiberg that was really exploring movement in weird ways. And that was the title of her class was keeping it weird and not just the traditional Pilates movements, but also just like, how do you move? How do you get from one place to another? And it was creative and fun and really delightful. 

I took a very athletic class with Brooke Tyler. Even though you're doing Pilates. And if you have been like me and you've been at home for several months and you've been doing a ton of mat Pilates, it's so phenomenal that every teacher brings their own thing to the class. So even if you're doing the same classical mat series, the way the teacher's cuing, it is different, their focus might be different that day. So with Brooke Tyler, we were using our arms as sort of a magic circle and using this resistance, like our arms pulling against our legs to get deeper into our C curve spine. It was fantastic. 

I also got to attend three community talk lectures. One on the power of YouTube and [00:06:00] that one's probably more for teachers, about using YouTube to build your brand, and a round table for change, which was incredible, powerful. Pilates instructors of color, sharing their experiences in the wellness field and really showing quite clearly ways that we all need to improve and be more inclusive and create a more welcoming space and make that a priority instead of keeping the status quo.

I did a fantastic meditation class about incorporating meditation into your daily life. And then that's all in one day. That was amazing. 

On Saturday, I got to take classes focusing on the importance of your feet as your foundation and all of your exercises, a class on breathing and using the breath to get deeper into your exercises, a Vinyasa yoga class using resistance bands the same way that posterior chain class did with the loops on your hands and feet. And if you think that Vinyasa yoga is already challenging, [00:07:00] resistance band is just a whole new level of adventures. I got to do an Afro funk dance class, which was so fun. And I can definitely see how that would be even more fun in community, because definitely I knew how silly I was looking by myself, but so fun to move your body in a different way.

I also took a class on Saturday that was fused barre and meditation, which of course those things are going to go great together. Anytime you're moving with control with concentration, that's like a meditation. And so to do this bar Pilates meditation fusion, that was with Jason Williams and it was fantastic. 

And then it's Sunday and your body is exhausted even with- I did soak and foam rolling, all of these things to keep my body happy and moving, but it gets tiring. That's a lot to ask of your body. 

I took a Pilates sculpt class, which I always enjoy because, you know, I teach cardio sculpt classes at Club Pilates, and anytime you can incorporate some new [00:08:00] choreography, some new ways of using hand weights. I really loved that class.

I took a class with Becky Phares about using  imagery to connect with your students more. Again, that one's probably a little bit more teacher focused, but also just cool ways of visualizing your body. If you are a person who benefits from those visualizations, thinking about your pelvis as a steering wheel, or thinking about your spine as a fan, when you're doing a side bend, those things were really useful to really connect that mental component into the action. 

I took a barre class with Tracey Mallett and if you haven't taken a bar class with her, she is phenomenal. I know she has classes on Pilates Anytime. She is so high energy. She is just like a ray of sunshine. And props to her as a teacher, because she had a power outage in the middle of the class. She was teaching and her wifi went out and she came right back and didn't miss a beat props to her, hats off ,because like, as a teacher, that is the worst thing you can imagine happening and she just handled it with grace [00:09:00] and all of the students were super supportive and were there for it. Like, obviously we're doing this entire conference on zoom. Like we're doing the best we can. 

Right. I took a class with Lori Shipp, where she took the classical chair choreography and moved it to the mat and really interesting in the ways that you can change your body position. So if you're doing something like the soleus press on the chair, where you're standing, you've got one foot on the pedal, you're resting your knee against that front edge of the chair, and you're pointing and flexing, or you're articulating at your ankle and getting that nice juicy calf thing. Like, how are you going to do that if you don't have a chair? 

Well, you can lie down the same way you would for single leg stretch, that's the same leg position. You're just lying on your back instead of standing on that foot. And that conceptually is always really interesting to me as a teacher, but also as a student, that there are so many ways that you can take an exercise, bring the focus to what am I trying to get out of that exercise? And then how can I do that with the equipment I have. [00:10:00] Overall an absolute blast. 

We did end with a dance party with Jessica Valant, who's the co founder of Momentum Fest. If you're interested in what she has to say about Momentum Fest, I did get a chance to interview her for Pilates Teachers' Manual. So you can definitely head over there. I'll link in the show notes, and you can hear her talk about some of Momentum Fest as well. 

Coming up after the break, I'll talk about why this experience was really important to me and some things that you might be able to do to bring that joy of Pilates into your life as well.

Hey, there, enjoying the episode? Me too. You should definitely subscribe so you get notifications about new episodes. And if you love it, maybe leave me a review. That would be awesome. Thanks for sharing the Pilates love. Now back to the show.

[00:11:00] Momentum Fest was an absolute blast. If you aren't following me on Instagram, you should, @pilatesstudentsmanual. I have highlights of all of the classes that I took. So you can kind of see snippets of what the classes were like. If you're interested, definitely check those out. I will link below. 

But I think it's really important to do things like Momentum Fest for yourself. I am a Pilates teacher, but also as a student of Pilates, I think it's really important that you do things for yourself that are fun, that are good for you and that make you happy. 

One of the biggest takeaways that I had was just that there is so much joy. There's so much joy in movement to be had. And going into these workshops, I did have a notepad, of course, I had a notepad, it's me, but the goal wasn't to take notes or [00:12:00] to check boxes, the goal was to just take a class with a teacher that you've never taken a class with before, move your body in a way that you haven't moved your body before, think about your body in a way that you haven't thought about it before. All of those things are just so nourishing to me as a person with a body that loves to move. 

There is definitely a cost barrier to conferences sometimes. A lot of conferences offer early bird pricing, which is helpful. But depending on where that conference is, you may also have to travel to the conference and then maybe pay for food. You're going to have to pay for a hotel and that's not in everyone's budget or in everyone's schedule. I completely understand that in that way, there are limitations. 

But I also want to stress that if Pilates is something that you love, if you really feel good doing it, taking a Pilates vacation, which is kind of what this workshop was, can be really beneficial to you mentally and physically and energetically.

[00:13:00] I feel so refreshed and ready to take it on. I'm really glad actually, that Momentum Fest happened this last week in June, because next week I'm going to be teaching classes in the studio again. And I've been in a little bit of a funk with the stay at home and just this reset, this refresh, this opportunity to, to connect with myself and connect with other really passionate, really amazing teachers and movers, it's definitely something that I needed. 

If you aren't able to, for any reason, attend something like a conference, there are lots of cool ways that you can incorporate Pilates into your life. One thing that you're already doing is taking classes. And those can be a mini vacation. They can be a vacation that you take every day, that hour or that 50 minutes that you set aside for yourself can be that mini vacatios, that opportunity to connect with yourself, to care for yourself and your body.

You can also attend things [00:14:00] like workshops, and those will hopefully, depending on where you live, but still hopefully, will be happening closer to you or happening online. If you really are interested, and you really do want to learn more, whether it's from a specific teacher or about a specific subject, there are workshops that may be offered that are maybe a two or three hour commitment. And ideally those are happening close to you. It seems kind of weird to commute on a plane to go for a three hour workshop. But I mean, you know, you do you, but hopefully whether they're happening at your studio or happening in your city, that's something that you can do.

And if that's not possible, online is a fabulous world. All of the teachers that I took classes with, as I was looking into them and then reaching out to them, thanking them for class, I'm seeing that they have their own membership site so that you can take classes with them. If you really connected with that teacher, you can take virtual classes with them, or you can see classes that they're offering online.

If it's a teacher that you love that you take classes with already, doing a private with them can be [00:15:00] that same sort of mini workshop. If there's something that you want to work on, or it just feels good to move and you like the way they teach. Privates are more expensive than a group class, certainly, but still more affordable than going across country for a three day retreat.

Even beyond Pilates, doing things like getting a massage if that's something that's happening in your city, if you've opened, just anytime you can care for yourself, I think is really important. I don't want us to get bogged down in anything. I want you to feel light. 

Anytime you can make self care a priority ,and self care of course is different for every person, but when you know what your self care love language is. For me, it was going to this conference. It was really setting aside time for myself to be a student and move. If that is something that you also enjoy doing, I hope that you can make it a priority in your life, in any way that fits in your life at this time.

Another thing that I think was really important [00:16:00] about this experience, that you get more in a conference because it's a little bit longer, but you can also have in a workshop or at your studio. And that's this Pilates community, that you're seeing the same faces, that you who are supporting each other as you're going on this Pilates adventure, right? 

It's a lifelong thing. You don't finish it. It's a journey that'll take your entire life. There's not really an end. You just keep going, keep growing, keep learning new things about yourself and about movement. So to be in community, even virtually, to have all of those little zoom boxes and, you know, people had their video on and so you see everyone's struggling with that boomerang and some people nailing it flawlessly like they do. 

It's really important to see that the positive impact of Pilates is definitely in your life, that you feel better and that you're happier and more filled with ease. You have that spontaneous zest and pleasure for life, but also that when you do those things and you take care of [00:17:00] yourself, you're giving your community a gift. And not just the Pilates community, but every person you interact with. You're giving your family a gift. You're giving your friends a gift. You're giving your coworkers a gift because you're the best version of yourself. 

And any way that you can be the best version of yourself for yourself, very selfishly, because it feels good to feel good, and also for the world at large, like that's a step towards a happier planet. 

Momentum Fest is happening in person next year in Denver, Colorado, I will definitely be there and I am so excited to meet these presenters in person, beyond, you know, their Instagram, beyond the zoom. I hope to see you there as well.

And I'd love to hear what do you do to care for yourself? How does Pilates fit in your self care adventure?

Thanks for stopping by for today's episode of [00:18:00] Pilates Students' Manual. Subscribe to follow the podcast and join the community of Pilates lovers on Instagram @pilatesstudentsmanual. You can reach out to me there with questions, comments, feedback for send me an email at pilatesstudentsmanual@oliviabioni.com.

If you learned something new today, share this episode and the Pilates love. The adventure continues. Until next time.