Pilates for Parkinson's @ ADF
What Are People Saying?
"I just thought this was an excellent class. I only wish I lived closer (when I started I lived in Durham and now I live in Chapel Hill and trip takes me between 30 and 40 minutes each way). Hopefully I can continue to drive and keep taking Pilates for Parkinsons. Meg is a natural born teacher. She's kind but no nonsense. I think all participants found we were able to do more than we ever thought possible. I'm very grateful that the course was available and I was able to take it." ~ DL, Class Member
"I thought the class was excellent. I always felt much better after doing the exercises. Meg was always supportive and sensitive to various physical limitations of class participants. She would always adjust movements as necessary." ~ Anonymous, Class Member
"It was great! I felt it increased the ease of my mobility." ~ Anonymous, Class Member
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much this class has improved my posture despite PD! Also, I was mistaken when I thought the exercises looked easy... you definitely feel it the next day, especially in your core. Plus, Meg is a fun, really engaging instructor.” ~ DG, Class Member
"I found Meg's classes in Pilates for PD both doable and challenging. A difficult combination to achieve. The class always starts with "simple" seated posture exercises that can be as difficult as your level of conditioning can make them. And the class proceeds in a similar fashion through standing (with wall support if needed) and floor or chair exercises. The result is an excellent core workout which is very useful for people with movement disorders such as PD." ~ RL, Class Member
"When I was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease I found myself somewhat challenged by the advice my physician gave me to build a support team around myself, and, to “learn to embrace” my new condition. After a couple years of letting this advice percolate, I took the step of signing up for Meg Poe’s Beginner’s Pilates class for people with Parkinson’s. I started out not expecting much, being naturally skeptical about the overhyped claims of many of the latest exercise fads, but ended the six week course wanting more. Meg is a skillful practitioner herself and a masterful teacher who knows how to create an atmosphere that is relaxed, respectful, meditative, yet informal and fun. There is no pressure to perform or compete – students are free to adapt the exercises, with Meg’s guidance, to their own abilities and needs. The exercises themselves focus on flexibility, balance, posture, breathing, mindfulness and strength, especially “core” strength, from which the whole body’s strength and posture radiate. But for me the secret of Pilates is that these exercises are designed to require attentiveness to the feelings they produce in the body. As I go from one exercise to another one thing remains constant, awareness of the body from the inside. I find that this continuous body awareness attunes my mind to the movement (and the moment) at hand which, by the end of the session, produces not only a great physical feeling but also a meditative calm and clarity, a heightened sense of overall wellbeing that lasts well beyond the hour or so of class time. I highly recommend Meg’s Pilates classes for their enjoyment and for the learning of skills that can help mitigate your Parkinson’s disease symptoms." ~ CS, Class Member
See Parkinson's Movement Initiative for class days, times and sign up instructions.