If you have never heard of Pilates, don't panic!, it's not a bowl of pasta, it is a mind and body conditioning workout that we affectionately refer to as the "thinking person's workout" or "neuromuscular training".
Everyday activities strengthen some muscle groups, but leave others weaker and undeveloped. This muscular imbalance may never be noticeable until it becomes a source of pain and even immobility. Practiced regularly, The Pilates Method facilitates muscular balance. Benefits include increased muscular strength without adding bulk, increased flexibility, better posture and it helps prevent muscle and soft tissue injury.
Pilates is for everyone in all conditions. From general population to elite athletes, whether you require general fitness, rehabilitation, postural awareness, injury recovery or are suffering from illness or pain. We work from the inside out working on intrinsic muscles (our little muscles that will usually give way) rather than extrinsic muscles (our big powerful muscles which are generally overused) and through this method we rewire the body to make muscles come alive, releasing tension, providing shoulder stability, pelvic stabilization and body awareness.
The Pilates Method was developed in the 1920s by the legendary physical trainer, Joseph H Pilates. Born in Germany in 1880, he died in New York in 1967.
Pilates studied various forms of exercise regimes ranging from Zen meditation to the rigorous regimes of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and developed a fitness regime which combines physical and mental conditioning designed to work every muscle in your body in an efficient and balanced way and he successfully used it to overcome his disabilities as a frail and sickly child.
Pilates went to England in 1912 where he worked as a boxer, circus performer and as a personal trainer in self defense.
Due to his German citizenship, he was interned as an enemy alien when World War 1 broke out and whilst in camp, he trained the interns in a series of exercises that combined physical fitness with breath control. His skills were recognized and he was put to work as a nurse, rehabilitating injured British soldiers. During this time, he designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients by attaching springs to hospital beds. This system formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning and specialized exercise apparatus.
In 1926, after the war and upon his release, Pilates immigrated to America and upon arriving in New York City he set up his first Pilates studio. His expertise with both rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injury and physical conditioning grew, and has been very popular with dancers since the 1940's. Today followers include dancers, athletes, physiotherapists, fitness trainers, health care providers, other professionals and the general population.
The Pilates Method is not just exercise. It is a series of controlled movements engaging your body and mind, performed on specifically designed exercise apparatus and supervised by extensively trained instructors. Because conditioning sessions are done one-to-one with an instructor or in closely supervised small groups each session is tailored to your specific needs. Regardless of your current level of fitness, The Pilates Method can be your primary mode of body conditioning and injury prevention.
Joseph Pilates designed more than 500 specific exercises using five major pieces of unique apparatus to develop the body uniformly. Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, Joseph preferred fewer, more precise movements, requiring proper control and form. Because your mind is required to engage with your body to perform the movements correctly, you experience a new awareness of muscle function and control.
The goal of The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning is a very high degree of abdominal strength, full body control, greater flexibility of the spine and the limbs, and most significantly, the combined power of the body and the mind. By performing many different exercises in a low number of repetitions, the muscles are strengthened and elongated without creating bulk. Total body concentration during each exercise emphasises movement quality and coordination.
Margo Rankin is a Pilates Instructor & Massage Therapist. She teaches a number of courses at Om Shanti College, including Sports & Remedial Massage.
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Egyptian Dance
Rachael Hilton
Egyptian Dance or Raqs Sharqi, as defined by Suraya Hilal (a renowned Egyptian Dancer from the Hilal School of Raqs Sharqi, London), is a refined dance form from which Belly Dance evolved. I have been learning Raqs Sharqi for three and a half years and now teach at Om Shanti College.
Raqs Sharqi is a dance form you don’t have to be agile, lithe or a little on the emaciated side to participate in and enjoy. It is a celebration of life and more importantly living.
In it’s native country it is performed at such jubilant occasions as weddings, births and family gatherings. It is a dance for everyone.
Words that describe the dance form are earthed, connected, graceful, passionate, centred, mesmerising, joyous, mysterious, fun, alluring and powerful. Because of it’s form it allows an emotional responsiveness to music enabling an accomplished dancer to take her audience on a moving journey.
When learning the movements, the beginner can find it challenging. This is because in Western culture we do not use the muscle groups common to this dance form. It is important to learn which groups control which movements and this is done through isolation. Once that has been mastered, movements are taught and practiced to basic choreographies and eventually improvisations. This enables the student to identify with Middle Eastern music, rhythms and the mood in which various movements can be performed.
Raqs Sharqi can be what you want it to be. A social, informal gathering where the main emphasis is on fun and relaxation. Or for the more serious enthusiast there is a network of dancers who perform in such events as Floriade, the Canberra Festival, and theatre productions.
There is a general belly dance class held at 6:00pm on Monday evenings. Terms run for 8 weeks. See the schedule or email the college now for enquiries.
omshanti@namadgi.com.au
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Amazon.com has a good selection of Egyption & Middle Eastern music. We will be adding reviews of various CDs soon.
Another good place to buy Belly Dance music and other accessories is Amera's Palace in Sydney.
Reiki
Sandra Morgan
Energy, the energy which is all around us. Reiki, when activated and applied for purposes of healing, addresses body, mind and spirit. It accelerates the body’s ability to heal physical ailments and opens the mind and spirit to causes of disease and pain, the necessity of taking responsibility for one’s life and the joys of balanced wellness.
Reiki was rediscovered by Dr Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian educator who, in the 1800’s, responded to a challenge from his university students by undertaking an extensive study of the healing phenomena of history’s greatest spiritual leaders. Through travel, study, research and meditation, he developed a healing system based on ancient Buddhist teachings written in Sanskrit. He spent the rest of his life practising and teaching this method of natural healing, which involved attunement to the energy and the laying on of hands.
Reiki provides persons with the means of maintaining balance in their own health and that of their families and friends. Reiki can also be incorporated effectively into the healing arts practised by health professionals.
In a Reiki 1 class persons are attuned to the energy and learn the history of Reiki, the basic hand positions for treatment and ways to use Reiki in their own lives and in service to others. The only pre-requisites for learning the Usui System of Reiki are: openness, desire to learn, and a commitment to using Reiki in one’s life.
In a Reiki 2 class persons who have completed Reiki 1 training and have used Reiki actively in their lives renew their commitment to the use of Reiki. They are taught the methods developed by Dr Usui for sending Reiki at a distance and for furthering the mental, spiritual and emotional healing processes of individuals.
Sandra Morgan was attuned to Reiki 1 & 2 levels by Gary Sanner in 1986. Sandra has used Reiki extensively in her practice as a massage therapist and healer, and in 1997 she took her Reiki 3 and Reiki Master attunements with William Rand.
Sandra wishes to make it available to everyone, so she is offering 1 day workshops for $75. Participants will receive the attunement to turn on the Reiki energy channel, an understanding of the method of application and the history of Reiki healing. The day will be a joyful, pleasant experience and you will have a gift to share with others and yourself.
Reiki
- is an easy to learn "hands on" technique,
- is safe to use anytime, any place, and in any situation,
- suits every living creature, and
- enhances self transformation.
Sandra Morgan runs regular workshops in Reiki 1 & 2 at Om Shanti College in Canberra Australia. For dates email her at
omshanti@namadgi.com.au.
Or check the workshop schedule on the Om Shanti College Home Page.
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Learning to have an intelligent Body
The Feldenkrais Method
The Feldenkrais Method is named after its originator Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais. Feldenkrais (1904-1984) was born in Russia and spent over forty years developing his method of psychophysical education. He was an extraordinary man who was able to combine an incredible intellect with a passion for movement. He received a doctorate in Physics, spoke five languages fluently and was the first European to gain a black belt in Judo, introducing the martial art to the West in 1930.
By the time France was invaded, Feldenkrais was an expert in nuclear fission and fled to England to work on the development of Sonar and Radar. He also sustained a serious knee injury while playing soccer and became increasingly interested in the effects of thinking and awareness in movement and the role of the nervous system in movement.
With the surgery of the day having only a 50 per cent chance of increasing the function of his knee, Feldenkrais began to develop his own system of movement re-education based on his background in efficient human movement (Judo), Physics (and biomechanics) and Cybernetics. He then studied Anatomy Neuromuscular Physiology and existing body mind systems of the day like the Alexander Technique with the intention of developing a method of reprogramming movements in the motor cortex area of the brain.
Feldenkrais developed two complementary methods for people to learn how to move more efficiently and easily. In Awareness Through Movement classes, a group is verbally directed to explore how they move during precisely structured sequences of movement. The movements are performed slowly, with awareness directed to the quality of the movement and often follow the developmental sequences of a child learning to move.
Throughout our adult and work lives we develop inefficient habits of moving and using our bodies. As these habits are stored in the motor cortex of our brain we automatically move in ways that can cause habitually sore necks, sore backs or habitually hit the ball into the net on the tennis court. Awareness Through Movement Classes are an opportunity to reprogram these ineffective movement pathways or learn more efficient patterns of movement in a relaxing, pleasurable way. As Feldenkrais once said, "When you know what you are doing you can do what you want to."
In a Functional Integration session, an individual receives instructional touch and kinesthetic cues on how to reorganise his or her movement patterns. The idea is that these easier more effective movement patterns will replace the old patterns stored in the brain and thus eliminate movements that have caused repetitive stress, strain, pain and soreness. Sessions are one hour in length with the client (or student learning new movement patterns) lying/sitting fully clothed on a low padded table. When your whole body (including your brain) has the idea, the practitioner will often ask you to practice the new movements in walking and in daily activities so that the changes become clearer in your brain and more natural in your movement repertoire.
The first Australian Feldenkrais practitioners graduated in 1990. There are now approximately 400 graduates with 200 practitioners, three practitioners active in Canberra. The method is widely acknowledged throughout the world for its effectiveness in rehabilitation and is rebatable locally by NRMA, Comcare and Workcover. It is also used to enhance performance by the Australian School of Ballet, Australian Biathlon Team, Victorian College of the Arts and the US Olympic Ski Team and is taught at LaTrobe University School of Physiotherapy.
Mark Gleeson
Mark Gleeson is a Feldenkrais practioner and teaches ongoing weekly classes as well as workshops. For a schedule of workshops at Om Shanti, see the current schdule in the
Om Shanti College Home Page
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Learning to have an Intellegent Body: The Feldenkrais Method