Check out the job description below and if you or someone you know are interested in learning more, please reach out to Mara at info@maracoreconditioning.com or call: 617 852-6785.

Job Description: 

PILATES OR GYROTONIC® INSTRUCTOR (Part-Time)  

Mara Core Conditioning, a fully-equipped boutique Pilates studio in Newton, MA, is looking for a part-time Certified or Apprentice Pilates Instructor and/or GYROTONIC® EXPANSION SYSTEM Instructor to join the team.

The studio’s foundation is in high quality, personalized PILATES & GYROTONIC® training.  We focus on education, knowledgeability, and fostering strong teaching skills. We strive to continuously help our students achieve their goals, know their body and its physical limits while extending mutual respect, care, consideration, empathy and a love for teaching.

We are a small team with loyal, professional clients committed to their health, well-being and continued education. We are seeking a single instructor with a strong desire to learn and grow as part of our team and community.  The ideal candidate will also have a strong desire to learn about running and building the business, with potential to become a partner in the future.

Requirements include:

• Certified in or working towards certification in Pilates (STOTT is a plus) and/or GYROTONIC® EXPANSION SYSTEM  
• Trained in Matwork and Reformer
• Trained in Cadillac, Barrels and Chair and ISP is a plus, but not necessary
• Teaching experience in a private and small group setting
• Strong ability to cultivate lasting relationships with clients
• CPR Certification
• Experience with social media and fitness marketing a plus 
• All instructors are private contractors and must maintain their own liability insurance

Responsibilities:

• Schedule includes mornings, evenings and some weekends
• Maintain overall cleanliness of facilities and apparatus, following COVID-19 safety protocols
• Punctuality is imperative
• Strong desire to learn about the business, with potential to become a partner in the future
• Participate in promoting your practice at the studio on our website and social media

To apply, please send your resume to: info@maracoreconditioning.com or call: 617 852-6785

Equipment: BOSU

• Single Leg Stretch: Lie on your back on the BOSU with your head heavy in your hands. Alternate single leg stretch. 
• Criss Cross Obliques:  Feet on the floor, hands behind head. Reach chest to opposite knee.
• Floating Criss Cross Obliques:  Feet off the floor in tabletop position with hands supporting the head.  Reach chest to opposite knee. 
• Swimming:  Lying on your stomach; lift the opposite arm and leg and switch. 

CORE Training & Relaxation Level 1

Equipment: 36 inch Regular Foam Roller

1. Left & Right Swing: Swing the body to the right and then to the left. 
2. Pelvis Forward & Backward: Square your pelvis. Move the pelvis forward and then sew it backward. Hold it in neutral.
3. Stretch & Reach:  On the mat, reach with your arm to opposite leg and switch.
4. Floating:  Imagine you are floating in water with both legs stretched out on the mat. Pick up the hands just above the mat and hold.
5. Float & Balance: With both legs in tabletop position, pick up one hand at the time and hold. Use your core to stabilize.

We need strength to help support the shoulder joint and decrease risk of injury. We also need flexibility to maintain a pain-free range of motion.

In the following video, I share a series of exercises to help build and maintain shoulder mobility. 

5 Exercises to Improve Shoulder Mobility

Equipment: Pole, Pilates Chair

1. Elbows East & West: Open elbows east & west and then hold the pole up over the head.
2. Scoop Up Your Thoracic Spine: In prone position (on the stomach), hold  the pole behind the back and scoop up your thoracic spine. 
3. Spider on the Wall: Standing in the doorway, move your hands up the wall, one at a time, keeping the shoulders open (no hunching)
4. Tricep Dips & Hold:  In the Pilates Stability Chair, stand with feet on the pedal and do a series of slow tricep dips.
5. Chair Stand: Stand  on the Pilates chair with feet on the pedal, elbows straight and hold

Try a class! We teach locally at our Newton, MA studio or via Zoom.  Contact us to learn how we can design a program specifically for you! Phone: 617-852-6785 or Email: info@maracoreconditioning.com.

• Sternoclavicular
• Acromioclavicular
• Glenohumeral
• Scapulothoracic

The muscles surrounding these four joints need to work together, otherwise, the neck and shoulder muscles can be overworked, leading to pain and other problems.  To avoid overworking the neck and shoulder, you should focus on two techniques:

• Shoulder mobility provides the upper extremities with tremendous range of motion in multiple planes. Furthermore, if we deprive the shoulders of one of its anatomical motions, we lose its functionality and the joint will be predisposed to injury.
• Shoulder stabilization helps you maintain proper joint position and control during movement to reduce tension in the neck, shoulders, elbows and hands.

Video 3:  Shoulder Stabilization & Mobility on the Cadillac 2

Core Stability: 

Core stability helps with performance and injury prevention for all types of activities – like exercise or daily movements like picking up children or opening the fridge. By establishing core stability, you will be able to isolate the right muscles while moving your body and avoid activating the wrong muscles, which can cause pain. 

Movement: 

The human body needs to move in a variety of ways like changing position, balancing, coordinating, and having neuromuscular control & optimization. The GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® is a holistic approach to movement. It’s all about limberness, flow, rhythm, reaching, melting, opening & closing spaces in the body, and kinesthetic awareness. Movement is more than just exercising. It improves our cardio-vascular circulation, digestion, respiration, metabolism, immune system and hormonal control.

Our Approach: Balancing Core Stability & Movement

At Mara Core Conditioning, our goal is to create the right blend of exercises and intensity so everybody can succeed and progress. By evaluating each person individually and analyzing their unique physical skills and limits, we build a tailored exercise program using both PILATES & GYROTONIC® Method. We teach our students how to balance core stability and movement, using both body and mind so they practice these lessons in their daily lives.  Our students have found this approach to help them in all aspects of their life – from improving their posture and exercise form, reducing back discomfort and feeling generally more relaxed and healthier.

We strongly encourage anyone interested in making long term wellness improvements- whether it be injury recovery or prevention, athletic performance, or body conditioning – to try a session and see how a tailored approach can make a big impact!

Slouching and slumping cause neck, shoulder and back pain. While we must always strive to improve our posture, it’s also really important to relax and to stabilize the shoulders. 

The doorway is a perfect tool for this because it anchors the shoulders and repositions them allowing the neck to be free of stress.  Also, using the doorway helps us elongate our spine and scoop in the transverse abdominal which provides core strength and stability.

This video shows five exercises to release neck pain while standing in the doorway. Throughout the exercises,  push the doorway away with your arms positioned “east & west”  while looking straight ahead to the future!

1. Raise the shoulders up & down and then relax them down
2. Look to the right & look to the left, rotating your neck
3. Tilt the head to the right & tilt it to the left bringing the ear to your shoulder
4. Look up & look down
5. Pull the doorway down, raise your heels up and let the crown of your head reach towards the ceiling

Interested in trying a class? We teach locally at our Newton, MA studio or via Zoom.  Contact us to learn how we can design a program specifically for you! Phone: 617-852-6785 or  Email: info@maracoreconditioning.com.

Here some common reasons why you might have neck pain: 

• Poor posture or hunching over
• Sitting at your desk for long periods of time
• Sleeping with your neck in a funny position
• Wrong computer monitor height
• Extra muscle strain from things like lifting heavy things or improper form while exercising

To alleviate neck pain, start every day with these five simple exercises that mobilize the neck while stabilizing the shoulders. I recommend doing this series several times a day – especially if you work at a desk. 

Watch: Pilates for Neck Pain on the Chair

1. Raise the shoulders up & down and relax them down
2. Hold & freeze the shoulders pushing your hands down on the chair
3. Look to the right & look to the left rotating your neck
4. Tilt the head to the right & tilt it to the left side, flexing your neck
5. Look down & look up flexing and extending your neck

Interested in learning more ways to relieve your neck pain? Try a class! We teach locally at our Newton, MA studio or via Zoom.  Contact us at 617-852-6785 or email info@maracoreconditioning.com.

Treatment for low back pain varies from over-the-counter anti-inflammatory to surgery. Because of the invasive nature of surgery, side-effects, and low success rate many patients and their healthcare providers chose to turn to more conservative options if they are able. Pilates is one of those options and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of low back pain. Many of our clients say that a regular schedule of Pilates exercises for the back has been the key to maintaining a pain-free active lifestyle.

Credit: Sheryl Walters