Moving with integrity: keep it healthy and honest: the importance of moving in a mindful way in Pilates
My much loved movement modality, but work with integrity and focus more on health and your wellbeing rather than aesthetics. Pilates is not about competition.
When you read about Pilates in the press you may read about the benefits it brings in outer appearance: there are a whole load of celebrities posting pictures of their Pilates body. The latest being Jennifer Anniston, who is a beautiful lady, who has certainly raised the profile of Pilates and clearly loves the system. Whilst this is the headline grabber for Pilates clients and studios everywhere, it reduces the system down to something that works on the outer form and is reduced down to yet another aid for our Instagram obsessed age.
It’s not Jennifer Anniston that makes me dismayed at times, but our industry that wants to sell to your pain point - how you look. I hate it because it is cynical marketing, designed to make you feel insecure. No wonder so many people find entering a class so troubling or intimidating. Spend money and you can look the same as Jennifer you are told. You spend the money and spend weeks wondering why you are working through this system as you are not having the same transformation.
If only it were that simple, but there are so many other factors besides your exercise regime that come into play. Pilates is wonderful exercise but you have to involve yourself in cardiovascular exercise as well because it does not place enough demands on most of us to give our hearts the workout they need. Pilates will shape your body if you are committed to a long haul practice, but it sits alongside other issues such managing life choices in a balanced way, getting enough sleep, stress levels, the right nutrition, genetics, pregnancies, surgeries, hormones - I will leave many of those topics to one side as there are experts that can help you with that. There is a whole eco system of care our bodies need if they are to flourish.
As a movement professional I’m interested in how you move in a healthy way and helping you develop a body that lasts you for your life, and to be honest, the clients that work with me want the same thing too. It’s about moving with integrity and with health.
Every January when I worked in the Pilates Studios the new clients would rush in telling me they had a problem with their abdominals and needed to do Pilates, only to give up a few weeks later because what they did - the foundational work, was not enough for them (when it was exactly what they did need). I hope one day they will return back to working in a more sophisticated way and with a different understanding of the value of a system that has a lot to offer in terms of lifelong longevity and wellbeing.
The real beauty of Pilates is that it is a form of mind body or somatic movement - and the system itself as designed by Pilates was one of "complete co-ordination of body mind and spirit". Ever a man ahead of his time, Pilates recognised the real depths to the system he had created. There was a system of exercises, but the journey, as any teacher of Pilates or serious student will tell you, is one that is a journey of self exploration and discovery of the potential of the individual body, and an appreciation of its wonder, as well as greater self awareness and confidence.
Which brings me to the real reason for writing this piece. Prompted by one of my clients, we were discussing the system and the benefits she had gained from taking regular classes. In her words, she said "well the classes are very different to the ones I had experienced before. I just used to copy the exercises but I had no idea why I was doing them and I know I wasn't doing them properly. Now I know what I am trying to achieve and how I am trying to move within my own body. I'm using my breathing in a focused way - I was never taught that before. I find the whole thing calming, even though I have worked. I'm more aware of what is going on in my body. I think there is a real difference between Pilates exercise classes and doing a Pilates class in a mindful way and I find it more beneficial to my body".
What my client is trying to highlight is a key principle of mindful movement within Pilates. True mind body movement work starts by grounding you in the present, away from self talk about how the day went, how you look, how your movement compares to the person standing opposite, how your movement would look so much better if you were wearing x...to how things are within your own body at that moment in time.
True somatic Pilates based movement uses the breath to ground you in the reality of the present time. For those of us who has lived or lives a high-octane life learning to breathe again is a revelation! So many clients are surprised they need to re-learn how to breathe deeply and in a controlled way, and how this is such a powerful tool to help them reduce tension, aches and pains and movement restrictions in their own bodies.
Pilates is not just about strength. Feeding your body and system with more strength can in some cases make pain worse not better. I have taught the weightlifting strong men who had amazing six packs and herniated discs or lumbar spines with spinal fusions and I have taught the gym bodies who had amazingly shaped gluteal muscles but horrid back pain. The reason why? Very weak deep stabilising muscles and over developed muscle groupings leading to excess tension in their bodies. Bigger muscles does not mean better strength. Equally having excess flexibility is another issue in movement. I have taught too many people who have over stretched their bodies, and have sacrificed joint stability or caused themselves an injury. It definitely is all about balance. It is definitely about bringing that somatic or mind body element into play so that we have movement, strength, resilience and control and precision. If our brain and nervous system it stimulated it becomes responsive and so much of what we want to happen is achieved: A body that flows and moves with ease. A body that can breathe. A resilient body. A body that embodies all of the principles of the Pilates Method.
If we move mindfully in class we move in a way that we control - there is no need to copy an external image but to find the reality within our own bodies. The ability to accept ourselves and not feel the need to compete with someone else becomes easier. We can find space to appreciate our own goals and achievements. We don’t approach our body as thing, an enemy or punish it by working it and making it hurt. When you work with your body and really listen to it kindly you will find it respond. We all have limitations for sure and Pilates is a system that certainly roots out areas for development but we cannot expect change to happen overnight, and for some of us making change comes with restrictions from past injuries, conditions or even surgeries. It takes time, patience and loving nurture of the body in movement, but also that 360 degree holistic perspective of living mindfully to really bring about comprehensive change.
Surely in this day and age of over comparison this is one of the most empowering things brought by moving mindfully within the Pilates environment - we learn we all have a unique and special design and are, works in progress. We are perfectly imperfect, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We too, are able to take greater responsibility and have greater control over our own wellbeing and health, which can only serve to enhance all aspects of our lives beyond the weekly session.
If you are interested in moving with that felt sense and a very healthy approach to movement then do contact me or have a look at the current sessions I am running live or the events coming up.
©Sarah Pritchard, 2021, All Rights Reserved.
DISCLAIMER: as I do not know your individual circumstances, none of my blogs, my videos, my guidance in the Facebook group or any other materials available to you where I have not taken you on as a one to one client shall be construed as advice and I shall have no liability to you in any circumstances should you choose to rely on any of the materials I publish.