MEET THE PANELISTS of The LEHIGH VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTH EXPO 2013 / lvhealthexpo : Stacey Redfield Stacey Redfield is an internationally noted Pilates expert, author, fitness historian, and contributor for leading industry news, advice, testing and standards. Currently penning two books about the culture of fitness and the Pilates industry, her work includes a bare all biography of Pilates founder, Joe Pilates. An avid cook, gardener, award winning knitter, Stacey, at the age of 52, remains in demand as a fashion and commercial print and runway model, TV talent, and frequent contributor to news and feature programs. As a mother of two teens, Stacey brings her no-nonsense message of wellbeing to clients and the public as well. “We only have one body for life, so please, take care of it,” asserts Redfield, who admits her own trials and tribulations in a journey for fitness. “I started my fitness career with the Jane Fonda workout, complete with leotard, leg warmers and a pair of Reeboks. I discovered body building and hit the weight room, training back and legs one day, chest and arms another. I followed the diet, drank the protein shakes and kept a picture of my favorite bodybuilder, Rachel McLish, on my refrigerator for inspiration. The gym was a part of my regular routine. I thought that I was in shape until I had kids, when I realized that my years of dedication had not produced the body that I thought that I had. Instead, I had what I called the “Hollow Chocolate Bunny Syndrome”—the idea that what looked good from the outside didn’t exactly match what was inside. My health was flimsy at best. First introduced to Pilates in 1999, Stacey says having two children changed her lifestyle drastically—her body could not keep up with her full schedule. “I felt all of my years in the gym lifting weights and taking aerobics had been wasted. Pilates was the only thing that worked, or at least I thought it did. I enrolled in a teacher-training program, and in less than a year I had opened my own Pilates studio. I had no idea what I was doing; I was just blindly following what I had been taught in training. I noticed that Pilates did not consistently produce the results it claimed. I found a lack of muscle development, core strength and flexibility in clients that had been practicing Pilates for years….and yes, that included me. I didn’t understand. What was I doing wrong? It turned out that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Pilates really had no defined system.” Stacey says she began writing and researching to better understand Pilates, but instead, ended up uncovering the shocking story of an entire industry. “As I researched I came to realize the danger of treating fitness as a commodity. I had clients who came to me after incurring serious injuries because they lacked a foundation of general fitness, clients whose children were sedentary and overweight. After twelve years of teaching I am appalled by the state of health in America, and worse by the apathy towards physical education,” she continues. After 12 years of research and teaching Pilates, Stacey says she believes she has arrived at the same holistic approach to exercise that Joseph Pilates did. “Joe warned of the dangers of “quick-fix” regimens, competitive sports and extreme exercise, pointing to their negative impact on the body. It is a message that has largely been ignored,” sums Stacey, whose system of teaching, in addition to her writings, she says, will hopefully serve as a wake-up call for all about the value of proper physical development.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 00:35:49 +0000
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