It's Been A While!--But I Passed Round Two

Hello there! It has been a few weeks since I've lasted posted as I've been plunged deeply into a head space of Pilates, artistic projects and work, however, I am back and going to be updating regularly again!

As the title suggests, I have passed the second leg of my mat certification course! The intermediate test was significantly more challenging in terms of hands on and verbalization of cues, but it was a GREAT exercise in putting the necessary pressure on me to become a better instructor. After practicing so much for the exam, I now feel confident teaching beginner-intermediate mat and am able to take myself more seriously as someone who actually knows what they're doing!

I look forward to teaching and practicing more, and I can feel myself becoming stronger and more flexible every week! I will be posting soon about how Authentic Classical Pilates has helped to deeply condition my body and make me feel monumentally better. Although there are many manifestations of Joseph Pilates original work in the Pilates world, I find it EXTREMELY important to bring attention to the Classical method that focuses on research, anatomy and physiology, and takes the time and effort to train instructors in a substantive manner over a significant period of time. But, more to come on that later!

Tease On into the advanced level!

Ian

Teaser Thursday (Friday) (Sort of Saturday)

In front of you is the third (belated) edition of Teaser Thursday! Once again, I was practicing by myself, squeezing in a workout between commitments. Therefore, I had to use the mirror to take a picture of myself! It was a trick doing the exercise while positioning the phone camera with one of my hands, trying to maintain good form. After Marcelo's speciality devices workshop, I've been using the Magic Circle to create resistance and even more deeply condition the powerhouse.

The picture came out kinda spooky from all the mirrors next to one another. Early Halloween.







I've been improving my form after advice from my mentor and further practice everyday. Have a good night! Also, here's a belated photo of my shenanigans in Central Park on one of my days off.






Tease On,



Ian

~Speciality Devices~ Workshop with Marcelo!

This past Saturday, I made the trek into Westchester to my studio to observe a workshop on speciality Pilates devices with second generation instructor extraordinaire, Marcelo. Because of time constraints, the two and a half hour course was focused mainly on the magic circle (MC) and foot corrector (FC).

Many Pilates students and teachers have some knowledge of basic MC exercises, but Marcelo delved deeply into Joseph Pilates and Romana Kryzanowska's teachings in order to present some extremely helpful and extremely challenging workouts!

Some highlights: Marcelo introduced how to incorporate the MC into the Mat in order to challenge the existing intermediate/advanced workout. This includes resistance training on the hundred, roll up, roll over, double leg stretch, open leg rocker, corkscrew, neck pull, jack knife, side kicks, teaser 1-3 and hip circles. Marcelo stressed the importance of integrating the power house with the MC workouts in order to achieve the best results and add to deep conditioning of the Power House and upper and lower extremities.

The workouts alternated between putting the magic circle between the ankles, knees and hands--creating different resistance training in different areas.

Of course when it came time for the apprentices to volunteer, I just haaaad to do the teaser, which proved to be insanely difficult with the MC between my legs. Definitey something to work on!

Next, Marcelo introduced the MC when sitting and standing, using the arms and legs to demonstrate dance and gymnastics based positions to once again engage the powerhouse and strengthen the legs and arms. Even just doing these exercises slowly with the rest of the apprentices proved to be one of the hardest workouts I had done in a while.

On to foot corrector highlights. The focus here is on strength and placement of the feet and ultimately, balance. 

Using the two by four to demonstrate, Marcelo called on one of the apprentices that is a dancer to show the strength and balance required to do traditional wall exercises with no stability and with uneven or elevated surfaces.

All in all the day proved to be very educational and exciting. I can't wait to integrate these exercises later on in my instructor career in order to mix up practice and help to challenge myself and my students.

Also, Simona was a peach and brought in an amazing Italian spread for people taking the workshop.

Time and money well spent. Below is a photo of the food spread :)

Tease On! (Even with the magic circle)

Ian

What Gets You Pumped?!

One of the things I love about Pilates opposed to other forms of exercise and other forms of meditation is the lack of distractions around me when I'm doing a routine. As much as I love music, I think it's important to remove all exterior interference and really focus on those six principles (Breath, Flow, Concentration, Control, Centering and Precision if you forgot ;)) and the five parts of the mind (Will, Memory, Intelligence, Imagination and Intuition). By doing this, I truly feel I become a better Pilates student and therefore, teacher as I am able to improve each time I practice with a clear mind and active memory.

That all being said, I want to know what you like to do when gearing up for, or winding down from a really good, sweaty practice! We'll talk about food and drink regimes another day, but what about music, books and movies, places to relax? After I finish a hard workout, I love to find somewhere comfortable (preferably outside!) to enjoy nature and music if I have it with me. For whatever reason, lately I've been really into Fleetwood Mac--Rumors was the first CD I ever owned at age nine and I haven't stopped loving it since! I also enjoy reading something light, yet engaging, like modern poetry (there's a lot of good stuff out there, believe me!!!) or a book I've read before that stirs up positive emotions and reflections. 

Also, I enjoy doing Chakra meditation and other forms of meditative regimes and exercise that I will go into more detail in a future post. The point is--do the practice AND enjoy the life that occurs before and after you enter the studio (or whatever space you practice)!!

Let me know your favorite things to do!

Ian

The Morning After

Today is another day and I've officially passed the beginner/pre-Pilates mat certification test! Going into it, I obviously felt nervous, yada yada yada, but confident enough to do it comfortably and professionally.  Trying not to be too critical on myself, I'll break it down for ya where it comes to details. Where I succeeded: I think years of public speaking, performance and tutoring helped to give me a good energy and competence as a teacher--also, I had the actual mat portion of the material DOWN and was pretty good about all of the necessary details. 

My instructor gave highest marks to me for my explanation of each exercise, which is a skill that definitely came from multiple different experimentations with explaining motion through imagery and precise instruction. 

Oi. What I need to work on: keeping track of reps! I didn't realize until the exam started how difficult it is to meld being an informative and energized instructor, while remembering rep numbers and key points about the importance of each exercise. That being said, I was able to keep the flow of the routine. I also need to make sure I'm not being too cordial with my classes, aka apologizing or second guessing myself. Many of the people who take these mat classes--especially beginner ones--have no idea what the details of the routine are and it's best to keep an air of authority and competence, otherwise students will start to second guess the instructor! We don't want that.

The other challenge that presented itself to me was the appearance of two clients over the age of sixty with prevalent injuries. Once I addressed what needed to be modified for them, I may have obsessed a bit too much on them, more than other students. It was a bit stressful as I had the largest class of all the students in the certification course and my hands-on work was not just for show, but actually necessary!

All in all, I am happy this first step of my journey has been completed, but of course I am always looking to do better and have to do my best not to be too much of a perfectionist when it comes to scores. I know one thing, after doing the routine seven times for other students, my inner thighs are feeling that Pilates stance!

Tease on!

Ian

FIRST CERTIFICATION EXAM...TOMORROW! Pre-Pilates Beginner Mat

....AT 9A.M.

Don't get me wrong, I feel very prepared to use the knowledge of instruction and fundamental Pilates information that I've learned in conjunction with the six principles, five elements of the mind, etc...but doing all this in about fifty minutes under the supervision of my peers and mentors is, to say the least, nerve-wrecking. 

It's a whole different thing imagining what it would be like to instruct a client, versus actually doing it  using clear cues, helpful hands-on encouragement, while maintaining a positive energy. The four other new apprentices I've worked with have all been so supportive, committed and diverse and I really hope we are all able to perform well tomorrow even though we live hectic and varied lives. 

I volunteered to go right at the beginning of the day, so I don't have to wait around nervously while others go. At this point, I just need to be confident in my cues and actions and that's the best I can do until I receive feedback afterward. 

I promise to let you know soon afterward how I did and how I feel, regardless of the outcome. Okay, gonna go study a bit more! 

Tease on!

Ian

Spotlight on Six Principles! Why do we learn them anyway?

With years of experience in academic settings, I've grown accustomed to the frustration of learning dozens, hundreds...thousands (?) of terms, phrases and concepts, without being provided with an account of why the term is so important in the first place.

When it comes to the SIX PRINCIPLES OF PILATES, my mentors have been incredible with their explanations of the information they teach and share. It may even be said that the reason I'm doing Pilates is because of the six principles and the history that lies behind each one. Two terms specifically, concentration and centering, have unique significance in my life. 

The first of the two terms mentioned helped to slow me down from the harried, unenthusiastic daily life I was leading. Whether it was working out, writing or even socializing, I did things with a certain flippancy that washed my life with an ill-feeling of boredom and listlessness. Once I was forced to concentrate--that means no music, no other technology or distractions when doing the routine, I was able to slow my life to an appropriate gear, and concentrate on what is truly important to me.

Centering follows concentration in its necessity to my current lifestyle. The word can be applied a number of ways, including physically. Centering is an important concept that corresponds with the position of the box and the structure around which one's Pilates routine is based. However, I am referring to centering on a different level. Using Pilates to help center and quiet my mind did nothing short of change my life.  I've encountered years of struggle regarding restlessness and strain on my mind and on my perception of the world I live in, but my discovery of Pilates has initiated a new perspective on myself and my surroundings that stimulates me as I go throughout my day, yet keeps my mind at peace.

I could ramble on for pages about the continued importance of these two principles, along with the other four, but we'll leave that for another time! Please feel free to offer any feedback or thoughts on how the six principles have influenced you!

Tease on :),

Ian

**link to an explanation of the six principles appears in an earlier post entitled: "Mat Certification in Full Swing...Test Coming Soon!"