On Sunday night, after a fun filled day of teaching teacher training workshop I got a chance to get in a long walk and practice my Pilates mat work. What kept popping into my head during my Pilates time is hearing the trainees say things like:
- “I can’t believe I’ve been doing that wrong for 5 years”.
- “There’s another thing I’ve been doing wrong”.
- “I’ve been doing this completely wrong all this time!”
First let me say that when I hear things like this my response is usually something like this: The only wrong way to do Pilates or any movement is in a way that creates pain or hurt in your body. The fine tuning, the deeper understanding that happens when you dig deep into the details of the exercise…that is all just part of the process. That is what keeps your movement practice exciting, growing and challenging. For me it’s what keeps me coming back for more!
By the end of the workshop day these phrases became kind of the joke of the day. Even though I knew the trainees were kidding, I also knew there was a little bit of seriousness to their comments and a little bit of frustration. I can relate to this because like most people, I don’t like to do things I’m not good at. Whether I’m writing a blog, running a business, playing a sport or doing Pilates, I want to do it well. I want to be good (okay, great) at it. I want to think that I am doing everything I can to do my best. And we all know that it doesn’t matter how nicely someone gives you some helpful advice or gives you a better way to do something….they are telling you these things because whatever you are doing could be better. They clearly think you are not doing what you are capable of.
What’s the key to not feeling like a complete failure every time your Pilates teacher gives you some advice on making your movement better? For me, I had to make the realization that my Pilates practice was a practice. I had to acknowledge that the benefits of me moving my body and practicing Pilates movements really comes from the process itself and not any end result. My flexible spine, my awareness of my posture and alignment and my core strength are a cumulative effect of the practicing of movements I do on a regular basis. I don’t have to wait until my Teaser is absolutely perfect or for my side leg kicks to look like those of a ballerina to benefit from my Pilates practice.
From a teaching perspective I had to realize that my “performance” of an exercise really has nothing to do with my ability to teach and guide others on their Pilates journey. Of course I need to know the exercise in my own body to teach it to someone else, but it definitely does not need to be perfect. In fact I think that the exercises that are a challenge for me are often the ones that I teach best to others. My challenge exercises inspire me to take more time to really understand those exercises and figure out how I can tweak little details to get more out of those exercises. In the long run, this understanding helps me be a better teacher when I am helping someone else figure out these movements in their body.
As I lay on the floor and practiced Pilates this week, thinking about my new trainees and how much their own Pilates practiced just changed in one short day- I was excited!! Excited to see how their thinking about their practice had started to change, excited to see how their belief of what their own bodies could or should do changed and what they could guide others to do changed! After I got over my excitement I had to find my concentration skills and focus on my own practice so I could continue my own journey. #Practicewhatyouteach!
Where are you from, how did you end up in the corridor?
Is there something about you that would surprise students in your classes? 
Let me tell you about some of my favorite students. They are loud, giggly and sometimes don’t listen to anything I say. They often interrupt me when I’m teaching to ask questions like, “Can we do mermaid today, can I pick what we are pretending to sit against during Spine Stretch, or Mom did you check on the dog today (from my son of course!)” When I first started teaching them movement this really drove me a little (ok a LOT) crazy as a teacher. I often felt like a failure if all of them weren’t breathing properly, paying attention perfectly and doing exactly what I wanted them to do.