EKS BEACHSIDE BODYWORK, LLC
INDIALANTIC, FLORIDA

, originally an attorney and philosophy professor in New York City by trade, is the current owner and sole manager of EKS Beachside Bodywork, LLC—a limited liability company devoted to the development of the EKS Pilates, Yoga, Aerial Arts, Bodywork and Pain Management methods (the “EKS Methods”). As mentioned on the A lifelong student, always devoted to open-minded and continual unbiased learning and exposure to various bodywork methods, Emily has sought out and drawn on as many differing methodologies and experiences of bodywork as possible to find intelligent concepts within varying methodologies and to discover, to the greatest extent possible, objective bodywork “truths” so to speak, which cut across all or most traditions and methodologies, and which have also been effective both for her body and progressing her own practice, but also, and more importantly, for the pain relief and proper and permanent realignment of the majority of case studies and bodies with whom she has worked over the course of her career. The aforementioned objective bodywork “truths” and principals are the core of the EKS methods and remain largely constant. These principles are invaluable as they can be applied to gain clear conceptual understanding of how various postures, positions and equipment can help to unlock or release the body and how to safely and efficiently strengthen the body and the mind’s ability to communicate with it and manipulate it precisely and efficiently. Anyone can teach a sequence of choreographed movements – and any instructor can memorize varying “assists” and hand positions on, or manipulations of, a client’s limbs or other body parts to help get the client into a particular posture or body position. But, this really misses the point, which should never be getting into a position or posture at all cost, and hoping that over time it will not hurt and will become more natural, as many practitioners do. This is a great way to injure yourself or others. Instead, instructors and practitioners of the EKS methods must understand that true alignment comes from within the practitioner’s body. Only the practitioner can release a muscle that is contracting which should not be, and, while a posture or piece of equipment may help a client practitioner to become aware of a particular gripping muscle that is over-contracting (or, contracting without the conscious intention of the client), only the client can “find” the mental process which is causing that muscle to grip / over-contract and release it. In fact, if the instructor pushes the client’s body into a place the body is not ready to go, the gripping muscle will often contract harder (as the body is usually gripping that muscle because the mind believes it is protecting the body, perhaps by immobilizing a body part), and this, in turn, will almost invariably result in pain and will often result in injury. Body postures and position should be used to help the client find lost muscles and feel proper alignment. Once a body is well aligned and a practitioner has control of the internal muscles to a sufficient degree, EKS methods can be used as a means of working the body as strenuously as the practitioner is ready for – which is dictated by the strength the practitioner has with which to hold his or her body in alignment under the stress of whatever posture the practitioner may be attempting to achieve. There are no boring postures. If a posture seems boring, the mind is idle and fails to explore the actions of the body in the posture. Making new mind/muscle links in postures constitutes the very essence of learning, which in itself is exciting and releases endorphins Featuring Hugger Mugger yoga mats/props, Gratz Pilates Equipment, aerial silks and yoga hammocks as well as soft Bamboo wood floors, EKS BEACHSIDE BODYWORK studio provides the most ideal environment possible for developing an effective and safe yoga, Pilates and/or aerial arts practice. EKS BEACHSIDE BODYWORK EKS Beachside Bodywork is a fully equipped Yoga, Pilates, Aerial Arts and Pain Management Studio assisting practitioners in increasing their mobility, strength, flexibility and overall health and well being through precise and highly coordinated movement and the attainment of long term proper body alignment through use of the “EKS Methods” of Yoga, Pilates, Aerial Arts and Pain Management (the “EKS Methods”). page.] Instruction at EKS Beachside Bodywork stresses proper alignment with anatomical verbal and tactile cues to assist the practitioner in finding deeper and more effective postures safely. Ideal candidates for, and practitioners of, the EKS methods span from advanced yogis and Pilates advocates and instructors—and even professional athletes—on the one hand and extreme, to partially or fully immobilized (and sometimes desperate) clients in chronic and intense pain, who have perhaps found little or no relief from the often overly medicinal and surgical approaches to pain management employed by many traditional western medicine professionals and physical therapists, on the other hand and extreme. The reason these methods are valuable at both extremes is that they establish the ability of the practitioner to control and differentiate muscle groups on a micro level as opposed to the usually very macro level employed subconsciously by most people for movement of the body, core and limbs through life and various physical activities. Strength is not only the ability to flex a muscle, but also the ability to disengage other muscles which are pulling against the flexed muscle and decreasing the effectiveness of its engagement. A muscle flexed while other muscles are flexing in the opposite direction becomes less effective since the body is essentially fighting against itself—this produces misalignment and resulting pain, oftentimes, but it also reduces efficiency of movement, balance and control all too important to athletes operating at peak performance. Considering the anatomy of muscle contraction helps to illustrate and deepen this understanding and provides a small example of the instruction and integrated approach a practitioner training at EKS BEACHSIDE BODYWORK will receive. If the following analysis and example is not of interest to you, you may want to consider a different studio for your training.