How I Fixed 1 Pilates Correction in Just 7 Years

How I Fixed 1 Pilates Correction in Just 7 Years

Geeky Pilates Pastime #37:

Trolling my Pilates notes for information I learned and then promptly forgot.

It’s amazing what you’ll find in there.

We do everything like we do everything.

Ever discover the trend or through-line in your life with regard to the way you approach x,y, or z? I am a perfectionist by nature. I am literal and I prefer everything to be clear, linear and free of complication. As a literal girl awash in the shades-of-gray world of teaching Pilates, there are no hard and fast rules here, just better and better choices to be made. *Sigh*

Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well. William Shakespeare

When I was a college acting student our scene work was videotaped. This was not a widespread teaching tool at the time. However as an actor I found it to be invaluable. You could see the notes on your performance right in front of you. You clearly saw your body language betraying you. You saw yourself wandering about when your action or intention was unclear. You witnessed the dramatic moment turned into physical comedy, my personal favorite gaffe. Always guilty.

Enter Pilatesology, Vintage Pilates and the Teacher’s Clubhouses…

I am careful, thoughtful and precise to a fault. Of course my urge to “get it right” seeped into my Pilates workout. An advanced Reformer workout in 35 minutes? I couldn’t fathom it.

I had done it in just about an hour by not procrastinating after the Semi Circle, but not really by picking up the pace. I knew from my lessons that I did work slowly and needed to move it along. Too slow = unnecessary tension.

I understand.

Then I saw a Teacher’s Clubhouse video…and myself, the slowpoke in the back. One or two exercises behind, I could see myself thinking way too hard. Oh boy.

I understand.

Oh yeah, the note I found from Jay Grimes in 2005?

Don’t Think Yourself into Being an Invalid.

Ouch.

Watch Joe’s body language as he teaches in the video below. His gestures spur his student on and create the movement of the exercises. Move, move, move he seems to say.

The moral of the story? Sing it with me now:

Trust the Work.

It’s doing its job just fine. That’s the brilliance of this Pilates method that we all love so much.

It is the pursuit of perfection…

How I Fixed 1 Pilates Correction in Just 7 Years

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2 Responses

  1. Great article! Let Pilates work the details out for you. Can’t wait to get a move on in my workout today. 🙂

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