Achieving strength
+
flexibility with quality movement
“Change happens though movement and movement heals.”
– Joseph Pilates
Our Mission
I.C. Pilates exists to teach its community the benefits of regular Pilates practice. We are here to help you learn how to move your body in all planes of movement from where you start when you walk in our doors. We want to encourage each individual to focus on feeling each small movement within their bodies. That each client comes to understand the level of concentration required means other clients are focused on themselves, so there’s no need to be self-conscious. We want you to learn about precautions your body may require & to move with intention.
Our Vision
Our vision at I.C. Pilates is that you feel encouraged to work at your own pace while taking any precautions needed. That you feel I.C. Pilates is a program that increases your strength, flexibility, coordination, & awareness of your own body in space. We want you to feel encouraged by our staff & to recognize your strengths, weaknesses, & triumphs while you’re learning to use the quality of movement that Pilates teaches. We want you to ask questions & seek help when needed. We want to see you feel better than before you joined I.C. Pilates!
Jennifer's Journey
Jennifer is a native of Iowa City & a City High alum. Jennifer received her BSN from the University of Iowa & has used her nursing degree to volunteer at Concern for Women, The Spot, Global Health Outreach, & Mission of Hope. She started Pilates after she bruised her lower back & found that her strength & flexibility increased the more she incorporated Pilates. Jennifer’s love for Pilates has been incorporated with her love of public health nursing, teaching others. She began her comprehensive teacher training in 2021 through Polestar.
As part of the I.C. Pilates community, Jennifer will teach you safety on the apparatus as well as any safety precautions your body may need. She will teach you the basic principles of Pilates and what that looks like in your own body. She will provide challenges & aids. She requires that I.C. Pilates programs will start with exercises that aid you to progress your ability.
Why Pilates?
Pilates requires intentional movement: finding alignment & elongation through your spine, or moving your vertebra one at a time from top to bottom or bottom to top; purposefully moving your head, neck, shoulders, or pelvis when necessary or purposefully finding stability in them when their movement is not necessary. Achieving this kind of awareness of your body in space can increase your balance, coordination, flexibility, & strength. Pilates will teach you how to engage your core in conjunction with using your breath, pelvic floor, and protect your back from injury. Pilates will teach you how to release those muscles you’re overusing! Proper form & function require you to engage the necessary muscles and release the muscles that are not necessary for an exercise. Over time you will learn to not over-engage your shoulders when you’re tense or to release your tight hip flexors. Weight-bearing exercise aids in maintaining bone density and decreasing your risk of osteoporosis. At I.C. Pilates we will incorporate upper body weight bearing as well as lower body weight bearing in our programs. Exercise creates a positive feedback loop between multiple biological functions. Learning how to lengthen your breath and control your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, expand your rib cage and improve lung function are just a few of its positive effects. Thus you walk out of I.C. Pilates feeling better than when you walked in.
Learning Opportunities
“In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference, in 20 you’ll see the difference, and in 30 you’ll have a whole new body.”
– Joseph Pilates
