I have a live journal blog for another thing I do and I'm liking live journal better. I can use it easier and it lets me put live links in, so here's my new address
http://samsarapilates.livejournal.com/
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Teaching matwork again
I am finally not burnt out on matwork anymore.
Yesterday I taught a workshop on the fundamentals of pilates and how they apply to the mat. It was such fun. I do love helping students be able to do anyone's pilates safely and effectively. And I was able to incorporate some of my more evolving ideas of abdominal support into how I taught it, so that was wonderful.
I've decided to run a pilates class during the summer in the mornings. I already have it half full. That rocks! I love to teach students over a consecutive period of time so I can really impart to them a deep pattern.
I feel like, all the studying of apparatus took my energy for awhile. I am ready to integrate matwork again into the rest of what I am doing.
Much is happening in my movement work outside of pilates too, and that is really great!
Yesterday I taught a workshop on the fundamentals of pilates and how they apply to the mat. It was such fun. I do love helping students be able to do anyone's pilates safely and effectively. And I was able to incorporate some of my more evolving ideas of abdominal support into how I taught it, so that was wonderful.
I've decided to run a pilates class during the summer in the mornings. I already have it half full. That rocks! I love to teach students over a consecutive period of time so I can really impart to them a deep pattern.
I feel like, all the studying of apparatus took my energy for awhile. I am ready to integrate matwork again into the rest of what I am doing.
Much is happening in my movement work outside of pilates too, and that is really great!
Monday, March 3, 2008
My somatic search...
I've decided I need to focus less on another Pilates teacher certification, and more on exploring somatic movement. I do love Pilates and it is so useful, but I do not want to imprint more fixed patterns on the body.
The more I learn and read about somatics, finding each body's unique movement pattern and breath, the more I want to keep following this idea.
I have never enjoyed doing an hour of straight pilates repertoire. I more enjoy seeing what my body needs each moment, each day, and using pilates and other methods for getting my body juicy and playful and easy, so I feel good and enlivened.
I've been reading some great somatic teachers ideas about not putting fixed patterns on a body. That connects more with what and how I already teach. I look at my student when they arrive, see where is restricted, how are they breathing, talk to them and find out how they are feeling physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and then I follow my instincts in giving them work. I almost always do footwork as I feel it is wonderful at releasing so much in all ways, mind and body. But then, instead of just going through the method exercises, I follow what seems like the natural thing to do. Sometimes it is rolling on the mat, or exploring breath, or walking around experimenting in the body, or playing with the spinal articulations. My ultimate goal is for my student to leave feeling wonderful and easy in their body, tensions slipped away, and for them to have energy for their life.
The more I learn and read about somatics, finding each body's unique movement pattern and breath, the more I want to keep following this idea.
I have never enjoyed doing an hour of straight pilates repertoire. I more enjoy seeing what my body needs each moment, each day, and using pilates and other methods for getting my body juicy and playful and easy, so I feel good and enlivened.
I've been reading some great somatic teachers ideas about not putting fixed patterns on a body. That connects more with what and how I already teach. I look at my student when they arrive, see where is restricted, how are they breathing, talk to them and find out how they are feeling physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and then I follow my instincts in giving them work. I almost always do footwork as I feel it is wonderful at releasing so much in all ways, mind and body. But then, instead of just going through the method exercises, I follow what seems like the natural thing to do. Sometimes it is rolling on the mat, or exploring breath, or walking around experimenting in the body, or playing with the spinal articulations. My ultimate goal is for my student to leave feeling wonderful and easy in their body, tensions slipped away, and for them to have energy for their life.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Fundamentals and Pilates Workshop
I have these moments where I am just sure of something I need to teach. And so far, when I get these feelings I am successful.
Yesterday afternoon I got a sudden thought to teach a Fundamentals of Pilates and How They Apply To The Matwork workshop. Very small, only 5 students. Two hours. One hour and a little focused on the Fundamentals from Eve's work, and the rest of the time applying the Fundamentals to the matwork. The cost is $50. That was last night, and by lunch today I had the workshop, scheduled in March, filled already. I scheduled another for May and it already has one student.
I am so excited to deeply share this work with students who, instead of just wanting to mindlessly do matwork, they want to understand what they are doing and why.
So happy!
I've not taught group mat class for a couple of years so that I can focus on other studies, but I do love teaching the matwork! And when I taught twice a week, 8 week sessions for WOTC, I got to take the time to explore these fundamentals with them. I had a beginning one-hour class in which I always warmed them up with the fundamentals, not all of them, but those that applied to the matwork I was going to give. I gave lessons every tuesday on the ideas of the fundamentals and on thursdays we really worked deeply with them on the mat in the repertoire. My intermediate/advanced class I warmed up with the fundamentals almost every class. They didn't have to be told, after awhile, what the order was or what to do, they just did them. One class per session I would take them through the full matwork repertoire that I could cover in one hour without warming them up with the fundamentals, so they could feel in their own bodies how much different the matwork was without that warm up. They didn't do as well in their form, and didn't enjoy the work quite as much. But, because I knew that they could not take from me forever I wanted to prepare them for the many pilates mat class experiences I'd already gone through myself, where I was literally started out in the 100 and off we went. I believe it is vital to do some fundamental warm ups before the full repertoire.
Yesterday afternoon I got a sudden thought to teach a Fundamentals of Pilates and How They Apply To The Matwork workshop. Very small, only 5 students. Two hours. One hour and a little focused on the Fundamentals from Eve's work, and the rest of the time applying the Fundamentals to the matwork. The cost is $50. That was last night, and by lunch today I had the workshop, scheduled in March, filled already. I scheduled another for May and it already has one student.
I am so excited to deeply share this work with students who, instead of just wanting to mindlessly do matwork, they want to understand what they are doing and why.
So happy!
I've not taught group mat class for a couple of years so that I can focus on other studies, but I do love teaching the matwork! And when I taught twice a week, 8 week sessions for WOTC, I got to take the time to explore these fundamentals with them. I had a beginning one-hour class in which I always warmed them up with the fundamentals, not all of them, but those that applied to the matwork I was going to give. I gave lessons every tuesday on the ideas of the fundamentals and on thursdays we really worked deeply with them on the mat in the repertoire. My intermediate/advanced class I warmed up with the fundamentals almost every class. They didn't have to be told, after awhile, what the order was or what to do, they just did them. One class per session I would take them through the full matwork repertoire that I could cover in one hour without warming them up with the fundamentals, so they could feel in their own bodies how much different the matwork was without that warm up. They didn't do as well in their form, and didn't enjoy the work quite as much. But, because I knew that they could not take from me forever I wanted to prepare them for the many pilates mat class experiences I'd already gone through myself, where I was literally started out in the 100 and off we went. I believe it is vital to do some fundamental warm ups before the full repertoire.
On my way to smart spine certification
Friday I leave for Long Beach, California to attend the Smart Spine certification over the weekend at Long Beach Dance Conditioning with Marie-Jose Blom-Lawrence. I am really looking forward to it.
Last summer I took a Smart Spine workshop at the Balanced Body conference in LA. I really loved the product and brought it home with me. My clients loved it too.
I did a mat class on it. I love the matwork, and I guess you could say I sort of specialize in it to some extent, as I really love studying it. I have to say, I have never had such a good mat workout ever, than I have on the SS. I learned I was doing something extra with my back in the matwork that I couldn't do on the SS. After that class in LA I was sore in very good, healing ways, and my body felt amazing. I am almost always in some degree of pain in my body, particularly my back from injuries in figure skating. The work on the SS is very healing and helped me find even more balance in my body, which is what I need to stay fluid and mobile.
I really can use the SS in many ways for my own body, but I am still working at finding ways to read my client's needs with the prop, so that I can most benefit them. I can't wait to explore the work on the apparatus and mat more deeply.
I also love the SS so much I want to do certifications for the prop here. I think it is brilliant for not only doing full work on, but especially the fundamentals of pilates on. I am in love with Eve Gentry's Fundamentals, and Marie-Jose is equally as passionate as Eve was about these pre-pilates movements. I think they are more healing than just doing full repertoire. If you can really feel the fundamentals you can get your mind/body connected to many of the more choreographed pilates repertoire and get something deeper from them than just being able to do choreography. Can we find healing in both mind and body in big choreography? I think, yes, if we are mindful and learn and study the smaller movements in our bodies.
Last summer I took a Smart Spine workshop at the Balanced Body conference in LA. I really loved the product and brought it home with me. My clients loved it too.
I did a mat class on it. I love the matwork, and I guess you could say I sort of specialize in it to some extent, as I really love studying it. I have to say, I have never had such a good mat workout ever, than I have on the SS. I learned I was doing something extra with my back in the matwork that I couldn't do on the SS. After that class in LA I was sore in very good, healing ways, and my body felt amazing. I am almost always in some degree of pain in my body, particularly my back from injuries in figure skating. The work on the SS is very healing and helped me find even more balance in my body, which is what I need to stay fluid and mobile.
I really can use the SS in many ways for my own body, but I am still working at finding ways to read my client's needs with the prop, so that I can most benefit them. I can't wait to explore the work on the apparatus and mat more deeply.
I also love the SS so much I want to do certifications for the prop here. I think it is brilliant for not only doing full work on, but especially the fundamentals of pilates on. I am in love with Eve Gentry's Fundamentals, and Marie-Jose is equally as passionate as Eve was about these pre-pilates movements. I think they are more healing than just doing full repertoire. If you can really feel the fundamentals you can get your mind/body connected to many of the more choreographed pilates repertoire and get something deeper from them than just being able to do choreography. Can we find healing in both mind and body in big choreography? I think, yes, if we are mindful and learn and study the smaller movements in our bodies.
Monday, February 4, 2008
pre-movements and Pilates
This morning I am reading How Life Moves and was struck about the writings on pre-movements, resetting/exploring movement habit patterns, changing our perceptions of our movement patterns.
I love somatic work. I love being an explorer in my own body, and I like to help others go deep in themselves too.
Eve Gentry's Pilates Fundamentals are what really called my heart to Pilates. The art of exploring each movement as its own piece, and then seeing how each small movement pattern connects with others throughout the body is fascinating. How interesting it is to watch an inefficient movement pattern in the hip affect the rest of the body, up and down, and how simply exploring the hip pattern, finding a new, more effective, more effortless pattern also changes everything in the body, up and down. And yet, if the student is not ready to be 'in' their hip yet it is very difficult to help them undo and find a new pattern.
In my experience in my own body and working with others, I find emotion in the ineffective patterns. Of course, movement patterns are not just emotional, they are genetic to some degree, habitual with what we do in our bodies all day, injury and illness. But, I am truly fascinated in how emotion gets stuck in the body. I've seen many go through counseling of the mind, without movement counseling of the body, and their body still locks these old emotions into itself, and they still cannot fully undo. I've seen many who force out of their body the emotional evidence, but never do they deal with the mind/heart piece, and they are never really free either. I believe the best way to work with unhealthy emotions is by exploring and processing them in the mind and the body.
In less than two weeks I am off to study with Marie-Jose Blom-Lawrence. Like Eve Gentry she works with the Fundamentals. With her, I believe she calls them pre-Pilates. I took from her last summer and was again absolutely sure in my heart that the fundamentals of movement are a big key to unlocking so much in each one of us, not just to get out of physical pain, or emotional pain, but to explore the world with more ability to sense physically, this world, and to be more aware of how we are experiencing the world.
I am looking forward to going deeper and deeper into my own body, so that I can explore out of my body with even more feedback to my senses.
I love movement.
I love somatic work. I love being an explorer in my own body, and I like to help others go deep in themselves too.
Eve Gentry's Pilates Fundamentals are what really called my heart to Pilates. The art of exploring each movement as its own piece, and then seeing how each small movement pattern connects with others throughout the body is fascinating. How interesting it is to watch an inefficient movement pattern in the hip affect the rest of the body, up and down, and how simply exploring the hip pattern, finding a new, more effective, more effortless pattern also changes everything in the body, up and down. And yet, if the student is not ready to be 'in' their hip yet it is very difficult to help them undo and find a new pattern.
In my experience in my own body and working with others, I find emotion in the ineffective patterns. Of course, movement patterns are not just emotional, they are genetic to some degree, habitual with what we do in our bodies all day, injury and illness. But, I am truly fascinated in how emotion gets stuck in the body. I've seen many go through counseling of the mind, without movement counseling of the body, and their body still locks these old emotions into itself, and they still cannot fully undo. I've seen many who force out of their body the emotional evidence, but never do they deal with the mind/heart piece, and they are never really free either. I believe the best way to work with unhealthy emotions is by exploring and processing them in the mind and the body.
In less than two weeks I am off to study with Marie-Jose Blom-Lawrence. Like Eve Gentry she works with the Fundamentals. With her, I believe she calls them pre-Pilates. I took from her last summer and was again absolutely sure in my heart that the fundamentals of movement are a big key to unlocking so much in each one of us, not just to get out of physical pain, or emotional pain, but to explore the world with more ability to sense physically, this world, and to be more aware of how we are experiencing the world.
I am looking forward to going deeper and deeper into my own body, so that I can explore out of my body with even more feedback to my senses.
I love movement.
new book
I picked up How Life Moves: Explorations in Meaning and Body Awareness by McHose and Frank.
I am really enjoying their ideas, and this book was meant for teachers as well as deep movement addicts. I've been studying the idea of primary skeleton (fish skeleton) and secondary skeletons, and how they work in Pilates and pole, and life. This book explores the primary fish skeleton in our movement evolution. Very interesting movement experiments. I can't wait to read it all!
I am really enjoying their ideas, and this book was meant for teachers as well as deep movement addicts. I've been studying the idea of primary skeleton (fish skeleton) and secondary skeletons, and how they work in Pilates and pole, and life. This book explores the primary fish skeleton in our movement evolution. Very interesting movement experiments. I can't wait to read it all!
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