Hello there and welcome to another awesome week on the Pilates Path!
Thanks for reading and sharing your time with me today.
Foot Corrector February
It’s nearly the end of February and the finish line of my 28-Day Foot Corrector Challenge is within sight.
If this challenge is news to you and your feet are crying out for some love, get all the deets in this post. This challenge in tandem with MarchMATness would be a boon to your Pilates Mat exercises.
Another bonus: You’ll have 31 Days!
More about the unexpected treasures found in daily foot exercises comin’ atcha in just 6 days!
The Self Guided Group Class
Do you know I offer online group classes?
It’s true.
My home studio is fully virtual and I’ve created the Zoom equivalent of Joe Pilates’ gym: students working out, sweating, and having fun all together in the same room.
Remember that?
I love witnessing a new a-Ha! moment, a glimmer of new understanding, or a funny Pilates anecdote. I’ll take all the humanity I can get right now.
All of my classes are self-guided.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You’ll do your own workout on whatever pieces of Pilates apparatus you have on hand.
If you’ve got a whole studio to use, that’s fantastic!
If you’re an enthusiast or at home with only a Mat, that’s perfect as well.
You’ll work out at your own pace, doing exercises appropriate for you with the supervision of an instructor.
Me!
As you move through your workout, I’ll offer suggestions, a correction or two, and perhaps a round of polite golf applause for a job well done.
If you’re working on learning the order of your exercises on the Mat or Reformer, keep your list of exercises nearby while you build your program.
In the virtual world, you’re literally on your own. You must take ownership of your workout and therefore of your health and well-being.
All that being said, if you’re used to a group class with a teacher telling you what to do from start to finish, you may feel unsure of how to proceed. Or even wonder why you might want to…
No worries, I’m happy to help.
Autonomy in your Pilates Workout: Practice what you Teach
The Private Lesson and Instructor-Led Group Class models are modern inventions.
They’re not bad models by any means.
But they lack a key ingredient to harnessing the full power of the Pilates Method: the voyage of discovery.
No journey on the Pilates path is complete without this vital component.
Joe’s Original 8th Avenue Studio
All accounts of life in Joe Pilates studio describe it as a gym: everyone working out – moving – together in the studio on one or more pieces of apparatus.
From Caged Lion: Joseph Pilates and His Legacy by John Steel:
Eventually I got the message it was necessary to be able to do the routine by yourself. While that may seem difficult, it really isn’t. The routine teaches itself to you.
This is not a speedy process.
The Pilates method takes devotion. It’s literally a practice.
Self-practice outside of the studio setting increases your proficiency.
YouTube videos have their place as well.
But the benefits of nurturing your workout under the watchful eyes of a teacher are unparalleled.
My ability to do the exercise routine slowly but continuously improved from session to session. I was getting stronger, I was moving better, and my posture was improving.
I was enjoying the feeling of well being.
I had only to show up at the gym, get down on the Reformer, and clear my mind so I could direct every bit of my attention to moving the right part of my body in the right way at the right time using the right muscles.
True progress is made over time.
You’re developing skills in your body as you would learn any sport or physical discipline, by repeating the same exercises many, many times.
Your body and mind are learning together.
Joe was trying to help you learn and acquire exercise, his particular exercise routine, as a habit to improve your life…
You were there to learn, not to work out.
An Experience is Worth 1000 Words
Ideally, teacher and student work together as a team.
And without true ownership of your Pilates workout, there cannot be real change. As you learn your exercises and become more independent, the exercises and the apparatus become your teachers as well.
They’re often better teachers because they give you an experience.
The experience may lead you to discover a skill or a moment that I’ve been telling you about for years.
Talking is easy to tune out. And talking isn’t teaching.
An experience, however, you’ll remember. You’ll feel special.
Like you’ve got a secret (weapon) no one else knows about.
One that’s well worth the price of admission.
Ultimately, it’s not about me, the teacher.
It’s about you.
Who knows you better than you?
How to Do your Own Workout
Wanna get started?
Use this link to book into one of my self-guided, supervised classes and join me!
But wait…
There’s more!
The Pilates System is Alive and Well and Living All Around the World
It’s not just me.
It’s a movement.
Continue your journey on the Pilates Path with a trusted guide.
Self-Guided Online Classes Worldwide
Depending on location, some self-guided classes may be in-person as well as online. Contact the studios for more information on their specific protocols.
“If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.”
