Sept 27, 2017
OUT OF ORDER: Battling My Internal Pilates Police – Part 2
by Sabrina Ellen Svard
OUT OF ORDER: Battling My Internal Pilates Police – Part 2
Last week, in Part 1, we learned about Sabrina’s Internal Pilates Police and left her in handcuffs. Will she escape? Read on ….
FAST FORWARD
I loved the classical training. It was so damn difficult and life changing. It was brain changing. But I didn’t realize how much I appreciated it until I wasn’t in a classical studio anymore. I moved to New Mexico from New Hampshire a few years ago and worked in a contemporary studio for two years. I had already taken much of this other contemporary training and I loved the many different variations and perspectives on Pilates. But one of the big differences I noticed (I am thinking and hoping that it was just THIS studio) was the lack of discipline and lack of personal responsibility for learning the exercises. The students in the classes didn’t know the setup for the apparatus, they didn’t know the names of the exercises, they didn’t have any idea of the spring changes and some people were still (after years!!!) doing modified versions of the exercises. And of course, I was regarded as the “Pilates Kamikaze” coming in for a crash landing on their world. My saving grace was I did teach contemporary really well. And I snuck in as much of my classical world as I could. Many noticed the huge difference, not only in the exercises, but in the teaching methodology.
MY PILATES GREEN BELT
I can’t really explain this phenomenon, but it happens in martial arts and I know it happens in Pilates as well. In Tae Kwon Do, we would say that once you get your green belt, it all starts to make sense. And then you REALLY GET IT. I don’t know what the hell happened to me in the two years of teaching mainly contemporary Pilates (after teaching classical for a few years), but all the bells, lights, whistles, and gongs went off in my head. And these bells and whirly gigs were NOT about the contemporary work. They were about the classical work.
My insides and outsides were reverberating with the work. HIS WORK. What Joseph Pilates had meant with his method. Why it is a method. Why there is an order. The two way-stretch, length and opposition, shapes in space and how all those dots connected together. It all came crashing down on me, my brain, my body, and FINALLY I got it. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you have been taught. What matters is when it all makes sense. And sometimes that takes years. And that is why martial arts and Pilates are called PRACTICES! And why you must practice. And I finally figured out why I couldn’t do teaser on the box at this studio. THE BOX WAS TOO DAMN BIG!!! Once I realized how different brands of equipment were SO different, my equipment revelations and explorations came about. The more I learned and realized, the less I knew. I hate it when that happens!!! And I love it when that happens!!!
ON PAROLE
As things turned out, I ended up opening my own studio in New Mexico (actually, I have two: a home studio in Santa Fe and a large commercial studio in Los Alamos). Now I can do what I want to do. And let me first assure you that people know the apparatus setup and the names of the exercises!!! But, as one can imagine, I am now faced with quite the Pilates conundrum.
With my classical “revelations,” I also in turn learned to completely appreciate all my contemporary training. Each Pilates training had an entirely different perspective on the exercises and their many variations. And of course, there are also so many different exercises that I learned that are not part of the original order but are contemporary Pilates exercises. AND I LOVE THEM and so do my clients. But the Pilates Police are still in my head and perhaps maybe even in my heart. Because NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, gets results like the original work. My body wants The Work. But not every “body” can do the original work. I have people who just can’t do that exact order. And there are some exercises that they will never be able to do. Here is where I am SO grateful for all my training. And I am also grateful for having 32 years of experience in the fitness industry and personal training. I have a fabulous “big ol’ toolbox” that I use with great gusto!!!
Not only do I have a large toolbox, but I have managed to find fantastic deals on Pilates apparatus of all sizes, brands and “perspectives” shall we say. Branding and equipment are again different perspectives on Pilates exercises and Pilates apparatus that have evolved from the original work of Joseph Pilates. I have both classical and contemporary apparatus in both studios, and depending on the body in front of me, I will choose which I think is best for that individual. I am so fortunate to be able to offer this to my clients and to my students in training. Therefore, I am putting myself on parole. Because I know I am doing what it is best for my people. My framework will always be Joe’s original order. However, using what works best for the client is what I must do, regardless of those sirens going off in my head. And damn it, sometimes we just want to have fun and experiment! One of my clients describes those sessions as “an exciting day of variety.” How fun is that?
MY PERSPECTIVE
I’m not sure if other instructors have these internal anguishes with their own Pilates Police that I have described. I have a feeling that maybe some do. If you have trained in both a classical system and a contemporary system, sometimes you are torn. I love it all (except rowing… I hate rowing… shhhhhhh. Don’t turn me in!). For those of you who can’t relate to my Pilates conundrum and even to those of you who can relate, I’m going to leave you with some of my perspectives:
- If you have not trained in a classical system JUST DO IT. Somehow! You need to understand the original order and the system. YOU MUST. Start saving your pennies. It is an investment in yourself at a bare minimum.
- The more you learn about Pilates and his genius, the less you will know. Welcome to a system of lifelong learning. Enjoy being a forever student.
- Be open, not defensive or angry or nasty, if you don’t see things the same way as another instructor does. Everyone sees things through their own lens and has their own perspective. It may be wrong to you but it is right to them. And vice-versa! Carry the torch the best way you know how. And never stop being open to the Pilates world around you. It is fantastic and never-ending!
This is from Martial Arts but it truly pertains to Pilates as well:
- If you do not practice for one day, only you will know.
- If you do not practice for two days, your instructor will know.
- If you do not practice for three days, everyone will know.
Please join my new Facebook Group UNPOLICED PILATES PERSPECTIVES
Sabrina Ellen Svard, BS, CSCS, RYT lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.www.topnotchpilates.com