Pilates Connections Discussion Board: Portal Home

I am helping my studio owner, who is at home with three small children, look for a new Cadillac. My favourite manufacturer is retired and no longer making equipment (he was a small one person business). We're looking at Balanced Body and I wonder if anyone here has one and if you are happy with it, or what drawbacks it might have.

We have a really old Stott frame in her studio at the moment but I am unhappy with it; the leg spring hooks are too far apart, and the springs are all either too light, or too heavy for their intended purpose. I could potentially go with the frame we have and just buy springs - that is a more affordable option and one I could live with (although I find the frame flimsy and short) and in that case, any referrals to springs that you know and love?

Pilates Core - do you know anyone in Toronto who has a BB Caddy I could try?

I realise we are all over the map here and some urban centres will probably be more expensive and thus pay higher rates, but what do you think is the average hourly wage for a teacher to teach a private pilates lesson on equipment? Group?

I had heard about a studio with classes that include Pilates, yoga and ballet barre. My sister raves about it and I am a curious one and like to see what's out there so I tried a class today. I have to say that I didn't really like it. I will go at least two more times since I bought an intro package but it was totally different than I expected. In my opinion, it lacked fluidity, flow and stretch. There were mostly static poses and many repetitions of the same exercises. My muscles were cramping and my neck and back were getting overly tired and started to ache. I consider myself to have a strong powerhouse but my joints were in pain much of the time. It gave me an even greater appreciation for traditional Pilates. I have been lethargic and sore all day but when I do a Pilates workout I am energized and feel that I can take on the world. I wonder if it is just me? This was a very popular class. Perhaps because I don't do much yoga is why I struggled. I am not knocking the class or style, but I don't think it fits my body. Have any of you tried some other form of movement that just didn't work for you?

I recently went to a chiropractor for a package deal where I had X-rays and a consultation. I have always been curious as to why my sacrum protrudes from my low back and have never received a clear answer (not from medical doctors, not from PTs...not from anyone). Anyway, without going into a lot of detail on what is going on...the chiropractor found things wrong with my alignment and my cervical spine which needs adjusting. The thing is...she wants a huge amount of money up front (like over $3,000 which to me, right now, is a lot of money) and a comittment of 3 visits a week. I don't have the time now even if I did have the money. However, I feel like I need to do something about what's going on with my spine and although Pilates has made me stronger..I'm not sure it has corrected this problem.

Please tell me you smell a scam here. I liked the chiropractor and she knows what she is doing, but the amount of up front money seemed excessive to me.

Does anyone have any comments on this?