In my little world of possibilities, my small studio, people will often bring in pieces of advice that they’ve been given with respect to their body.  Such as, when you have an injury, don’t move!  This one really gets my goat.  Try to not move.  Just try.  Are you still breathing?  You’re moving.  We are made to move.  Movement is synonymous with being alive.  So I modify the don’t move advice in practice as such:  when you have an injury, move correctly.  Pilates helps with that.

Lately I’ve been thinking about Pilates as layers of movement.  To get the most out of a Pilates practice, one has to master all levels of movement.  There is the first and most important layer, the choreography of the exercises.  Just that layer of movement is genius.  There are lots and lots of good reasons for the moves that make up the Pilates system, which is why they yield such great results.

Then there are the layers of movement beneath the surface, the coordination that eventually turns any move you do into a Pilates move.  I often refer to this as using the “Pilates muscles.”  In Pilates we have a standard coordination which many call the two-way stretch.  Beyond that universal muscle coordination, we have many more intricate coordinations that are specific to certain exercises.

Pilates has taught me so much and I look forward to all that it will teach me in the future.  For now I’m grateful for this pearl of wisdom (I will always think of Trish Garland when I use that sweet phrase):
The one thing you can count on in life is movement, so make every move count.