Sarah Picot is a professional dancer and Pilates instructor who runs a Pilates studio out of her home in Arlington, Virginia. She has created an award-winning Pilates series that is geared especially toward pregnant and post-partum women, and her new book, Pregnancy and Pilates, is a pregnancy journal and a workout system in one! I was thrilled to have a chance to interview Sarah, and she was gracious enough to offer an awesome giveaway! (Read on for giveaway details.) For more information about Sarah Picot, visit her websites (www.picotpilates.com and www.pilatesforyou.com) or her blog (www.anythingpilates.blogspot.com).

INTERVIEW:

Q: For those who may not know much about Pilates, could you give a brief explanation about what Pilates are all about?

A: Pilates is an exercise method that focuses on intense core strength and spinal mobility. It improves posture and flexibility so you feel better and of course look better. You end up with long, lean muscles and a fabulously flat stomach. There is a reason that movie stars swear by it.

Q: What is it about Pilates that makes it such a great workout for new and expectant moms?

A: Pilates can be great for the pregnant woman who wants a low impact workout that will help her strengthen her pelvic floor while giving her the back strength to support her growing belly. The Pilates "Breathing technique" is wonderful for women to use, particularly as their bellies rise higher in their ribcage.

Training the pelvic floor muscles all through pregnancy will aid her when it comes time to push during delivery. My doctor was amazed at how quickly I found the right muscles to use when I went into labor with my first son - even with the muscle-numbing affects of an epidural. That said, my Prenatal Pilates workout is carefully modified for each trimester.

Strict Pilates focuses too much on intense abdominal work and back lying. Neither of which is good to do after the first trimester. I consulted doctors to come up with safe and effective modifications that would give a pregnant woman all the benefits without contributing to a separation of the rectus abdominus muscle or sacrificing blood flow to the baby by lying on your back too long.

The amazing stomach-flattening benefits make Pilates the obvious choice for postnatal women. Not only can she improve posture (which can get worse with pregnancy, breastfeeding and carrying a newborn), she can work on toning the muscles that affect bladder control.

My Postnatal Pilates DVD is fun because I incorporate the baby into the workout. She bonds with mom and works on developmental stages such as tracking while mom gets her body back!

Q: Could you suggest (and explain) a particularly helpful and easy exercise that my readers can try today?

A: For the pregnant woman try Squat with Curls:

This exercise targets EVERYWHERE!

Holding 1-3 lb weights or soup cans in each hand, stand with your back against a wall and your feet about 6-8 inches from the wall and hip-width apart. Make sure you are on a non-slip surface. Activate your abdominals by pulling your belly button backward toward your baby and try to increase the space between your hips and lower ribs as you bend your knees and slide your back down the wall. Stop when your legs and knees form a 90 degree angle (your knees should be not be past your toes, if they are stand up and walk your feet a bit further from the wall). Keep your back in contact with the wall as you do 8 slow bicep curls - bend your elbows and then lengthen your arms. Exhale as your arms bend, inhale as they lengthen. After the last curl, slide back up the wall. Rest and repeat 2 times. You can vary the arm workout each time. Try starting with your hands by your shoulders and pressing them up toward the ceiling or keeping your arms long and slightly bent as you raise them sideways to shoulder height 8 times. Not only is this a terrific leg, buttock and arm exercise, if you kegal and concentrate on keeping your back against the wall and your torso long, it becomes a wonderful abdominal exercise.

For the postpartum mom try the Hundred:

This exercise increases circulation and blood flow for healing and targets the abdominals

You can do this signature Pilates exercises with your 2-6 month old baby.

WITH BABY: Lie on your back with your legs bent and together and feet flat on the floor. Lean your baby back against your closed legs or lay her on your stomach. **Make sure you have 1 hand on your baby at all times**

Keep your left hand on your baby, reach your right arm along side your body and about 1 inch off the floor. Curl your head and shoulders off the floor. While pumping your right arm slightly up and down (with resistence ), inhale through your nose for 5 counts and exhale out your mouth for 5 counts. This is 1 set. Do 5 sets. Stay curled off the floor as you bring your right hand to your baby and then extend your left arm next to your body. Repeat 5 times using the left arm. Focus on keeping your belly pulled in. The weight of your baby will help remind you! If she is young and lying on your stomach she will love listening to your heartbeat. If she is sitting up and older she will enjoy looking at her favorite face - yours!

*You can always do this without your baby by using both arms at the same time.

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your Pilates expertise with the readers of Peekaboo Picks, and for your gracious gift of your Pilates DVD and Pregnancy and Pilates workbook!

You can win Pregnancy and Pilates: A Workbook for Before, During and After Pregnancy, and your choice of Sarah’s Prenatal Pilates or Post-Natal Pilates DVDs!

To enter, check out PilatesForYou.com, and leave a comment stating whether you’d rather have the Prenatal or Post-Natal DVD.

You have until Midnight PST Tuesday, May 13 to enter. The winner will be announced in next week’s Losing It! column on May 14.