TAMING THE DINOSAUR - PILATES

This word “posture” is not a fun word for many clients. They tell me that they are aware that their posture is BAD. In my previous incarnation as a Pilates teacher, I might overlook that negative imagery and move right into whatever protocols seemed best to me to FIX the situation. Now I wonder if posture can be BAD . Do we discipline this naughty bunch of bones into normative behavior? Or, do I send for an ambulance to surgically repair the misfit?

My children’s father was a chiropractor. One day the girls came home from visiting the office and told me that Daddy had a dinosaur in his office, his skeleton model. They were four and six and perhaps much smarter than their parents. They were able to describe what they saw. They did not see a living, dynamic, replica of the human body in motion.

The image of the skeleton in my studio is useful as a generic visual map of the location of bones. It does not present the truth of movement. Without the connective tissue of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and cartilage, Mr. Joe, as we call our skeleton, would be a pile of bones on the floor.
I am stymied when clients arrive at Pat Guyton Pilates, Inc. who have been chastised by a health care professional that the cause of all their problems in life is embedded in bad posture. “I am told by my therapist that I am sleeping wrong.” I wondered how you could be asleep and be vigilant regarding the position of the body while unconsciousness.

I have a posture evaluation that I use for screening of all new clients. I begin the Pilates education with some common anatomical landmarks and some anatomically inspired images. I use imagery that can be understood by anyone with life experience. It can be a geometric shape, a mechanical tool or a design to develop a common language for movement cuing that may be required in an exercise.
A student and teacher, look in the mirror and SEE what is there. Then we talk about choices for movement and how we can train new patterns. Most people are very grateful to be given guidance in an environment of education and support. I love telling people that they take their cars to the garage at the first hint of trouble. Cats and dogs in Boulder receive the best health care available. Our most important vehicle is the one and only body that we are given at birth. We can get several new cars and hopefully we all will do so when technology has engineered vehicles with dependable renewable resources.

For Pilates education to begin I must address the posture in a supportive and functional way that leads to movement. It helps me identify the map of what, where, and why the reflection in the mirror presents posture that is a unique reflection for each person. From this analysis, I can begin to make suggestions that optimize a central axis. Once this process has become a mutual endeavor, exercises can be selected that encourage the living body to move toward balance, strength, flexibility and health.

This is a continual process that requires daily practice. Events in life, such as emotional stress, accidents, and age urge the body to spiral down the drain toward entropy. This happens when we believe in the traditional view of diminished quality of movement and a consequent relinquishment of mental and physical activity. Thoughts of breathing life into everyday activity will vanquish the specter of age.

This does not take work. It requires commitment, dedication, and joyful thoughts.
I call this TAMING THE DINOSAUR, which allows the bones to assume their role and takes the focus from holding a position of tension. We no longer “hang off of our bones”, we live in harmony with the whole body. Muscles begin to work in balance. The mind and body connection are enhanced. T-REX can become a joyful puppy.

PAT TWITTERS

PAT TWITTERS. SAY HELLO

PGUYTONPILATES

FRANKLIN METHOD TEACHER TRAINING LEVEL I

On Saturday morning, March 21, 2009, thirty-seven students took in a deep breath and stepped into the circle with Eric Franklin.

Eric embodies his teaching and imbues the study of humanity and inner environment with wit, joy and dedication. I am unable, at this time, to define the Franklin Method. My attention is centered on my interior and the feeling of movement. My nose will be in the books and I am rattled to the bones with anatomy.

It is good to step out of my comfort zone.

The sacrum “rocks”!

PILATES AND SALSA DANCE

Pilates is for everybody. Pat Guyton Pilates, Inc. is fortunate to have Bantaba World Dance and Music at the studio. The good vibes from the Salsa dancers come alive in classes and workshops. Sam Gill PhD, has researched and taught world dance history for more than a decade at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Jenny Gill received her degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington in 2000. Carlos Martin is from Venezuela and has grown up with a strong love for salsa dance and music.

Sam began his private Pilates sessions with me a year ago. We had fun sharing our teaching experiences and our mutual love of movement. Sam’s body began to change and some of the imbalances that he felt in his movement were allowing him to see the challenges his students were having in class. We began to consider an experiment of teaching Pilates to Salsa students to see how the Pilates movement education might enhance their enjoyment of dance.

I would not say that I taught Pilatesalsa. I taught beginning mat and reformer. As the students began to understand the exercise, I could introduce performance concepts within the exercise that applied to dancing. We arranged the six reformers so that they faced each other in partners of three. The group was doing Stomach Massage, the twist. Each of the students were working the twist and lifting the torso. They were not seeing their partner on the reformer on the opposite side of the room. I asked them to send energy to their partner as they returned from the twist to the center. The whole room elevated! The bodies got longer and the smiles erupted.

One of the difficulties that serious students of dance experience is the focus on technique within their body. Partnering requires matching energy with another person. Finding a good partner demands two people who have technique and an ability to create a movement relationship. The ability to teach Pilates and performance enhancement is intuitive and delightful.

This class has allowed the students to learn about their body and the limitations they have that cannot be addressed within a dance class. The students have expressed that understanding of individual physical imbalances can be one reason for struggle in mastering a dance technique. They have all agreed that Pilates education has given them tools outside of the classroom that bring greater freedom and ease when they are rocking to the Salsa rhythm.

Through his work with young people, Sam has developed an approach that teaches all dancers both “lead” and “follow” parts—a significant innovation in the form and in the benefits to the participants. SalsAmigos was recently awarded a multi-year grant from the Youth Opportunities Board of the City of Boulder. For more information go to blog.salsa-challenge.com

Loss of a Teacher

Teaching is a gift to give to others and it is a responsibility to elevate the student’s proficiency and personal professional development. Mary Bowen, First Generation Master Teacher supported me in a time of a difficult journey. She told me that “we cannot be Joe or Clara”. We cannot be any of our teachers. We can only study and integrate the work into our individual psyche and our bodies. In this way, we can strive to become an individual expression of an authentic teacher.

Recently I discovered a blog site. The author is a thoughtful student and teacher who is sharing with others her journey of discovery and recovery. A necessary part of a deep transformation will often feel like a separation from those we trust, love, and cherish. The gift of the void can be an opportunity to look for the inner voice and learn to trust ourselves. Choices can be made from quiet reflection. Exploration of how to teach evokes new thoughts. Experience will lend the teacher flexibility to listen and grow in cycles which are continuing spirals upward.

Good teachers are chosen by the student. The teacher does not choose or control the student. The teacher gives and receives. The teacher must learn to release the student with love and kindness when the time for independence has arrived. The teacher can keep the door open and the relationship will transform to fruitful exchange and mutual respect.

I am joyful to say that this student sought my guidance many years ago and for a time we tread the same path. We had some great times together. Life changed. Our feelings of mutual respect remain intact. We share our passion for Pilates which includes our similar conclusions, our exploration within our respective journey of teaching, and we do not always agree. We do not find that we need to agree and we have fun disagreeing. We do support each other.

Students find teachers.

Teachers cherish students.

Congratulations! Stephanie Miller is a PMA Certified Pilates Teacher™

I met Stephanie while working in a physical therapy clinic. She was excited and told me that she had studied some Pilates DVD’s. We began by reviewing the Mat list. Her big grin and enthusiasm were contagious. She shared that it was probably impossible to really learn Pilates from a product and she was excited to study. Stephanie traveled many roads on her journey of teacher training. I am proud to say that we were able to reconnect last summer and complete her comprehensive Pilates education at Pilates Conservatory. Today she passed the PMA Exam. Way to go Stef! May your teaching bring you joy and fulfillment.

Papa India Lima Alpha Tango Echo Sierra

The NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely recognized system of spelling the letters of words that could be mistaken for other letters. My name is usually mistaken for Guiton instead of Guyton because “y” and “i” are not easy to distinguish due to pronunciation or hearing. The NATO alphabet is a spelling alphabet. Specific words have been designated for each letter of the English alphabet. This system was implemented acrophonically, which means the use of a word is has been designated as the name of the alphabetical symbol representing the initial sound of that word. This system is universal so that critical combinations of letters (and numbers) can be pronounced and understood by those who transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of their native language. The paramount reason is to ensure intelligibility of voice signals over radio links.

Therefore my name is acrophonically spelled: Golf-Uniform-Yankee-Tango-Oscar-November. It is not Gross-Underarm-Yucky-Tummy-Often-Neglected!

The Pilates Alphabet is the name of the exercises. The PMA Certification Examination has designated a specific name that is recognized within a system of exercises in English. These names are recognized in all languages. These names were designated by Joseph Pilates and the recollections of his students. Despite his intentions, names still have a way of changing within studios. Two of my sweet 20 something gals are calling exercises fun names like the Pops and the Inchworm. It is easy to see how things can morph. The girls may have chosen these names because it describes how they feel the movements at this time. They are new students.

The PMA researched and with careful consideration established the "letters" for my profession. This common system allows Pilates teachers to exchange information that is uniform and facilitates accurate communication in any language. Take some time to review The PMA Pilates Certification Exam Study Guide. You may find that your Pilates Alphabet has transformed. It is fun to notice these things and get back to the basics.

The Swan is not a Cobra.