Mountain Life Pilates
1101A 2nd Ave V0B 1M0 Fernie, BC, Canada

Looking back on this crazy year we’ve had, I am more grateful than ever to get to live where I do. There are SO many reasons why I feel so blessed to be Canadian, and to be a Fernie-ite in particular. . What makes Fernie so special is not just its location (though it is beyond amazing and I am grateful for it every day!), it is the people who quietly and tirelessly work to make it so. The sense and strength of community in this town is extraordinary. I am so proud to be a ...part of it. . I would like to thank the people who went above and beyond this year to support and protect our community. . THANK YOU to our frontline health workers for putting themselves at risk and taking on an insane amount of stress to help and protect us. . THANK YOU to the City of Fernie, for doing their best to balance our health and safety with keeping our city’s economy alive. . THANK YOU to all the volunteers and organizations who stepped up to help those hit hardest by this pandemic. . And THANK YOU to all of YOU for doing what you could to support the individuals and small businesses in our community - including mine . To show my gratitude, I am donating 5% of all revenue from December to the Fernie Salvation Army and Food Bank. . Please continue to do your part to keep Fernie safe and healthy, and as special as ever. Happy New Year everyone! . #gratitude #newyearnewstart #ferniestoke See more

Mountain Life Pilates is blessed to have not one, but TWO guest teachers teaching out of the studio this winter! Sabrina Simpson is here until the end of January. She has had rave reviews from those who have worked with her - don’t miss your chance to have a session with her before she returns to Scotland! We are thrilled to also welcome Jennifer Delich, as of the New Year! Jenny brings a wealth of experience as a sports physiotherapist to her Pilates teaching. Having these two wonderful teachers in Fernie opens up some more appointment times and gives us all an amazing opportunity to learn from their unique approaches and experience. Go to www.mountainlifepilates.com/about/ for more information and how to book with them.

Who’s excited that winter is here???!!! @sabrinafaithpilates is!! Come and get ready for ski season with her in our Monday afternoon small group classes! There is ONE SPOT LEFT in the 2pm class - grab it now! . See our website (link in bio) for registration and more information. . #ferniestoke #skiseasoniscoming #injuryprevention

Post-natal rehab week 7: Community wisdom . I received so many wonderful, thoughtful, wise and supportive comments after my post about patience. I thought I’d share some of the wisdom you shared with me . Find and appreciate a new normal. Your body may never be the same as it was pre-kids, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be strong and able to do the things you want to do.... . Post-partum life can be wonderful, frustrating, hopeful, overwhelming, rewarding, and exhausting all at the same time. It’s ok to feel all the feelings! . Everyone has their own timeline. Just like we’re told not to compare our children’s timelines, don’t compare your own recovery timeline to someone else’s. . Celebrate all the little wins! This journey is two steps forward, one step back. Acknowledge all those little steps forward! . Thank you to everyone who has been following along and sharing your thoughts with me! As a wise friend said, we’re all in the trenches here together let us all continue to build each other up. . #ittakesavillage #community #postpartumrehab #postpartumpilates See more

Exciting news!! Mountain Life Pilates is thrilled to have a guest instructor here for the winter! Sabrina Faith Simpson (@sabrinafaithpilates) is an original Fernie-ite who lives and teaches Pilates in Scotland. She’ll be teaching some small group classes out of the studio this winter, among other things. We are excited to learn from her experience and approach to the Pilates method! See our website (link in bio) for more information about Sabrina and the group classes she’ll be offering. #ferniestoke

Post-partum rehab week 6: who's got the time?! It’s hard to get me time in. And that’s ok I’m having a great time hanging out with this little one all day! But when do you get all the things you plan to get done for yourself and for your home? I’ve found that planning to do things during his naps is the fastest way to get him to not sleep!! Many times these past few weeks, I’ve remembered telling my post-natal clients, Ok, so just find 10 minutes to lie down on the ...floor I now imagine them saying in their head, with sarcasm, uh-huh, ok Kate, that’s gonna happen!... This is still a work in progress I am by no means a perfect rehabber. There have been many days, and then stretches of days, where I’ve done nothing. But I have found that getting at least some good, intentional movement in makes me feel a lot better. So here are a couple of tricks I’ve found helpful 1. Breathing (always!) breathing like we’ve touched on many times before engages the core, brings awareness to your posture, and boosts circulation. And it can be done in any position, +/- holding a baby! 2. Go for walks: making sure I get a good walk in outside has become a super important part of my day. The little man loves getting some fresh air too. 3. Find some exercises you can do with baby! These are some of my go-to’s. Holding him makes me hone in on my posture and core engagement, and he seems to like the ride! 4. Be kind to yourself. Guilt never helped anyone. Please comment if you have some favourite how to move with baby tricks! #postpartumrehab #postpartumpilates #whosgotthetime

Week 3: Some honest thoughts on patience . This takes FOR-EV-ER. . I have never had award-winning patience. And I apparently did not develop any during pregnancy. I have had many conversations with post-partum women about their recovery taking much longer than expected; how taking it easy and being kind to yourself are key. I’ve talked the talk, and now I need to walk the walk but it’s HARD to be patient!... . There’s the suggestion that I need to appreciate what my body has done in creating a human, and don’t get me wrong - I do! This whole experience has been extraordinary. But now I want to feel strong; I want to feel capable; I want to have control over my body. Appreciating what my body has done doesn’t erase those feelings. . In reflecting on why I feel frustrated, I think that my Type A personality just wants something to hold onto. I’ve given up control over my schedule, my sleep, my emotions (!). My life has been taken over by this little human, and while it is wonderful, it is a big change. When my life has felt out of control in the past, I’ve always had control of my body. And now that feels out of reach as well. . As I’m writing this it sounds very dramatic. I am healthy and have a healthy baby what am I complaining about?! I think that because there is a baby in the picture in post-partum recovery, often we are expected to push feelings of frustration about ourselves aside, but I think that it’s important to acknowledge them so that we can address them. So this is me acknowledging these feelings. Acknowledging them and moving forward however slowly! . #patienceisavirtue #whatpatience #postpartumrehab #postpartumpilates See more

Post-partum recovery blog, week 3: my current fave five exercises . My abs are not yet ready for any crunching or planking type exercises, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t work on them. Using your abdominals in their neutral position to control your rib cage is a great way to start to develop ab strength in the initial post-partum months, without pushing them beyond what they’re capable of. None of these exercises appear to be abdominal exercises, but they are all highly... effective in building core strength, whilst also opening up your shoulders and chest in a delicious way! The KEY is to focus on the RIB CAGE position with all of these movements - keep it lifted and stacked directly over your pelvis; don’t let the front of your rib cage pop forward. Use your breath (as we’ve touched on before) to help to maintain this position. . Extra things to focus on for each exercise: 1. Make the circle with your arms as BIG as you can 2. Keep your mid-back long as you rotate 3. Open your collar bones, and imagine you are being lifted up toward to the sky by the top of your head 4. Make the line from your sit bones to your hands as long and straight as possible. Also, keep your knees soft! 5. Imagine you are sitting against a wall (or you can actually do this with your back against a wall!) - keep the back of your ribs connected to the wall as you raise your arms overhead. . #postpartumrehab #postpartumpilates #wherearemyabs See more

Post-partum blog post week 2: Just move! . There are two things that I knew previously, but that have been reinforced times a million in this journey so far: 1Nursing and carrying a baby are terrible for the body (musculoskeletally-speaking). The combination of no core strength, and the constant looking down and rolling forward is a rough one. I find that even though I know how to resist these poor postures, I can’t! I just don’t have the strength in the necessary muscles.... . 2Movement - any movement - is amazing! It is an excellent antidote to nursing posture. I find if I can get some blood flowing and muscles activating throughout my body, it makes me feel better. . If you are following along, try incorporating more movement into your day! These features exercises are some of my favourites to do at the moment while hanging out with my son (he just looks at me like I’m nuts!). But be creative - take nice long breaths, make snow angels on the carpet, bear crawl up the stairs!... it’s fun to move randomly and will hopefully help you feel more mobile and free! (Go to www.mountainlifepilates.com/blog/ to read the full blog post) . #movementismagic #postpartumrehab #postpartumpilates See more

Contest #2 reminder! Post your photos/videos of your Pilates while parenting experiences by Monday to be entered to win a sweet $80 GC from @grow_fernie! Remember to tag @mountainlifepilates as well as @grow_fernie. Winner will be picked on Monday, Aug 31! . Ps. How cute is this little assistant?! (Thanks @pevotski for this awesome photo!) #parentsdopilates #ferniestoke

Post-partum rehab week 1: Look at this posture!!! (Insert shocked emoji here). Holding a baby is as horrible for posture as it is wonderful for the soul. Ok, let’s start with the basics. Breathing is a part of every exercise I post on here, and for good reason. It’s a great way to bring awareness to posture and core activation, and to calm the nervous system. This is why it’s a great place to start, post-partum. It’s an effective way to engage the core and, because I don’t h...ave the strength or the time to do a whole lot more (more thoughts on this to come!!), it’s a great way to make everyday things exercises. How: direct your breath into the bottom of your rib cage, specifically the back. As it fills with air, imagine your rib cage being lifted up from the back, as if you’re an inflatable person slowly growing taller. Then try to maintain this height through the back of your ribs as you exhale. Next, add some core and pelvic floor - relax your pelvic floor as you inhale, then do a gentle kegel and draw your belly button toward your spine as you exhale. Drawing your belly button in should help to support the height through the back of your ribs (as per the arrows in this picture). . Go to www.mountainlifepilates.com/blog/ to read about how to apply this to everyday movements, including holding your baby. . #postpartumpilates #whatposture #wherearemyabs

SUMMER CONTEST #2 ALERT! Can you combine Pilates and parenting?! To enter, please post a photo (or video) of yourself doing Pilates in some way with your kids - kids helping or impeding the process, joining in with you, or just along for the ride (fur babies count too!)!! Please tag @mountainlifepilates and @grow_fernie. . Winner gets an $80 (!!) gift card to Fernie’s wonderful kid’s store, Grow (big thanks to @grow_fernie for matching my $40). Winner will be drawn next Monday, Aug 31. #pilateswhileparenting #ferniestoke #kidslovepilatestoo

This is me, currently: sleep-deprived, slouched, wibbly-wobbly, and happy. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy 7 weeks ago via emergency c-section. . Among the many things I am fascinated with in this new world in which I am a mom, I am needing out HARD on how my body feels! My rib cage feels like a bobble-head, my shoulders and neck hurt, and where my abdominals used to be there is now a black hole!! I am weirdly excited to rehab myself!... the ultimate case study!! I am even excited enough to write about it. Follow along on my website blog: https://bit.ly/2Q5R0tP . #postpartumrecovery #postpartumpilates #wherearemyabs?

The winner of the #cheerstopilates contest is ... ... @nickpenny!! You’ve won a $50 GC to @nevadosfernie . Can we all give @nickpenny a round of applause for this impressive jackknife with champagne??! . Enjoy those delicious margaritas!!

CONTEST REMINDER! Don’t forget to post your Cheers to Pilates photo entries this weekend!! Here are some ideas for inspiration!... Remember to tag @mountainlifepilates and @nevadosfernie to enter. Winner gets a $50 gift certificate to Nevados - will be drawn on Monday! #cheerstopilates #ferniestoke #margaritasanyone

CONTEST ALERT!! Cheers to Pilates! Summer is finally here (but shhh... don’t jinx it!)!! This warrants a cheers! . I would love to see you doing Pilates while celebrating the fact that it’s backyard BBQ/adventure beer/patio season!! What’s the motivation? Winner gets a gift certificate to Fernie’s favourite tapas and tequila bar, Nevado’s - margaritas anyone?!... . To enter, post a picture (or video) of you doing Pilates whilst enjoying your favourite beverage, and tag @mountainlifepilates and @nevadosfernie.Winner will be drawn on Friday, the 24th. . Cheers, everyone!! #cheerstopilates #margaritasanyone #ferniestoke #ilovesummer #ilovepilates See more

Pilates during pregnancy: this has been such an interesting journey! The nerdy side of me has really enjoyed experiencing these changes in my body. The athlete in me - not so much!... . Either way, I have so appreciated having the basics to go back to - breath, posture and mindfulness. These things have helped me SO much these past nine months in navigating the amazing things my body has been doing all on its own. Having these foundations to rely on has given me a sense of... empowerment, and something to ground me, in a journey where we often feel out of control and uncertain. For that, I am so grateful! . Now on to the next steps - delivery and parenthood! Mountain Life Pilates will be closed for the next couple of months to give us a chance to get our feet under us. In the meantime, KEEP MOVING and keep connecting to your breath - see what it can do for you! . And stay tuned for some fun contests throughout the summer!! Take care everyone! . #ninemonthspregnant #thankyoupilates #pilatesduringpregnancy See more

Iso-lates: Home Equipment Edition - the stairs cont’d . Here’s a bonus stair exercise for you - this is a great one to activate the foot and train its connection to the hip: . -keep your hips square and your pelvis neutral - this should create some activation in the sit bone (where your hamstring meets your butt) of your forward leg... -make as long and straight a line from your back heel to the top of your head. As always this is a postural exercise too! -the only thing that moves here is your front foot - challenge yourself to maintain a constant knee and hip angle as you lift and lower the front heel. This is harder than it seems! Give it a go!! . #isolates #keepmoving #stayhome See more