Oov Pilates (yoga studio)

About this event

“The OOV is a powerful device that mimics the body and creates a state of instability in order to give the user feedback, so to enhance our abilities to achieve more efficient movement.” (OOV Manual) Daniel Vladeta D.O. invented the OOV after working in osteopathy, neuroscience and later becoming a bioengineer. It was in his role as a bioengineer that the inspiration for the OOV was born. He wanted to design a device that would help and empower patients to fully recover after surgery and injury. “The OOV is about empowering people to take control of their own body.” (Daniel Vladeta) Daniel likens using the OOV to the dental industry teaching patients to brush and floss: a self-care tool. OOV stands for “Out Of Vocabulary.” Upon seeing the OOV for the first time, they didn’t know how to describe it, so they settled on the acronym OOV. They made the OOV of a non-toxic, latex-free, proprietary material. It molds to the user and can maintain its dynamic, unstable qualities even when standing on it. The device’s constant activity makes the participants’ nervous system wake up and work to stabilize. The OOV has three curves to support the three curves of the spine. (Daniel likes to point out that it makes no sense that we’ve been training people to use their three-dimensional dynamic body on a flat static surface.) The highest, biggest, and most supportive part of the OOV goes under the pelvis and lumbar spine. Then the OOV transitions into a narrow, more flexible curve to support and promote movement in the thoracic spine. This curve also has two cut-outs for the scapula. This enables free movement of the shoulder because they are off the ground with nothing behind them. The apex of the small end sits right at the base of the neck with the head resting on the floor or an appropriate prop. They designed the OOV not only to be used supine but prone, side-lying, sitting, kneeling, and standing. The design makes working on the OOV comfortable, supportive, flexible, dynamic, unstable, and proprioceptive. The OOV has many uses: 1. The OOV is an assessment tool. Practitioners can use the OOV to assess adaptive strategies and compensatory movement patterns. (OOV Manual) 2. The OOV is a correction tool. The OOV provides the necessary feedback for the body and mind to improve movement patterns. (OOV Manual) 3. The OOV is a motor control tool. The OOV facilitates learning to control one part of your body while moving or disassociating another part of the body. It does this through repetition, sequential training and by adding tolerance and load. (OOV Manual) 4. The OOV is a performance tool. Once the participant has achieved correct movement and motor control, this can be applied to overall performance in all activities. (OOV Manual) Benefits of Using the OOV There are many, many benefits to working on the OOV. To illustrate just some benefits, below is a description of what is happening in the body when laying supine on the OOV: “When a client is lying on the OOV, their spine is placed in a lengthened position or axial elongation. This facilitates rotational instability, initiating core control through feedback. From this position, mobility of the body can be readily improved in the hips, shoulders, and spine, all while core control is achieved.” (OOV Manual) When in supine, the pelvis sits off the ground. Because of this, it is free to move in all 3 planes. This allows participants to learn how to control their pelvis in all three planes, like when they are standing. Lying on the OOV on your back stretches and decompresses the spine. This positioning also encourages the shoulders to drop back and open. This leads to proper recruitment and use of the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing up regulates the parasympathetic nervous system and allows the participant to relax and take in more information. Working on the OOV is a right-brained activity with minimal cuing from the instructor. This allows people to focus on what they are feeling. Participants have a movement experience instead of a left-brain analytical experience. Contra-indications • Third trimester of pregnancy (There are modification for this) • Fractured vertebra • Trauma • Torn muscles, tendons, or ligaments Most issues can be accommodated on the OOV. My Experience with the OOV After many years of doing Pilates, I found working on the OOV refreshing. If I’m honest, I was tired of the constant mental analysis that doing Pilates requires, as well as feeling “held” in my body. I wanted to just move and enjoy moving without the thought I may be “doing it wrong.” I think the held feeling resulted from the constant conscious recruitment of muscles. For example, let’s look at footwork on the Reformer. In footwork, you lay on a flat static surface, so you need to consciously recruit your core musculature to stabilize. (Because laying on a flat static surface tells the nervous system to relax.) The first time I did footwork on the Reformer on the OOV, I felt my torso stabilize three-dimensionally as well as spontaneously. I could focus on what I was feeling and just move. I felt less “strength as holding muscles” and a more spontaneous natural recruitment. The OOV also wakes up under used parts of the body and gets them participating. This has shown up in my everyday life as more ease and less analysis. I think the ease is also a result of the OOV’s ability to release rigidity strategies. I have had a ton of MFR through my hips, pelvis, neck, and shoulders because of working on the OOV. Working with students on the OOV has been very rewarding. Using the OOV, I can quickly evaluate how their bodies are moving and what they need. I don’t have to spend significant time teaching them how to recruit muscles. They get the feeling of axial elongation and three-dimensional core control right from the start. I get the fun challenge of creating dynamic environments to get the recruitment they need, and they spend more time moving and experiencing their bodies working. I can also quickly reassess to see if the intervention worked. Because of this, we see changes quickly, which is motivating for us both. I have also found students are more compliant with the homework on the OOV. In my studio back in Kansas, almost everyone one of my students bought one after working on it. They loved it. My students weren’t as obsessed with doing things “right” and enjoyed how quickly they improved. It also improved their regular Pilates lessons. I think people find working on the OOV a fun challenge which encourages more movement.

From Rocky Mountain Pilates Studio