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When Brett Miller walked in you could see the man had been working on himself for decades and he looked younger, fitter, and cuter than his photos.
The internet has allowed many people to create and project a reality success without an experience and people with media skills are organizing themselves into authorities and gathering followers so it was with low tolerance and little interest in internet intelligence I had responded to his attempt to engage me in pilates discussions.
Fortunately he was curious enough to persevere and make the Pilates pilgrimage through the politics and up 7000 feet to my studio.
Discussions do not teach you, movement does so we got right to work.
You can’t be mental when it comes to Overhead and the man had strength, and the ability to listen to instructions and just take in the amount of information I wanted to pass into his body, his far away country, this next generation, and his readers.
Like a surgeon, I opened him up, connected him, and sealed him,
His open fingers, his unconscious wrists, disconnected heels and misplaced eye focus were the final corrections in an otherwise beautiful, undamaged, symmetrical body he had worked on for decades.
I also encouraged him to ask Why Why Why is it done like that?
Do it like this, and think about it and make your own decision.
Otherwise employed he didn’t have to play games with certifiying organizations vying for the teacher’s dollars, although he seemed somewhat participating in the Stott cult of pilates religion.
We stayed out of politics, if you can believe that, and as a vocal coach would do with any artist, I enhanced his pilates song, making some notes longer, shorter, slower, sharper and better suited to his range,
He wanted me to love him, but I got tougher on his mat, as he tried to charm me. When he worked he obeyed without debate although he would later tell me traditional vs. the modern work is not so important to him. I am humbled by the respect he showed me on his quest for personal knowledge .He’s an adult with a clear opinion and very very confident.
As he left the mountain, I thought, Romana would have loved this guy.
A Sagittarian Summit – by Brett Miller
I am a Sagittarius. Siri is a Sagittarius. Joe Pilates was a Sagittarius. While those sentences may testify otherwise, I am actually not big on astrology, my exposure coming from once having lived with an astrologist. I offer what I know. Sagittarians are the Centaurian (half hourse/half human) archers of the zodiac – athletic, strong, optimistic, confident and philosophical with a strong inner drive for the truth. Their means often employed to satisfy their drive for knowledge is to hit the road and talk to others with the aim to get answers. An astrology connoisseur might say that the sense of freedom and pleasure I felt as I travelled in a rented red Nissan toward the rugged California Mountains, windows down and Pepsi in hand, on my way to meet a significant figure in a field I love, was destined by the myriad constellations of astral bodies at the time of my birth. True or not, I felt myself on a pilgrimage to that other Sag mentioned in the first sentence above – Siri Dharma Galliano. I have been drawn to Siri for her well known Sagittarian characteristic to be apolitically outspoken in her point of view. I have also drawn because I know her as a Pilates expert. I am on my way to check things out for myself, prepared to allow my consciousness, and life, to be altered
I arrived at her studio, Big Bear Pilates, modest in size but well equipped with all of the classical apparatus – there was even an electric chair, built by Joe Pilates himself, in the far corner. Siri emerged from the back, happy and touched that I would travel so far to study with her. Glad to see her as well, I gave her a friendly hug. We engaged in a little small talk wherein she shared some of her archival documents and photos. But the the real reason for our time together beckoned us and we soon began the ‘real work’ on the reformer, a Gratz, of course.
I have exposure to classical training, but the thrust of my knowledge comes from the Stott training program, and Siri is immediately not pleased with one of the Stott principles. “What IS that breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth? And why the noise?” (Stott does not recommend making noise.) “No, no, no, not necessary, regular nose breathing will do unless you have a cold. Do you walk down the street and move around breathing like this? Of course not, it is nonsense” she confidently teaches.
Footwork and stomach massage, remember that travelling inward is just as important as travelling outward; the body is always engaged in the work-and the heels are together. She takes the moment to point out the impact of the equipment, and how its design strongly affects one’s understanding of an exercise. With Gratz, for example, the last few centimeters of the carriage travelling in are without spring tension. If you do not actively work to bring the carriage in, it will stall prior to reaching the end destination.
Siri corrects my wayward wrists (in rowing) and my open outspread fingers (in every exercise). She crisply commands me to more immediately go to full extent of my movement. Confident with her hands and knowing that she has a body before her that likes to be pushed to the limit, she accentuates her correction with a firm push of my upper back down, increasing the reach of the head towards my knees. Simultaneously, she unapologetically reaches into my lower abdomen, pulling it back and up. It is intense and internally very alive.
She was slightly irritated that a certified instructor with advanced skills could be ignorant of several basic and important details. Nonetheless, she also complimented the strength, suppleness my skill, recognizing it to be built from years of disciplined and intelligent work, and continues in her expert fashion to set things right.
True to the Sagittarian influences within, Siri exudes a certainty in the quality of her training and ability to impart it. This certainty is not only derived from her being a direct protégé of Romana, but also from a naturally strong (VERY strong) presence that shines from within. The seriousness of her approach I found intensely attractive.
Beyond the outward forms and physicality, there hung in the air a mutual understanding that we were both in the presence of a similar being, a seeker desperately dedicated to being immersed in what is real and what is good. In the spirit of this unspoken knowledge she continued to answer the questions that I needed to have answered, intuitively aware of what they might be.
In a hostile and insensitive world where all we can do is give from the knowledge that we have built, and then hope for the best, she was on higher alert, stimulated by the sense that the arrows she jettisoned were hitting the bull’s eye. True to the generosity of her Sagittarian character, she gave for a full three hours in the first session, going through the full reformer list as taught to her by Romana.
I, not a natural born follower, yet unaware of what my questions may be, dutifully submitted imbibing in the knowledge surging forth. Yes, the arrows met their mark, and within me arose a new perception, subtle in manner, of a depth and potential in the work that I have practiced for so many years.
It was a poignantly significant realization.
My consciousness and life were being altered, even if in a small way.
I may have given the idea that our time together had the mood of some serious candlelight church ritual, complete with a droning Gregorian chant. Nothing could be further from the truth. My endeavors to charm and show-off brought only a steadfast reminder of the business at hand, which in turn awakened in me that Sag characteristic to turn on the charm EVEN MORE. All my efforts were not without result, Siri’s face did have the occasional formation of a wry smile, and this brought humor and fun to the situation.
Having spent a total of four hours over 2 days with Siri, I left Big Bear more knowledgeable than I came, and with a hunger to know more about the original work.
So a question I have been asked, am I now a classicist? No. Being an -ist or identifying with an -ism gives only comfort by providing a sense of purpose and identity, quickly becoming an obstacle to approaching the real, the true and the simple. Nonetheless, I will definitely pursue any reasonable chance I get to learn more about the original work, especially from teachers of Siri’s caliber.
And that is a high threshold to achieve, for Siri has the capacity to convey wisdom to a person receptive, she is one of those rare teachers that can truly take you nearer to that which you truly are.
Thank you, fellow Sag, I look forward to future travels!
Sunni Almond Wraps it Up
I’m just looking back a couple weeks at my time on the mountain with Siri and my new Swedish friend Brett, and his mischievous little smile…he came bearing gifts too, a t-shirt and little licorice treats. He had spent the day before with Siri, and I came up to hang out, observe his lesson and take one of my own.
I wanted to save him like the big sister to a little brother who is about to be in trouble. Siri gave Brett mat work to do for his lesson, and expected him to know the order…his training isn’t classical, but his dance background was beautifully visible in every move he made. So he was lost a bit on the traditional order and I was trying to secretly whisper or make some sort of innuendo as to what came next without him being found out….but to no avail, she called him out on it and when she referred to her list, he let her know that what’s good for the goose….but Siri documented her documentation by giving him the reason she referred to the written list…so she would know how many exercises were left before the session ended, and she wouldn’t leave out her least favorites. Plus saving enough time to give him ‘what he needed’ which turns out was just as I suspected after seeing him on my guillotine 2 days prior, a little work on the right hip and low back area.
Siri efficiently had Brett drop his fancy dance additions and get to the more utilitarian point of each move. It IS a workout developed by a German man… Yet there is still fluidity even without the flair. They had an undercurrent of ‘well I’ve been doing it this way versus, well, it’s really done this way.’ Neither one insulting the other but riding just on the edge of control both ways. Brett became an eager student and Siri effectively held her ground as teacher. The session ended with a sincere hug by both and we grabbed a pic in front of Siri’s studio, Big Bear Pilates. SO happy to have watched that session with some traditional ‘man’ exercises thrown in at the end on her original Electric Chair. Then it was my turn….Killer day!
To learn more about Siri, go to www.bigbearpilates.com