Pilates Has A lot of Heart (part 2):
How Do You Approach Your Pilates Practice?
There are so many different ways to approach the Pilates method. After many years of looking at the body through dance steps and Pilates movement and later through metaphysical conversations about how our thoughts and emotions affect the physical experience, I’ve come to see things with more animation. I see the body like a holographic window leading into a deeper understanding of life. If you’ve ever gazed into a holographic image, you may have noticed that as you move your attention, you find a new “thing” to look at…a new view that is interesting and mysterious. Some perspectives are more beautiful and captivating some are hidden until you turn your head a different way.
My Pilates career has been like a holographic journey with different perspectives and some contrasting views. Every teacher I studied with, from the East coast and West coast with some integrative conversations in the Mid-West, gave me different pieces of the dynamic puzzle.
In the East, I studied with Romana Krysanowska in New York and experienced The Classical Pilates Method. I am finally feeling the essence of her message. She would say, “Form Follows Function” or “Just move, breathing will come later”. She was letting us know that, A) the method works and we just have to do it and B) Breathing is important but let it emerge from inside the movement. She knew that the Pilates Method is a detoxifying, health building system that works its way to from the inner organs to the outer/physical appearance.
In the west, Elizabeth Larkam and Jennifer Bury, introduced me to the biomechanics of movement from a restorative Perspective. They incorporated Feldenkrais, Laban/Bartenieff movement studies, Dance medicine and science. It is very precise, sometimes so subtle it was illusive and hard for me to understand what they were pointing to. This experience taught me how to trim down the Pilates movements for people who needed a more gentle and therapeutic approach. Now I am able to help my clients open up the tiny little worlds inside their bodies by bringing attention to the distinct areas for discovery and healing. I LOVE that!
In the mid-west, I found a place where the east and west meet. The conversation is broad and at the same time rooted inside the purity and tensegrity of the Pilates Method.
With curiosity and my desire to do the best job possible as a Pilates instructor and a business owner, I studied different philosophies about the mind-body connection, metaphysics and human behavior. These philosophies mixed with my own personal and professional development, have made my Pilates journey fun and soul nourishing. These deep holographic personal experiences, touched my heart and opened my mind to the magnificent impact that breath and movement, have on the health of the mind and body.
My favorite approach has always been to teach students how to observe themselves, “become the witness” and make small shifts to self-correct their posture, breath and movement. At Body Awareness Studio, Pilates is the method that we use to generate more energy, freedom and Joy in lives.
~Leslie
