in and out

Wise words from Madison last night: He started the class by reminding the importance not just of entering each pose, but of exiting with grace and control, too. It's very easy to start with perfect composure and control but once the powerhouse is burning and the pose is almost complete to just sort of dissolve into quivering muscles and let everything flop. But starting, being in, and then completing each move quietly and with consistent focus is not just difficult but enhances the whole experience.

east coast or west coast?

East Coast and West Coast rivalries extend beyond just politics and fashion. From swing to rap to pilates, the coasts have very different perspectives on just about everything and that includes pilates.

When Joseph and Clara Pilates came to the US, they settled in New York City where they worked with dancers who naturally benefited from the exercise both for training and rehabbing from injuries.

Ron Fletcher, a dancer with Martha Graham, studied with Joseph and Clara, and moved to Los Angeles, where he opened his own studio in the early 70's -- effectively west-coast-izing the work. Tupac to Joe's Biggie -- but without the guns.

Perhaps it was California in the 70's and 80's but it seems that west coast pilates uses more aspects of yoga and is often considered less true to the original work... according to east coasters. I think those of us on the west coast recognize that we are just innovators at heart and while committed to form, find room for further development of the practice. Whatever you choose to believe, the work is slightly different: East coast inhales on the muscular effort and exhales on the release, while west coast exhales on the muscular effort and inhales on the release. The former may be more difficult and a good explanation is here.

Personally, I've done both types of breathing and don't find a significant difference between the two, other than just remembering to be consistent.

pilates history

Most every Pilates student knows the basic history of "Joe" and his German roots, the reformer having been invented as a rehab tool for people confined to their hospital beds. A good historical perspective on Joseph and Clara Pilates illustrates how the exercise came into existence and then spread virally nationwide.

pasta and pilates at the poppy farmhouse

Does it get any better than this? Italian cooking classes (and eating) combined with pilates classes -- not simultaneously, I hope. Too messy. And in a beautiful part of Italy, to boot (ha!).

Although I'm a Dr. Agatston devotee, I think I could make an exception for a few days here: http://www.cascinapapaveri.com/index.php?pageID=1

My husband thinks it looks like a nightmare, but I guess I can just leave him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Camp_nou.jpg

petilates

Madison gave me an interesting tip recently. He suggested I sit on a squishy, half-deflated (or half-inflated depending on your perspective) ball while at work. The ball basically keeps you uneven and unbalanced, so your hips, butt and abs work both to balance and hold you in place -- while keeping you from crunching up in one position and sitting in it all day. Interesting. This could help with my increasingly tight hips. Good balls can be found at pet stores.

Interesting side note that I have no documentation for: apparently in the height of the dot com boom, some of the earliest successes were pet-related plays, i.e. pets.com. Remember this guy? Their success was based on the fact that obsessive pet owners would spend tons of money on toys. Nope, not food (to bulky to send), not medicine or even those little boots that lucky pups wear. Pet toys were running the economy there for a while, folks.

Notice that pilates started to hit the mainstream right at the peak of the dot com boom -- right? I mean, I had heard about it, but didn't find a teacher until 2000 (and by the following year I had lots of free time to dedicate to practicing because I was out of work... laid off from a failed startup like everyone else). Maybe all those online pet retailers were really successful -- for a while at least -- because they were selling pet toys to pilates teachers? I mean, how many classes have you taken that involve little balls or stuffed chew toys to use at props?