After years of footwork in parallel, your footbar padding
will get worn down. This may look like
you’ve got two indentations and if your feet are on the bar it’s very, very hard
in just those two spots because you can feel the metal beneath your heels.

(Note: When I talk
about footbar padding I’m not talking about the vinyl sticky mat that velcros
around over the top of the bar, but the neoprene padding between the cover and
the aluminum bar.)

Conveniently, this padding is really easy to change. This procedure applies to the Inifinity
footbar on a Studio or Clinical Reformer, the black Allegro Reformer, and a
Classic or Revo footbar on the Studio Reformer.

First, you’ll need to order the correct footbar padding from
your BB Sales Rep or distributor. The
dimensions are slightly different so make sure you get the correct one. They will be able to help you determine what
is correct for your Reformer.

Second, remove the Velcro footbar cover. On older Reformers you will need to just undo
the Velcro. However, if you have a cover
that pulls tight on both ends with draw strings, keep the strings wrapped
around the footbar, but just slide the cover to one side of the footbar and let
it hang.

(Note: If you want to
upgrade your footbar cover to one with drawstrings at both ends so it doesn’t
slide sideways over time, you can! Just
talk to your sales rep or distributor.)

Now, you’re ready to start peeling off the old footbar
padding. This can be the most
frustrating part of the process because the padding may come off in a thousand
tiny pieces. Don’t worry, just have
patience. I’ve found that over time the
best technique is to use your fingers to peel the adhesive part under the padding off, rather than just
the padding. You can also try applying
some heat to soften the adhesive before removing it.

Other times (lucky times!) the pieces come off in big chunks
and it goes quickly.

Once the old padding is off, you are ready to apply the new padding. There is no need to make the footbar perfectly clean and smooth, because you are just going to cover it up again. Just make sure there are no thick chunks remaining.

The new padding should be applied so the seam faces away from the carriage. I start by holding one short end of the padding in each hand, and visually aligning it so it’s centered on the footbar. Then, I smooth it all the way across in a line.

Next, wrap the middle of the padding around the middle of the footbar, and work your way outward, smoothing as you go.

Once the padding is secure, you are ready to re-attach the footbar cover. Make sure you face the Velcro seam away from the carriage.

Re-tie the strings on each end (if present) and tuck them back under out of the way.

Now, you’re ready to enjoy your new, cushy, footbar.

If you’d like to see more how-to videos, head over to pilates.com/bbgarage. You can request specific videos by sending an email to BBGarage@pilates.com.

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Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Water is not always predictable, and conditions change day to day. As a whitewater kayaker for over fifteen years, I have learned it is important not only to condition the body to paddle, but also the mind.

Not only do the water levels change, but the weather, and unlimited variables of nature are in constant flux. Just like the Pilates method, changing resistance, and movements add a challenge for the whole system-Body, Mind, and Spirit.

5 years ago, I met Devon Barker-Hicks on the river. She is a professional kayaker with years of competing around the world, and an ACA kayak instructor. We instantly connected as friends, kayakers, and teachers of movement. A few months after meeting, we decided to coordinate our passions into a program called Pilates for Paddlers.

Pilates is a perfect fit for any paddler. We organize wellness retreats on rivers around the world. Each morning we warm up with Pilates, and at lunch, we do dynamic stretches for our lower back and legs. The water is a perfect fit to understand how our bodies move similar to the rivers. Water is truly not just something we paddle on, but also within.

Here are a few fundamentals to consider teaching to any kayaker, whitewater paddler, stand-up board rafter, and rafter.

Breath Work:

Learning how to take long inhalations and long exhalations when paddling in whitewater is important. Anxiety and fear can build when attempting a challenging rapid. Paddlers can psyche themselves out even when the rapid is within their ability. By practicing lateral breathing while paddling calm water, and continuing that type of breathing throughout the rapid is important. Also, practice-rolling in flat water and holding the breath is important for any whitewater kayaker. Whitewater kayakers need to learn how to hold their breath without fear.

We have come up with a mantra to “stay calm” when upside down under water. Staying calm in mind and body as you set up for your roll is key. A rigid body will struggle rolling back up. Learning how to create calmness in the storm is key to advance to the next level. Holding your breath calmly is an important physical skill to develop. Devon was recently at the Santa Cruz Paddle Festival in Santa Cruz, California where being calm in her mind translated to solid rolls in a tricky situation.

The surf break, Steamer Lane, can go toward the cliff. On one ride she ended up close to the cliff and upside down. Her first roll worked, but she was close to the cliff as the next set of waves rolled in. She practiced the task at hand, meeting the wave to paddle out and create distance from the cliff but went upside down from the force. Devon’s mantra for rolling is “tuck to side and push paddle up.” These are two positive positions for rolling and can be achieved with a flexible, not rigid, body position. After the fourth roll, she was able to paddle out of the impact zone. During this time she recalls repeating her mantra to keep calm while holding her breath. This allowed her body to do its job without her thoughts negatively impacting her task at hand. “Our muscles know what to do, we just have to keep our thoughts positive so they do not interfere negatively,” Devon shared. “Then, I took a long lateral breath.”

Condition the Opposing Muscle Groups:

Paddling can involve many hours of
sitting in a kayak with your legs in external rotation, and feet in dorsiflexion.
Rafting can involve lots of hours sitting. Stand up Paddling involves lots of standing. There
is not a lot of leg movement happening in either sport. Usually the paddler is
fixed in a position that does not allow much lower body movement. As a
whitewater kayaker, we sometimes get out of our small boats with legs that feel
asleep or tight. Devon and I have
created a stretch and exercise routine for before, during breaks, and after
paddling. We find it important to stretch out the legs, hip flexors,
hamstrings, quads, upper back, lower back, and chest. Most paddlers run a shuttle for river sections
and also drive hours to and from the river or ocean. Or if they are staying on
the river for a self- support trip they are pulling the heavy boats and gear on
shore. Without a stretch-exercise
routine before, during, and after, the paddler will usually suffer from lower
back pain or neck pain due to tightness in the upper back and shoulders.

Pilates for Paddlers program:

Here are a few stretches we recommend
before paddling that can be done with a paddle:

1. Lateral Side Bending with paddle shoulder
   width apart
2. Standing Roll downs with paddle
3. Upper thoracic extension with paddle behind
   the hips
4. Saw rotation seated or standing
5. Mental breath-holding exercise

Exercises that can be done during a break:

1. Standing Hip flexor stretch
2. Internal rotation for legs (Supine)
3. Bridges with hip dips
4. Upper thoracic extension with paddle

Exercises and stretches after:

1. Knee sways
2. Internal Rotation for legs (supine)
3. Hamstring stretches
4. It Band stretches
5. Chest stretches

A few key exercises we have found to
be helpful for paddlers in the studio are:

In the studio

1. Foot work
   on Reformer External and Internal rotation
2. Psoas Stretch on Reformer with foam roller
3. Long stretch on Reformer
4. Swan on Reformer
5. Thigh Stretch on Reformer or Roll down Bar
6. Scapular patterning with push through bar
7. Quad stretches on ladder barrel
8. Oov Core work (supine), Side bending and
   breathing on Oov

The key to a long lifetime of paddling
is not only consistently being on the water, but also having a well-rounded and
variable Pilates routine. Water and Mother Nature are not always predictable, but
through conditioning paddlers can prepare for variable conditions. Challenging
the body and mind is important to a well-rounded and happy paddler.

Join Lisa Marie and Devon Barker-Hicks on their next Pilates for Paddlers trip on the Lower Salmon River. Lisa Marie offers workshops for Pilates instructors at her studio in McCall, Idaho. Devon offers one-on-one private kayak instruction. Check out www.mccallpilates.com for more information.

Link to trip wellness trips:

https://barkerrivertrips.com/river-trips/specialty-trips/
https://smallworldadventures.com/

Devon
Barker-Hicks is a native Idahoan of Basque heritage and a world champion
kayaker, with a goal of kayaking on all seven continents (only Asia and
Antarctica to go!) She instructs with Lisa Marie on their Pilates for Paddlers Whitewater Wellness Retreats (open to
kayakers, rafters, and SUP paddlers). In addition, Devon is passionate about
helping kids find exciting alternatives to drug and alcohol abuse through her Dare to Kayak program. Contact Devon at devobarker@gmail.com .

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I have always felt that Pilates has empowered me both physically and mentally and I hope to transmit that to my clients and students. It doesn’t have to be all depth all the time and a session should obviously not be psychoanalysis, but the truth is that sometimes, a session may lead to a heart-to-heart conversation that brings up important questions about our lives and practice.

And we may come to understand that we’re actually avoiding a
particular exercise out of fear. If we don’t talk about our fears, how can we
ever overcome them?

For some time now, I’ve worked with a wonderful client (and a
fellow Pilates instructor) who has issues going into extension due to an old
injury to her lower back. She hesitates and freezes as we head into one, and
the tension that builds in the room could be cut with a knife. It blocks her
body and nervous system completely. It challenges our sessions and both of us.
Me, because I have to gain her trust, even more than I would a normal client. I
have to be extremely clear when we’re going into an exercise that involves
extension – and can ́t give her any surprises. I have to invent as we go and
think, which piece of equipment will make this less scary? What cueing does she
needs? Am I babying her too much, being too cautious and making her feel silly?
When is the right moment to push – and when do I leave it for next week?

When we first started working together, I had to stop pushing
before we reached a 100% to avoid overwhelming her, whereas with other clients
and especially other instructors, I would normally push further. It challenges
her, but she has to understand why this is so scary and question whether there
may be a reason other than the past injury. Then with that answer, she has to
decide whether we work towards overcoming the fear or not. To master it, or
simply avoid it.

Almost 10 years ago, when I was recovering from a long-term injury
and surgery to my foot, I fell into darkness when I understood I had to say
goodbye to my career as a dancer. For a moment, I saw everything coming to an
end, and the effort without its prize. I questioned who I was without dance,
and I was in pain. But somewhere in the feeling of having lost my ability to
move, I became bored and tired of my negative self – and with my foot in a
cast, I lay down on my mat. In a moment of stillness and peace, I found the source
to change energy and something shifted inside me. I started to move. I went
through a lot of the Pilates mat repertoire right there – and for the first
time in months, I felt that all was not lost. I could move, not like before,
but I could move. That grey and rainy afternoon in Germany a seed was planted
and a dream started to grow thanks to movement. I decided that I was going to
work to help other people have that same feeling on the mat – that movement
heals.

I think it takes time to reach a point in your teaching when you
truly understand how to use the private and personal. But it’s crucial for me
as a teacher to bring that energy to my teaching, and I’ve made the decision to
share my experiences in classes. To teach closer to the heart. Through that
decision, I’ve been able to accept my own journey as a retired dancer at the
age of 25, because it has led me to where I am now. It has given me the tools
to work with young athletes, and the strength to witness them crying through
their injuries. I tell them my story and say there’s light somewhere. I tell
them this sucks – because there’s no better word for it – but we will power
through it together.

I want all my clients
to achieve the impossible things they have in their head. I want us to tick
things off the “hate list” together and go for the scary. If you say I can ́t,
I say, “let ́s try.” You tell me you’re scared, and I tell you, “I’ve been
scared too.” I say, trust your own ability – I have you and always will.

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In the last 12 months I’ve experimented with the way I teach more than usual. And I’m not going to lie, after years of trying to teach exactly like those who I admired it took all the courage I had to feel ok in going ‘rogue’ and to go searching for my own story.

I’ve moved from a place of feeling anxious about teaching and letting my fear of people storming out in disgust overwhelm me (worst case scenario mindset) to a place of creative expression, belonging, joy and experimentation (best case scenario mindset). Here’s what I’ve learned.

If you can’t let
go enough to be 100% you then the story you tell through movement is not going
to be authentically yours and the humans in front of you (aka clients) can feel
that even if they can’t name it!

It seems so simple now but
what I realized is that a fear-based mindset slowly seeps in over time. It can
start by thinking you’re not creative enough to design your own class so you
replicate others, or it can be a fear of making a mistake, low self-worth and
not accepting yourself.

Let people see you

You have to learn to catch
yourself in those moments where you go on autopilot, you’re not present in the
room and your head is somewhere else or your kicking yourself internally for
the mistake you made! Don’t hide. Keep going, let people see you!

Teaching is more than knowing the repertoire!

It’s so easy to hide behind
the exercises, to hide behind a fake kind of energy or someone else’s style,
formula or class plan that isn’t your own. We all need to remember……

People do not come
to your class because you know the Pilates repertoire. They follow you because
they like the stories you tell, the connection they feel and the way you create
change through movement.

Showing up as yourself is a skill

For many of us, learning to
show up for ourselves is the hardest part. It’s a skill we need to cultivate
and it takes time and patience. I started out by journaling, writing myself
little teaching mantras and creating trigger moments that would help me get
into a confident teaching mode! As I walked to the studio I used to repeat to
myself, ​“my only job is to be me, I know
enough to lead a great class, I am enough, I am valued and worthy to lead.”

Don’t let perfection rob you of the joy of teaching!

Finally realizing that I was
actually robbing myself of the absolute privilege and joy of teaching was a
wake up call and then meeting that with the courage to try and different
approach and to let myself off the ‘perfectionist’ hook was the first step for
me to really become the creative instructor I want to be!

My full circle moment

After being consistent in this
approach for a good 6 months I had a breakthrough moment​.

I found myself in front of a class singing the Pilates
version of the Hokey Pokey before I moved on to breathe work! Yes, I even
surprised myself. 90% of the time when I’m teaching it feels like I’m a part of
some kind of science experiment meets goofy comedy show, because that’s the
wonderfully weird story of me. The one thing I now know for sure is that people
actually enjoy my classes the most when I’m completely authentic.

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Cleaning your Pilates equipment is hugely important for the
look of your studio, the feel of each exercise, and the safety of your
clients. There are four different
cleaning solutions I recommend for your equipment. I prefer using all of these in spray form
with a microfiber cloth.

Water

Plain water from your tap is hugely beneficial for 90% of
the cleaning you need to do. This is my
go-to solution for cleaning the following places:

• Reformer rails
• Reformer frames (wood and metal)
• Wood roll-down bars
• Metal and wood push-through bars
• Reformer wheels
• Chair pedals and other dusty/dirty areas

The problem with cleaning with some solutions (not all) is that they can mix with skin oil, sweat,
or body lotions to make a sticky buildup.
Patience is key, here. Take a few
extra seconds to scrub rather than jumping to a heavier duty solution right
away.

Water + Dish Soap

For a little extra cleaning power, I recommend 1 teaspoon of
dish soap with 16 ounces of water. (Yes,
regular Dawn® dish soap!) This is great
for these applications:

• Cleaning vinyl after each client
• Extra scrubbing power (remember, just a
  microfiber cloth!) for tough grime of both metal and wood surfaces

Note: for tough stains
on reformer rails, use water and some aluminum foil from your kitchen folded
into a small scrub pad for extra oomph.
Check out this link for more info on this technique.

Silicone Spray

While the results you might get with Silicone spray seem
magical, please be careful not to use this too liberally or on parts that
aren’t listed below.

• Trapeze Canopy tubes where the sliders move (instagram
  link here)
• Spray on springs to silence twang-like noises (youtube
  link here)
• Spray on chair handle knobs to silence squeaking
• Spray squeaky pulley axles (instagram
  link here)

Note: It is a myth
that silicone spray is good for your Reformer rails. Please avoid using this on your wheels and
rails.

BB Clean

This awesome, natural disinfectant can be used in any of the
situations that water or soapy water can be used for a little extra all-natural
cleaning and disinfecting power.

Finally, my pro tip is to be patient. I prefer taking 10-15 wipes with water and a
rag than using one wipe with a solution that has some heavy chemicals in
it. Your equipment has the ability to
last upwards of twenty years, but if you want the wood finish and the metal
coatings to last that long as well, using fancy cleaning solutions for the sake
of saving a few seconds of effort isn’t recommended.

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