Did you know that last week, May 2, was International Pilates Day? International Pilates Day is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May to promote the benefits of the Pilates method and honor its founder, Joseph Pilates. I love this exercise methodology; so much so that in 2018, I decided to become an instructor so that I could share my love of Pilates with others.
For those of you who are not aware, this exercise methodology was developed by a man named Joseph Pilates, who was born in Germany in 1883. Pilates was a very sick child with several debilitating ailments. He chose to heal himself through movement, breath, and exercise, and he studied Eastern and Western forms of exercise and philosophies. During World War I, Pilates was interned in a camp, and as he practiced the methodologies that he had developed, he began to teach other interned people, and this is the method we have come to know as Mat Pilates.
In addition, he started to develop apparatuses using a bed and springs to help rehabilitate the injured, disabled, or bed-ridden prisoners of war. This is most likely where the inspiration for the machine called the Reformer, which uses spring resistance, was born. In the late 1920s Pilates, along with his wife Clara, moved to New York City and began to work with injured dancers, where he developed a large following. His methodology was originally known as Contrology, and he authored a book on his method called Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health. The method was renamed to Pilates after his death in 1967 at the age of 83.
This next poem is a shout out to all the amazing people I’ve met throughout my journey as an instructor. During teacher training, I had the privilege of being among the most supportive group of fellow trainees, and all of us still remain friends. The instructors who preceded us in teacher training, and were already teaching at the studio, were so warm and welcoming, offering to help us in any way they could. I honestly have never seen such a show of support among a group of women, or people, for that matter. I hope someday to pay it forward by helping new trainees reach their goal of becoming a certified instructor. Now that I’ve been teaching for a few years, I’ve developed strong bonds with the members who take my classes. I love it when we can laugh together about the deflated blue balls in the studio, or groan together over a tough move or class. These members bring it every single time and are truly warriors and a great inspiration to me. And we have one very important thing in common: we all love our “feet in straps.”
I know some of you who are not familiar with this method may not understand this poem, but I hope you can appreciate the love behind it. And you never know . . . it may just inspire you to book a class at your local studio.
Ode to Pilates
They come into the studio
So full of energy.
They gather up their props,
And shoot a smile at me.
They talk among each other
As they pick their favorite spot.
Mentally preparing
To give it everything they’ve got.
A quick warm-up with Footwork;
“Zip up those inner thighs!”
Then it’s onto Bridging;
“Lift those hips up nice and high!”
A core series follows:
“Pull the abs into the spine.
Inhale/exhale, extend those legs,
You all are doing fine.”
It’s time to lower the footbar;
We’re planking into pike.
Pulling from that powerhouse—
What isn’t there to like?
On to strengthening arms, then legs,
Making great connections;
A quick side twist—“Wring out obliques;
Move the spine in all directions.”
“Engage the core, pull in those abs,
Articulate that spine!
Squeeze the glutes, open the chest,
You all are doing fine!”
Everyone is trying so hard;
So aware of what they’re doing.
I am trying so very hard
To remember all this cueing!
“Shoulders down, away from ears,
Lift up the pelvic floor.
Hang in there . . . you’re doing great,
We only have five more.”
Twenty-two reps later,
They’re shooting me the look.
I’d better end this quickly,
And get myself off the hook!
I tell them they are doing great;
This won’t go on much longer.
It doesn’t get any easier—
They’re just getting stronger.
The end is near, we’re almost done,
Class is about to wrap.
“Just one more thing, if you don’t mind,
It’s time for Feet in Straps!”
-K.A. Bloch-
