Hurricane Sandy Entertainment

The day that hurricane Sandy was approaching was a wait and see game.  For us, just a lot of wind and rain but we hadn’t lost our power (yet).  My Mother’s usual days with her personal trainer are Monday and Wednesday so, since she was not going to make her session, I was determined to torture her. 
She is 87 and in excellent shape for someone her age but a lot of that is due to my nagging.  So I called her into my apartment and sorted through my stash of videos and DVD’s until I found one she would like:  Chair Aerobics.  I set up two chairs in front of the TV and we were ready. 

What a learning experience! I was watching her and she could not keep up with the instructor.  I realized she could process verbal cues better than visual ones.  What is the difference you ask?  Some people respond to visual cues, i.e. watching and following someone.  That was not working for her – she was totally confused.  So I started shouting out strong verbal cues and her brain kicked in so she kept up. 

It is something that I am very conscious of because you could have a mixture of both types in a class.  You will watch your clients/students and see who responds and who does not.  In a class setting, you might just be giving verbal cues (which I often do) but then, when you see someone just paralyzed (like a deer in headlights), you realize that some visual cues need to be given to get that person going.

Getting back to my Mother, needless to say she was exhausted at the end of the video!  That’s because, with all my verbal cues, she was keeping up with the workout and doing every bit of it!  Job well done, Mom:)

To all our Pilates Fit Tips friends:  We are hoping you managed to escape significant damage in the wake of the storm.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.  Sharing stories really helps -- it makes you realize that being without power is a minor inconvenience when it comes to someone having trees smash through their house or flood waters total their car.  Stay strong -- we will all get through this by helping each other.  Kindness really does count!