teaser 2008

You can probably guess what my New Year's resolution is. I gave up on the goal of perfecting my teaser by the end of the summer and realized it's probably going to take way longer than that.

At a group class-turned-private (no one showed up but me - I love the holidays sometimes!), I did some chair work and discovered the "twisted teaser" which proved that I'm nowhere near my goal. The twisted teaser - and there are, as with all things pilates, surely a number of variations -- as done on the Wunda chair is sort of like a cross between a teaser, the spear-a-fish roll and a side-over.

I'm not even going to try to write a description as it would probably be wrong, and someone would try it and land on their head and I'd get sued. Not good. Anyway, suffice it to say, I was shaky and off balance, and if I can't do a teaser the proper way there's no way in hell I can do it while also rolling from side to side on a small platform. But it was great oblique work and (is fun the right word for that level of pain and poor coordination?) a good way to tie together some of the many pilates skills that are so often done a piece at a time, over and over.

It'll probably take more than a year to perfect the teaser, but I'm working on it.

ps. this is a good mat-based twisted teaser (see number 4) courtesy of Pilates Style Magazine, that I will add to my at-home mat repertoire.

itty bitty teaser

Maybe it's the holiday season that's made me think about Christmas stockings - or perhaps it's the cold air that's making my feet so chilly in the drafty studio, but I've been looking for socks that will keep my toes warm but not slippery. There are only a few different styles (and somehow all the cute colors are sold out in my size) either with or without toe-separators, so I don't have too many options but I went ahead and ordered a few pairs. I'll post a review of my favorites once I've had the chance to try them.

In the meantime, all of my sock-surfing led me to the cutest baby onesie ever: the Itty Bitty Teaser. I've always suspected that my niece, who despite lots of time spent at Mommy and Me Yoga (and her apparent crush on Uncle Ted, the yoga-studio-dude) is actually a pilates pro. Her teaser puts my own wobbly attempts (yes, still...) to shame.

the teaser challenge

So my goal for this summer is to be able to nail the teaser. That probably doesn't sound terribly ambitious, but I'm approaching seven years of pilates practice... and it's about time already. Maybe in another seven I'll be working up to the boomerang, but for now this seems like a challenge. Slow but steady... I mean, Joseph Pilates practiced til he was in his eighties so I do need something to look forward to.

The rules are as follows:

- 1-2 pilates classes at my studio per week; more depending on budget and time. At each class when the teacher asks for requests I'll ask for teaser related challenges
- at home pilates practice 1-2 hours per week (including my regular arm/injury stretches on my foam roller) with each session to include some teaser and related activities
- daily hamstring stretches. Or every other day. Ouch. As much as I can take.
- focus on relaxing my shoulders all the time and also during practice
- when rolling like a ball I'll really use my abs and not cheat with momentum (ok, that's not totally teaser related but I'm sure it can't hurt -- and for open leg rocker which is essentially a rolling teaser, it'll certainly help)