ABSOLUTE PILATES WITH LESLIE
Located at 263 Carbondale Rd,
Clarks Summit (Waverly) PA 18411 Phone 851-1259
News About the Studio
We're so please to announce that the following article was written in The Surburban recently,
Mind-Body Connection
The core of Pilates is in developing a strong, flexible back. That requires strong abdominal muscles.
"The Pilates' philosophy is you're as young or as old as your spine," Gleason said.
Named for its German originator, Joseph Pilates, the exercise program "realigns your body," she said. "Pilates tries to correct imbalances."
"It's controlling your body. It's not letting your body control you. Fitness should be about health," she said.
Pilates used to be called controlology, which was known primarily by dancers in New York City, where Joseph Pilates lived and developed his exercise program from 1926 to 1966. After he died, some of his students wanted to trademark his name. A lawsuit followed. The trademark supporters won in 2000 and the Pilates name entered the exercise mainstream.
Gleason has been teaching fitness since 1985. She became a certified Pilates mat trainer in 1999 and equipment trainer in 2005.
"You need to move your body at least 10 to 15 minutes a day," she said.
Her students span all ages. But she said, "Once you hit your 40s, exercise is a 'should.'"
For Gleason, Pilates is a life experience that can be practiced "even when you're just walking. It flows over. It's functional fitness, as opposed to going to the gym."
"People see the changes in your body. ... It give you confidence. You're standing taller," she said.
Locally, Gleason started offering Pilates at the Comm in 2001 and opened her studio last
September.She starts beginners off with a body analysis and asks about "issues."
Workouts are customized and flow at the client's own pace. Exercises become progressively more challenging. Pilates exercises may be uncomfortable but are not painful, she said.
While some individual clients may be quite competitive, there is no sense of competition within the studio. "It's secluded, private and relaxing, but you're getting the workout," she said.
Susan Belin and Patty Alperin, both of Waverly, are among Gleason's clients who followed her from the Comm to her studio.
Belin has been with Gleason for seven years. She joined Gleason's Comm classes after retiring. "It was really wonderful," she said. Pilates "can be very relaxing and challenging at the same time."
Belin does a combination of weight training, yoga and Pilates with Gleason three days a week and yoga. "They are so good for any body," she said.
Belin, 66, calls retirement "a luxury. But keeping yourself in good health is not a luxury."
"Leslie's personality is so well suited for teaching. She is pleasant, patient ... and has a great sense of humor. She is a true professional," Belin said. "She works with you to do it right."
Alperin has been training with Gleason for four years. Now 53, she has been "very active" all her life. She decided to try Pilates to counteract the muscle-shortening effects of running and lifting weights. She went to Gleason's Comm class, not expecting to get a real workout. "Boy, was I humbled," she said, adding, "I was hooked,"
She calls Pilates is "a great all-around exercise."
Alperin said Gleason's studio is "the least intimidating environment." She praised Gleason's individualized teaching style. "She can teach a class yet she's teaching everyone," Alperin said. "She adjusts everything to her audience."
Like Belin, Alperin enjoys the social aspect of the classes. But the benefits she has gained from adding Pilates to her exercise routine have spilled over into "everything I do in the athletic world - when I'm skiing, lifting weights - my form has improved."
"My body is in the best shape ever," she said. "total workout"
Pilates exercises work on posture and flexibility as well as a strong core. "You still need cardio to get a total workout," Gleason said. She has various sized stability balls to accommodate clients' heights. The balls can be used for cardiovascular workouts as well as strength and flexibility.
In addition to mat exercises and work with the stability balls, the studio offers various Pilates apparatus to exercise different muscle groups.
Students using an apparatus called "The Reformer" can perform more than 300 exercises on it. "You'll never outgrow it," Gleason said. For beginner to advanced students, she said, "It's always a challenge." There's also the Wunda chair, ladder barrel and the "trap" (for trapeze) table.
Weight is important, she said, "But you have to be healthy."
"You need stretching, cardio, weight training and core work" for complete fitness, she said.
Her studio provides a relaxed atmosphere in which students work at their own level. If one-on-one assistance is desired, it is available.
More information is available at:
'A total workout'
We are only beginning to understand the biomechanics of the human body. Advanced technology has helped us uncover new ways to find balance and treat the whole body, not just the part that hurts. And as we begin to scratch the surface of new treatment options, more and more practitioners, physical therapists, chiropractors, and MDs, are creating functional rehabilitation programs for their patients.
Functional biomechanics is the science of the totality of the human body. The body, of course, comprises complex systems that interact constantly. We are beginning to understand the relationship and interactions between the carious systems, what effect they have on each other, and how a problem in one system might cause a malfunction in another. Functional biomechanics is the framework we need in order to begin to comprehend the complexity of human function.
Human function is 3-dimensional. We function within three planes of motion: the sagittal plane (forward and backward motion), the frontal plane (side-to-side motion), and the transverse plane (rotational motion). Everything we do, every move we make, requires an integrated neuromuscular system (NMS) that reacts and moves properly in all three planes simultaneously.
Pilates Principles
Pilates is much more complex than other forms of exercises. It is a fusion of Eastern and western and eastern philosophies that teaches you about breathing with movement, body mechanics, balance, co-ordination, positioning of the body, spatial awareness, strength, and flexibility. You will learn to flow from one movement to the next, building stamina and cardiovascular fitness, always keeping in mind the basic principles of the Pilates exercise repertoire:
The Pilates approach views the body as a whole. When you begin, you learn to work the upper and lower musculature in conjunction with the body’s center, to dramatically improve strength, flexibility, posture and co-ordination. If you cannot stand the thought of a step class or mindless hours on the treadmill, you are not alone. And if you have suspected for years that there was a better way to get, and stay, fit, you are right. The idea behind Pilates conditioning is to make people more aware of their bodies as single integrated units, to improve alignment and breathing, and to increase efficiency of movement. (Joseph Pilates)
Unlike other exercise programs, Pilates does not require the mindless repetition of boring exercises that most people tire of quickly and subsequently abandon.
So how does it work? The method consists of a sequence of carefully performed movements, some carried out on specially designed equipment. Each exercise is designed to stretch and strengthen the muscles involved, opening the joints and releasing tension. There is a specific breathing pattern for each exercise to assist in directing energy to those areas while relaxing the rest of the body. Pilates works many of the deeper muscles together, improving coordination and balance, to achieve efficient and graceful movement.
Who can benefit from Pilates?
Just about anyone, including you.
Are you discontent with the “gym scene” and in need of a more focused program?
Do you want specific, hands-on guidance for your exercise programs?
Are you recovering from and injury and in need of a specific physical rehabilitation?
Do you want to improve sports performance or dance technique?
Are you older and looking for a gentle, yet effective, exercise regime?
Do you need to stretch and strengthen your musculature?
Do you suffer from back pain or other joint or muscular problems?
Do you want an injury prevention program?
Do you want to reduce the mental and physical stress in your life?
If you answered yes to even one question, you could benefit from an introductory Pilates class. 
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