Dear Pilates V Family,
Question - What do Breathing, Mindfulness, Grit and Flow have in common?
Answer - They are all part of our new Vibrant Life! Program, based on Joseph Pilates’s original purpose, which was to restore people’s “zest for life”.
Many years ago, when I was in my Pilates Teacher Training, my Master Trainer and mentor was Nora St. John (she went on to found Balanced Body University, one of the most successful Pilates Educational Companies in the world). I was chatting with her one day and I said “you know, I get it; there’s nowhere to GET to in Pilates, you never arrive. You just practice” - She stuck her hand out, shook my hand and replied “welcome to the club”. From then on I was hooked on practicing Pilates for the sheer joy of the good feelings, the inner and outer strength and the state of calm, yet energized bliss I always walked away with.
That one conversation lead to a lifelong study of The Pilates Method and the Neurobiology of the Flow State
I am thrilled to be rolling out our newest program called Vibrant Life! based on my many years long study and practice of The Pilates Method and the neurobiology of the Flow state for mental, spiritual and physical well-being.
Together we will enjoy the mental, physical and spiritual benefits that are the essential teachings of Joseph Pilates’ work and based on the science of neurobiology.
We’ll learn and practice breathwork, Mindfulness practice, working through gritty situations and getting into the Flow state aka “going with the flow”, all with Pilates movement as our foundation for our practice.
Here are some program highlights of upcoming workshops I’ll be offering this Fall and next Spring!
Breathing Life into your Practice
“How we breathe is how we feel, and how we feel is how we breathe”
Learn to use your Pilates practice for more than just a workout!
We’ll learn to use Pilates breathwork and additional techniques to energize, calm, release, relax, focus, and stay present in our lives.
We’ll get some understanding of the science behind how breathing affects how we feel and think and the why’s and how’s to creating that calm, yet energized state, all with Pilates movement.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness plays a big role in improving your overall mental health. According to research, the practice helps people manage stress, depression, addiction, and anxiety. It has shown to be effective in people with health conditions like hypertension, chronic pain and heart failure.
From Mindful.org
We’ll learn and practice how to use Pilates movement as the Mindfulness practice it was meant to be!
Challenge and Grit
Pilates is a long-game, with successes, plateaus and challenges; much like life!
We’ll learn to find our edge and how to surf the waves of challenge and change with resilience and ease.
Pilates is a great teacher in this respect, offering balance and coordination challenges, mental fortitude challenges and ways to learn effortless effort, which is a portal to the Flow state.
Flow
One of the Pilates Principles, the Flow state is defined as-
“the optimal state of health and performance”
A flow state can be defined as a sort of effortless attention. When in flow, we are deeply absorbed in our activities yet there is no feeling of exerting effort. It also involves a feeling of high-energy positive emotion (similar to excitement or enjoyment) and unique physiological activation patterns that resemble patterns similar to both positive feelings and high attention (Ullén, de Manzano, Theorell, & Harmat, 2010).
Most of us have experienced the Flow state at some point in our lives. Although we may not have known what was happening at the time, those moments stand out from all others in our memory.
My belief is that Joseph Pilates was a Flow personality, joined by Albert Einstein, Margaret Mead, and Frederick Douglas; meaning people who had big ideas that changed our world for the better.
I’m writing my thesis on the belief that Joe’s Method is actually a roadmap to flow, through embodiment, using movement as the trigger to shift the bodybrain into its optimal state.
This is where it all comes together! We’ll learn how to use our Pilates practice to get into the Flow state, so we can “go with the Flow of life with ease and energy”.