Welcome to March MATness 2021!

Welcome to March MATness 2021!

If you’re a new subscriber, thanks so much for reading and for joining us on the endless journey that is the Pilates Method.

Thank you March MATness 2020

This month brings the one-year anniversary of the pandemic and COVID-19. Just one year ago we all got intimately acquainted with our homes when the world went on lockdown.

Last year, inspired by my colleagues, I decided to do a full Mat workout every single day of the month. So I dusted off my exercises like no big deal. Each day, for the month of March, I’ll do my Mat exercises. Great.

Enter March 13 and 60+ hours of flying back to the US: event canceled, trip aborted and country about to close. That being said, Kuwait is a fantastic place to have lunch. Highly recommend.

Although I didn’t do any exercises on the plane, I wouldn’t realize how precious 34 Mat exercises could be until I returned to them on March 14.

And every other day in March.

I closed my studio to in-person instruction, taught the few online clients I already had, and threw myself at the Mat. Anything to stem the tide of anxiety ready to wash me away.

Those Mat exercises, for 30 minutes a day, were a gift.

A thoughtful respite to my day…

30 minutes of inward focus to return me to life.

A new kind of life, where I now more than ever desperately needed the Pilates Method.

Though this be MATness, yet there is method in’t

I’m not alone in having had copious amounts of time to devote to my workout. My work schedule nearly cut in half gave me lots of time to visit my apparatus, who now stared at me blankly wondering why they’d gathered dust.

I remembered all over again why I love this Pilates stuff in the first place. I remembered why I love teaching this method and sharing tools that make our bodies feel so good.

‘Invincible’ is the word that comes most easily to mind.

Let’s add ‘resilient’ and ‘powerful’ to the mix.

Man, did I need it.

Today is Day 2 of the MATness: The Roll Up

If you’re reading this on the day it publishes, March 2, 2021, welcome to Roll Up day!

It’s a favorite of mine but it sure didn’t start out that way.

I’ve written many blog posts over the years to help me.

I hope they help you too.

• Video Blog: A Brief Pilates Tutorial on the Roll Up
• Pilates Mat Exercise #2: The Roll Up
• Learn. To do. The Roll Up. And other Pilates Mantras…
• Don’t Blame the Exercise: The Roll Up Edition

What’s New for the Roll Up in 2021?

As the month of March sprawls out in from of me, there’s serious Roll Up practice time ahead.

I’ve been looking at our old friend the Roll Up with new eyes. In the big picture, the Roll Up presents you with the opportunity to better your skills of bending forward.

The Roll Up reminds you the lower body does not begin at your hips and legs. It requires an integration of all of the back of you, committing to the standing body ever more deeply as we lift ourselves up and over in opposition.

Work your Hundred well, friend, and you shall be rewarded.

Thinking of the body in pieces and parts can distract you here. The Roll Up takes teamwork.

To the humble Push Down on the Wunda Chair I go.

Foot Corrector February Follow-Up

If you joined me last month for daily foot exercises I hope you had a revealing month with the Foot Corrector and 2×4.

It’s fascinating what change you can foster in 28 days.

Although I did notice more proficiencies in my foot exercises, they really paid off when I visited the Reformer and the Mat.

In about 10 days, I could connect my center (think upper stomach center of gravity) to the balls of my feet and lift up out of my hips and legs. This is a big skill I need.

It took all month long to do the Tendon Stretch one side at a time without falling over or swaying in the wind all over the place. I didn’t try it in the combo yet. That calls for stellar balance and I have merely “balance” at the moment.

Keeping lift on one side at a time was a skill I thought I had, but evidently not so much…

What happened in my Reformer workout?

Basically SO much happened – was alive – than before Foot Corrector February.

Some notable specifics:

• Everything was better. Thank you, Jay Grimes.
• I could literally stand on my feet in all those exercises where your feet fly around in the breeze.
• I was a master of Running. It was that good. It felt amazing. Don’t take that little guy for granted.
• OMG Swan on the Box: much less awkward! I could float up off that box.
• I played with a bunch of crazy stuff in the Horseback (since my foot exercises have made me superhuman). This one’s not always in my wheelhouse…
• I was hoping something magical would happen to my Breaststroke but alas, still meh…
• All the actual standing stuff – Long Stretch Series, Stomach Massage – felt better, still challenging but better.
• I noticed where my feet still haven’t found proper purchase on the footbar – Semicircle, Control Push-Ups, Headstands…
• The left side of my Front Split needs some work tho – oh that left leg! It wants to conquer the world!
• The moment of rising up to the ball of the foot in Control Balance Stepping Off. Hey, I’ve been here before! Look what I can do…

I need to do these exercises every day for forever (that old chestnut).

They make me so strong.

Enjoy the MATness

I encourage you to visit as many of Joe Pilates’ Mat exercises as you are able.

For lots of free learning, I recommend doing them every day. It doesn’t take long. All of the exercises in Return to Life only will take you only 25 minutes if you keep your transitions snappy.

Use this video blast from the past to get you started.

New MATness Merch!

For March MATness 2015 I created whimsical images, especially for my least favorite exercises.

At that time, one of my most feared/hated exercises was Swimming.

Kill me now, was all that came to mind.

Hence the featured image for this post.

Fast Forward to 2021 and although I dare not say it’s a favorite. I have a new appreciation for it. It’s diagonal stretching feels so good in my body.

Enter the Tiny Shark Shirt do do do do do. Check it out.

I made one for myself and I love it so much I want to share it with you all. It’s available in a white and black women’s crop tee and unisex sizing.

This image makes me laugh and reminds me that “these things take time” (thank you Jay) and that even the most horrible exercise can improve over time.

Thanks so much for reading!

Have a great workout. You know you want to.