Testimonial
"(Pivot and Thrive) has been such a wonderful resource for us! We sought out Heather to help our daughter improve her strength in her ballet training. Heather was able to assess Dorothy and got right to work helping her build strength, target weak areas and bring overall awareness to help Dorothy work correctly and properly aligned in her dance training. Heather incorporates a variety of methods and dance conditioning exercises into Dorothy’s sessions to give her a really well-rounded experience. Dorothy saw immediate results in strength, muscle-control, balance and overall improved performance in her dancing. She loves working with Heather and looks forward to her sessions. Heather is warm, encouraging and very knowledgeable and, because of her experience as a dancer, she understands exactly what dancers need in Pilates training." -- Wendy Fish-Lawrence & David Lawrence, Artistic Directors of Connecticut Concert Ballet
Early version of the Cadillac
Today's Reformer
Pilates
About Pivot & Thrive
Pivot and Thrive began as Position First Pilates, a private Pilates practice started by Heather in 2016 and located in Glastonbury, CT. The studio is fully equipped with all Pilates apparatus along with many cross-training tools to address all needs. Each client is analyzed to identify imbalances and determine the best approach to improve the individual’s quality of life. Continued post injury rehab is also available, along with communication with any healthcare professionals you are currently working with. Heather primarily considers herself a movement educator...whether looking to enhance your sports performance, improve your health and well-being, prevent future injuries, or rehabilitate from current ones, she can help.
What is Pilates?
Pilates focuses on integrating all parts of the body into one, rather than segregating the body into inefficiently working parts. It aims to restore the natural curvature of the spine, rebalance the muscles, and re-train the body to move safer and more efficiently -- Invaluable practice when working towards injury recovery, sports performance, good posture and overall optimal health!
Five Basic Principles form the foundation of Pilates, whether performed on the Mat or on the specialized equipment.
Breathing
Pelvic placement
Rib cage placement
Scapular movement
Head and cervical spine placement
Pilates yields more benefits than can be named, but undoubtedly include: increased lung capacity and circulation through deep, efficient breathing; improved strength, flexibility, and coordination; renewed posture, balance, and core strength; healthier bone density and joint health, and a body awareness you never knew you could possess.
Pilates is also a mind-body system of exercise. What is “mind-body” you may ask? A mind-body practice focuses on the mental awareness and control of the physical movements being performed. This type of activity stresses quality of movement over quantity of movement. Mind-body exercise allows for overall body fitness and engagement of the brain.
Who was Joseph Pilates?
Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in 1883 in Monchengladbach, Germany. He was a sickly child who turned to exercise to battle his ailments. As he grew into adulthood, he became an avid skier, boxer, diver, and gymnast. In 1912 he traveled to England to work as a self-defense instructor for detectives at Scotland Yard. At the outbreak of WWI Joseph Pilates was placed under forced internment along with other German nationals in England. While there he taught fellow camp members the concepts and exercises he had developed during the last 20 years, and began developing the system of “matwork” still used today. He called this regimen “Contrology,” meaning “the science of control”. A few years later, he was transferred to another camp where he became a nurse/caretaker to the many internees struck with wartime disease and physical injury. It was at this time that he began developing equipment to rehabilitate his “patients,” using springs from the beds and rigging them to create resistance during the exercises. His training was so successful that when an influenza epidemic struck England in 1918, killing thousands of people, not a single one of his trainees died. In 1926, Joe emigrated to the United States. During the voyage there he met and later married Clara Zeuner, a nurse. Together they opened a fitness studio in New York City, sharing an address with the New York City Ballet.
Explore More
To learn more about the origins of the Pilates method, visit:
“Pilates is preparation for the unexpected”
~ Kathy Grant (Pilates Elder)