Posted by: Lynne Martinez ®
05/08/2005, 01:44:15
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Hi Vicki,Good question. This is from a lay-person's point-of-view, and from someone who has not completely gotten into Pilates (though I've taken two classes) but attended the Pilates presentation by Veronica Brown at the Portland symposium break-out session. Veronica's Pilates presentation was one of the four 30-minute break-out sessions. Other break-out topics were SLAD surgery, AB patients and Internet opportunities for SD'ers. Thus, Veronica didn't have a ton of time to train anyone on Pilates. Those of us who attended got a descriptive hand-out and saw a brief demo. We didn't have a chance to try it ourselves, with only a 30-minute timeslot. Diane Rehm (one of our NSDA Honorary Directors, and a celebrity who acknowledges her SD) discussed how Pilates had been helpful to her personal case, during her presentation at the SD Patient Symposium in Washington, DC in March, 2003. You would know much more about Pilates than I do, but it appears that the scripted exercise program strenghtens/develops/elongates the muscles in the torso (the core), which might enhance breathing capacity in some patients. For any SD patients whose voices might be impacted by breathing issues (AB cases; post-Botox; laryngeal failure, etc.), Pilates is apparently an effective adjunct technique, depending on the patient. Doesn't cure spasms, but seems to shore up the breathing mechanism, if practiced properly. That can help some voice patients. As an aside (re your comment about your SD getting worse while taking Pilates): Between 1982-2002, I was a diligent chiropractic/massage patient (cranial-sacral also) and that didn't help my voice either. It got worse during that time, even though my spine and shoulders/neck were relieved of much tension. So, I know what you mean. You feel better, though your voice is getting worse. Veronica Brown (the symposium Pilates presentor) has both Cervical Dystonia (spasmodic torticollis - neck) and SD. She has 30 years of experience and has a studio in Bend, Oregon. I'm not promoting her as a practitioner, but those are her credentials presented at the symposium, and that's what the brochure she gave us says. You might want to contact Veronica personally, regarding your question, as she's been a practitioner for a long time and has SD. Hope this helps, --Lynne (AD-SD; Northern California; symposium attendee)
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Posted by: Mary Bifaro ®
05/08/2005, 21:17:48
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Dear Vicki,I didn't attend Veronica Brown's breakout session in Portland since I was involved with the abductor breakout session. I did meet Veronica in the hospitality reception and I have been taking Pilates classes for the past few years. You should be able to find out some basic info on Pilates by doing a search on the Internet. I find that Pilates helps me with flexibility and strength. Pilates is done on floor exercises and on equipment. I have only done Pilates with the floor exercises. As Lynne described, the instructor has students learn to strengthen the abdominal core. Breathing is emphasized as well. Sincerely,
Mary Bifaro
Abductor SD since 1987
Charlotte, NC
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Posted by: Lynne Martinez ®
05/08/2005, 23:19:22
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Hi Mary,Thanks for adding on here, as I remember you had experience in Pilates. You know way more about it than I do. The humorous thing was --- in Portland, the Pilates demo took place in the main (huge) symposium conference hall so alot of attendees (who didn't move to other rooms for other break-outs) were there, even though they might not have known they were attending the Pilates demo. They were probably sitting there waiting for Jimmie Rodgers! It would have probably helped Veronica to have a smaller room. But, with only 30 minutes, it's difficult to get the concepts across no matter how big the room was. She did a good job though. I was impressed as to how well she got the concepts across in such a short time. I conversed with Veronica during the Saturday morning coffee break and was present when she recruited one of our fellow SD'ers to be her Pilates demo-person. I won't mention any names, but possibly the recruitee might chime in on this BB regarding her short experience working with Veronica, in front of the group, doing Pilates for the first time and whether she noticed any effect and will continue with it. Unfortunately, Pilates (with various people's names on it) has been promoted on paid infommercials, so it might look like "the latest miracle cure." With the research you mention, Mary, and with checking out the concepts, I can see the basics would be helpful to people wanting to strenghthen a part of their body which is necessary to breathing. Since I have breathing problems, I plan to pursue it, yet I don't expect a miracle. Different things are helpful for different people. --Lynne
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Posted by: kfeeley ®
05/10/2005, 14:17:36
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All Right! You rooted me out, Lynne! (Just joking!)To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how much good the pilates did.
Not being the most athletically inclined person, but having done yoga for several years, and seeing as how I only had the 30 minutes of instruction that Veronica gave, I don't think it made that much of a difference. Maybe if I were to do it regularly it might make some difference. If nothing else, it would probably help my posture, which could only help the breathing. I have heard talk that doing yoga can help with SD, too. I've noticed many benefits from yoga over the years; however, vocal improvement has never been one of them. -Karen
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Posted by: Mary Bifaro ®
05/10/2005, 14:34:12
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Dear Karen,Glad to see that you were the demonstrator for Veronica's Pilates breakout session! I have been doing both yoga and Pilates for several years. For me, the benefits do not include vocal improvement. I have found that these disciplines help me with breathing, stretching, strengthening and stress reduction. Sincerely,
Mary Bifaro
Abductor SD since 1987
Charlotte, NC
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