Week 2

"Hi Honey! How are you?" This is how Briana greets me as she gets out of the car. I love her joyful attitude and I love that she calls me Honey. She is excited and enthusiastic to see me and says she is ready to work.

Today I notice that Briana is having an easier time maneuvering the stairs. She is more familiar with my house and seems more comfortable. Once we descend the final step, she knows exactly where to go. She sits down on the Tower mat and asks for help with her shoes. I am surprised by her memory of everything and feel encouraged.

As a certified Pilates instructor, Pilates training is the method of exercise I have chosen for Briana. Classical Pilates exercises are generally done in the same order with a limited number of repetitions. The goal for each exercise is quality of movement rather than quantity. Muscles are worked in eccentric extension rather than concentric contraction, and as an instructor it is my job to make sure that a student is not working to failure. By repeating the same order of exercises and eventually adding exercises into the repertoire, a student will gain strength, stamina and endurance as well as increased body awareness and quality of movement. This is the foundation and inspiration for my work with Briana. The question I have asked myself in regards to her training: Is it possible to teach a woman with Down Syndrome to articulate movement, develop coordination and control, and increase strength and stamina?

Briana has a great memory. She knows exactly which exercise we start with and is excited to show me how she does it. She lays down on her back and begins to pull the rollback bar towards her stomach. Right away, I notice that her range of motion is already greater than it was last week. "You are getting stronger already!" I say to her. "Yes, I know it," she replies, then proceeds to tell me how she has been practicing everything at home. "I do it just by myself. I don't have the bar at home but I do the exercise," she says. I let her know how proud I am that she is exercising at home and we continue to go through our exercises.

At the end of our session, Briana is eager to try the treadmill. I showed it to her on our first session and demonstrated how it works. She asks me to do it and my heart drops to my stomach. Right away, I know that this could be an amazing experience and accomplishment for her or a complete catastrophe. I worry about her balance. I worry about her getting startled when the belt starts to move. I worry about her falling and hurting herself and never wanting to get back on. I worry about every possible thing that could go wrong, then find myself saying "are you sure you're ready?" "Let's do it!" she says and claps her hands together.

Once Briana is situated on the treadmill, I start explaining everything that will happen when the treadmill starts moving. "I know. You showed me last time. Let's do it." I quit stalling, put my hand on her back, set the treadmill to one mile per hour and press start. The belt begins to move and she yells out and tightens her grip on the hand rails. She seems scared, but I tell her she's doing great and to keep going. "I don't want to," she replies. I look at the time on the treadmill and show her that she has been on for 30 seconds. "Lets stop when this number turns into a one," I say. I point to the time for her and she agrees. When one minute appears on the clock, I stop the treadmill and she says "Wow! I can't believe it!" She is proud of her accomplishment and can't wait to tell her mom the good news. She leaves feeling excited and encouraged and I feel exactly the same. I can't wait to see what next week brings!