Joseph Pilates Mat Challenge!

Pilates Exercises Help You Return to Life!

Why Using the Principles of Contrology Will Help You Reap Big Rewards for Whole-Body Health from your Pilates Training Program.

By Aliesa George

First, I would like to say that I have been teaching Pilates since 1994 and I am all for creativity and exploration. I will do anything I can to help my clients find, feel, and fix the things that need to be improved upon within their bodies to reach wellness goals and improve their quality of life. However, I feel that as Pilates has evolved, we are now living in a world where people “think” that they’re doing “Pilates” but in reality they might be using a Pilates toy or piece of equipment and not really doing Pilates at all. Add the word “Pilates,” or part of the word to any other exercise technique and you’ve got a hybrid that may or may not share a bond with its true Pilates roots. You can now find a multitude of other techniques out there that have taken something from Pilates (or the name at least) combined it with other techniques and created a whole new marketing and business venture.

These programs may have great benefits and provide a fun and valuable workout, but somewhere along the way, the brilliant work of Joseph H. Pilates may have been lost because perhaps it wasn’t really understood in the first place. Or perhaps someone thought that there wasn’t enough money to be made just teaching Pilates, so let’s make it “fresh” and put a new spin on it.

Is the goal of a Pilates teacher to become the next famous Pilates Diva or Divo and get their name up in lights? I do agree that more visibility is good to help get more people participating in exercise programs, but is it “Pilates” that’s being sold, or something else? Buyers beware.

Sadly, this is not just the clients misfortune, but it is a trickle down effect. Pilates teachers often do not clearly define during a workout or workshop if they’re doing a “traditional” exercise, modification, or just something fantastic that they created that they are eager to share with clients and other teachers. While being creative and exploring Pilates, it is important that students are clear on what Joseph Pilates taught and if they’re exploring a different variation of the exercise. Many believe they are doing “Pilates” but the workout may or may not actually contain a true Pilates exercise.

I believe there are many students out there (and probably some Pilates teachers) who have probably never really experienced a Pilates Mat workout as Joseph Pilates intended. (Starting with the Hundred and going through the Matwork in the order and sequence that Joe recommended the exercises be done in his book Return to Life.)

Here’s my first challenge to all of the Pilates students and teachers out there; If you haven’t ever read Return to Life Through Contrology, by Joseph H. Pilates, get a copy and enjoy sharing a moment with Joe to learn the work from his perspective. In fact, I bet you’ll pick up new tidbits of information each time you re-read the book. Make a once a year commitment to revisit this text to glean a little more of Joe’s wisdom.

Have you experienced doing the sequence of Pilates Matwork exercises in the order he has them in Return to Life? If you are a Pilates teacher, how many of your healthy Pilates students know and consistently do the exercises in this order?

I am positive that the order has a purpose, and is a part of the substantial and brilliant benefits from practicing the work. And while there may be many additional exercises that you know and consider to be “Pilates Matwork,” when Joe published this book in 1945, these 34 exercises and the order in which they are listed were the ones that he felt motivated to share. Joe wanted to encourage the world to do these exercises consistently, 4 days a week to improve mind, body, spirit, and whole-body health. Have you ever done these 34 Pilates Mat exercises four days a week for three or more months to experience the benefits? Try it and see what you learn about yourself and your body. Notice the huge and subtle changes you experience along the way! Encourage your healthy Pilates students to make the same commitment! It boils down to approximately 48 Pilates Mat workouts in 3 months. And if you’re working with a good flow and know all the exercises, this can be accomplished in 20-30 minutes or less! By the time you make it to the other side of three consistent months of Matwork, I’ll bet you’ll have the time carved into your weekly schedule to stick with it! And you will definitely have a stronger, leaner, more flexible body! Teachers - you will also have lots of great insights that you’ve found in your own body to share with your classes and private training clients. Everybody wins!

Now, with that said, as a Pilates professional I do understand that not every exercise is for every person, and making smart choices as a teacher is what keeps our students coming back to learn more. These exercises were designed to be done by healthy people to maintain good health. If you’re not 100% injury-free, then perhaps there are exercises on this “traditional” Pilates exercise list that should be avoided or omitted. If you’re a student, a well-trained Pilates teacher can help teach you alternative exercises that would be safer and more appropriate instead. Perhaps a modification is only temporary until your body gets stronger, or it may be that an alternate exercise is the best choice for you forever.

It would be refreshing to see how many people (Pilates teachers and students) will commit to taking a 12-week Pilates Mat Challenge! Minimum of 4 workouts a week, doing the 34 Pilates Matwork exercises in the order listed in Return to Life! Are you up for the challenge? I’d love to hear from you, what are your challenges, ah-ha moments, and success strategies? Celebrate wellness success and Return to Life with Pilates!

About the Author: Aliesa George has been sharing her experience and expertise for more than twenty-five years as a wellness expert, Pilates teacher, teacher-trainer, workshop presenter, and author. For Pilates books, Pilates downloads, complete product info, and to learn more about her workshops and Pilates exercise resources for students and professionals visit www.Centerworks.com.

Tags: Aliesa George, Centerworks

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 12:12 PM and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

jonurla

Hi Aleisa, I appreciate the response. I totally agree with your intention. I have been, and am still flabbergasted at the amount of so called Pilates instructors out there that don't have the foundation work or the respect for it. I actually think your suggestion of a mat challenge is a great idea and I have even gone back to the original order lately for some of my students. I desperately want the tradition and respect that Joe and Clara deserve to continue. I also do point out the classical exercise and where the modifications come from to my students. I just get a little defensive when people bring out the reference to "hybrids". Peter Fiasca has even said that you shouldn't take a hybrid class because it is doing disservice to traditional Pilates. I disagree with this. If a class at least clearly states that they are teaching a combination or mix class, then it is clear to the students it is not a traditioinal class. This is honest and shouldn't be a bother. Rather, it is when someone calls a class an authentic or classically based Pilates class, and they actually haven't the training or committment to the work that it is a disservice to the rest of the Pilates community. Let's face it though, there are some fairly big operations out there that are training and certifying "Pilates" instructors without even any reference to the original exercises or writings of Joe. This is what makes me angry. I won't mention any names now, but let's just say that they have reached into many countries far and wide and on my travels, I often have to re-educate previously certified Pilates instructors. Anyhow, it is my pleasure and mission to stay true to the roots of Pilates while gleaning the immense knowledge from other instructors and students. Peace, Jonathan.

Aliesa_George

Thanks Jonathan! I'm really not into conflict and want to keep everybody happy. In my mind I am thrilled that so many people are embracing Pilates. We all have to start somewhere. I feel truly blessed by the teachers I have studied with and know that each of us teaching has to have a good base. The lucky ones found excellent teachers to learn from from the start of their journey. Others hopefully will continue to seek out workshops with teachers who have different backgrounds and experiences to learn new things to add to their expertise. I actually think that I have learned more about Pilates in the last 7-8 years and during the third comprehensive training workshops I attended than I had learned with my previous 2 training programs, and at the time 7+ years of Pilates teaching experience. Where we are with our personal Pilates experience and knowledge in our own body puts us in a great place to broaden and expand our understanding. Different training programs ARE different. The exercises are different, spring set up, order, what is considered beginner, intermediate, or advanced, modifications and "advanced technology" with the equipment changes the experience also. May we all keep learning and growing so we can help more people enjoy and love Pilates! Many Blessings to ALL the teachers out there:)

jonurla

If you are a Pilates teacher and haven't done all 34 mat exercises as presented by Joseph Pilates in his book Contrology, you shouldn't be a Pilates instructor and should get your money back from whatever school you trained at. That being said, Aleisa is being disingenuous when she says it is important that students are clear on what Joseph Pilates taught and when they are doing a variation. First of all the student doesn't really care, nor does it matter to the value they recieve from the experience of moving and breathing in a Pilates class. Second, except for some of the elders still around, it is pure conjecture(and incredible hubris) to think you are teaching an exercise exactly the way Joseph taught it. I am frankly sick of the recent comments in the Pilates community by some that say that "traditional" Pilates is somehow better than other progressive ways of doing Pilates, essentially creating an "US" vs "Them" mentality in the community. When an instructor chooses to do pre-pilates functional work in their class, they are not denigrating, or watering down, or dishonoring true Pilates. They are simply trying to teach the technique as best they can, using all their knowledge, rather than just doing it the way someone before them did it. I am classically trained and have done all the traditional exercises on all the apparatus. I have taught traditioinal classes and non-traditional classes. I have found that it is the principles of Pilates that are most important as a guide, not the exercises or the sequence. Classical "purists" just need to get over themselves and stop assuming that instructors who choose to do things differently are just out to "create a marketing venture" or trying to just put a "fresh" spin on Pilates. Every "real" Pilates teacher brings their own experience and education to their teaching style. I refer people to the article in this weeks Yes Pilates newsletter regarding Eve Gentry. Her main issue is about the art of teaching and having a "sensitve eye". This is the legacy we need to keep going. The exercises are only as good as "how we teach them". When you think of Pilates like this, you realize there is so much more to Pilates than the traditional exercises. Joseph's words should be inspiration to us to keep seeking greater awareness, to keep exploring how to improve ourselves as teachers, and to see Pilates as helping people in all aspects of daily living, not just to do the exercises exactly as he showed them in 1945.

Aliesa_George

Hi Jonurla! I agree with your first sentence strongly - but there are folks out there who are not being taught this I fear. And while I truly feel like a Pilates "mutt" having had the opportunity to glean gems of wisdom from many teachers, as well as learn tons from my own workouts and teaching clients - I disagree that clients don't care. I think that as teachers our ability to share where we learned things and WHY we have chosen to incorporate them into our classes is a huge benefit to our students understanding and awareness about the importance of the exercises we are teaching. Believe me I probably fall far from the tree on teaching "traditional" exercises to many of my health challenged clients, but my long-term goal is to continue to progress them towards a version of the exercises they are doing that is a) best for their body and b)close to one of the many versions I have learned. I am WAY WITH YOU on teachers needing to develop a good eye, and that the exercises are only as good as we teach them. What frustrates me is that as the work is being passed down through the generations, some of the roots are being lost, the word "Pilates" is being added to all sorts of things, and participants may or may not be doing "Pilates" at all! I am for a traditional groundwork and celebrate springboarding forward. The more I glean from the work, the greater appreciation I have for Joseph Pilates and the order, system, and exericses he created. I am suggesting that if you are teaching or doing Pilates, and have a healthy body - and haven't spent some time playing with the exercises and order in Return to Life, that it might be a fun and beneficial place to go:) Thanks for reading and commenting on this! Always nice to stir up some thoughts and get folks involved in our community!

curiousaboutcontrology

It seems to me like Aleisa was not saying anything bad about teachers who are teaching non-traditional classes or saying "them vs us". It simply just seems that she is challenging people to do it from Joseph's book and see what you come up with, whatever you teach. I too have my own variations of exercises... and I am excited to take this challenge and get to know more of what Joseph had in mind at the time.

Aliesa_George

Thanks! You are on target. I am not out to get anybody! We all have our own style, background, and understanding. Return to Life is our guidebook from the Master:) It's a good read annually, regardless of how long you've been doing or teaching Pilates. Hope that folks who take this challenge will post some of your comments on the things you discover along the way! Have a great day!

csantor

Aliesa, What a beautifully written and inspiring piece. I am going to take on the challenge (though I am a certified NY style trained instructor and always teach the format). Bravo!
Sincerely,
Cassandra Santor

Anastasiya

I have read Return to Life by Joseph Pilates and I think it is a great read. No matter whether you are practicing traditional Pilates or a modification , I think you should read this book to understand what this method is all about.
I must confess that I have always been doing exercises based on the Pilates method and I always pointed it out to my students. I just like mixing things together and I like being creative in my workouts (I get bored doing the same sequence day after day). I will try to commit to the challenge though. I think that it will be a great experience for me and we'll see what I'll learn from it :-)
Thanks for the inspiration!

Aliesa_George

Hi Anastasiya!

Thanks for your comments. I like mixing things up too - but even when I tweak the exercises a bit, or add a prop or toy, I strive to stick with a "Return to Life" order for the exercises most of the time. Joe had a purpose - 100 is spine stabilization in flexion, Roll Up is spine articulation from the head to tail-tail to head, Roll Over is spine articulation from the tail to head-head to tail, One Leg Circle (when done as in Return to Life) is passive spine rotation as the weight of the leg lifts the hip and rotates the spine from the tail to the bottom of the shoulder blade, and active abdominal work to un-rotate and stabilize the spine and hips as the leg completes the circle. Rolling Like a Ball is spine stabilization in flexion and massage.

This pattern of stabilization, movement, working from the head to the tail - tail to the head, rotation, massage is carried the entire way through the repetoire! Eventually a bit of lateral spine bending is tossed in the mix, as well as side lying, and swinging leg exercises to improve hip strength and mobility for gait paired with core stability. Add push-ups and the weight-bearing exercises on the arms and you've completed a fantastic whole-body workout.

Joseph Pilates was brilliant! The system works wonderfully if we use it.

Personally, I discover new things in my body every time I do a workout! This gives me lots of new insights to share with my students. The other thing to keep in mind if you are teaching a lot - is that while you may be explaining and cueing the same exercises 8 hours a day, each student is only hearing them 2 maybe 3 hours a week! You may feel a bit bored, but your students are probably still trying to figure things out. Keep watching their technique and I bet you'll see lots of little detail cues you can share with each of your students to help milk more out of each exercise. It's just another way to be creative and consistent with the sequence and order of the exercises. Have fun! I can't wait to hear about your Pilates Mat Challenge experience!

Aliesa George
http://www.Centerworks.com