Butt-watching at Pilates?

Today’s blog starts with a client story…. A client was doing her her long stretch on the reformer and I cued her to reach through her left heel more and engage her left butt. She adjusted and then when she transitioned to the next exercise (Down Stretch) and was getting set up I said the cue again as I could see that she wasn’t engaging her left gluteus muscles and I wanted her to find the balanced work in this exercise. She laughs and says,”Really? How can you tell that? Are you looking at my butt?” My answer was,”Yes, of course I am. I’m looking at muscle engagement in your whole body as you are are moving which includes your butt!”

After teaching movement for 16 years sometimes I forget that not everybody looks at bodies like I do. Part of teaching the Pilates method of exercise is helping clients figure out what it means to create balance in their body and do balanced movements. By giving cues and instruction to clients on how to work more efficiently and more balanced you help them figure out how to notice and adjust in their own body without you always having to tell them.

If you are contemplating wanting to teach Pilates and this concept seems foreign or maybe complicated…..don’t worry you’ll learn how to do it!  When you go through workshops we’ll look at different bodies doing different exercises and talk about what we see and how we could help that person do the exercise better in their body. You’ll learn about what to look for and really how to become an observer of movement and muscle engagement. As you integrate your own personal practice time, with observation hours and practice teaching hours you’ll have plenty of chances to look at bodies and figure out how to hone this skill of observing and then cueing to create balance! I promise by the end of the program you won’t think twice about looking at someone’s butt while they are moving!!