Reformer, right?

There is no question that Reformer Pilates is having a moment.

Social media is awash with celebrities photographed on the equipment & new Reformer studios are popping up everywhere, which is a good thing ~ right?

Well not necessarily and let me explain why. There are a few things you need to consider before you take or continue with a class.

It’s unfortunate that most people put more research into where they service their car than their Reformer studios. Worrying when you know your car can be replaced, but your body is with you for life.

Firstly, & it’s a biggie,

Not all Pilates teachers are created equal. Despite the efforts of the UK’s leading Pilates studios to ensure regulation, it is still not legally in force.

This means almost anyone can claim to be a teacher & open a Reformer studio.

So you need to do some research yourself to check if the studio & especially your teacher, has proper, legitimate, internationally recognised qualifications to teach Pilates.

If not walk out the door & ask why didn’t they get properly trained and qualified ?

You need to know how long did they train for? Was it for Years? Or perhaps it was only months or even just a few days….did they even pass a single exam?

What is their experience & are they qualified for any health issues or injuries that you may have?

What if you are pregnant, or had a baby in the past year, 5 years ~ or ever? Do they know what is safe for you to do?

Do you have a back issue? If so, are they qualified to know what to do. And what if you have specific medical conditions. If they don’t have these qualifications , they may potentially be harming you.

Also what is the calibre & quality of the equipment.

Now this can make all the difference to your experience and your body. Are you using the equivalent of a cheap old banger but being charged for a Bentley experience?

It is also important to know that the Reformer is only one part of a whole system of Studio equipment ,including matwork, designed to help your body achieve optimum alignment, balance, strength and health .

The method was taught by Joseph Pilates to his students and there is a clear lineage of a select few individuals he trained to teach his method & who in turn, taught the method to genuine Pilates teachers today.

This however is open to abuse and many individuals have copied exercises with no real training, knowledge or understanding of how the exercises should be performed or even why.

Pilates is my passion, it helped my body when I needed it most. So it infuriates and saddens me in equal parts when Reformer Pilates is regarded as a get rich quick scheme rather than the proven method to strengthen, balance and align the body. Bringing greater connection to body and mind and preparing you for the adventures your life will hold.

I’ve witnessed remarkably transformations when the method is applied and taught professionally, methodically and with attention to the individual.

Sadly we are hearing more stories of people having bad experiences from classes where the staff do not know what they are doing. It reflects badly on a truly wonderful, caring generous industry.

So before you go into the shining New Reformer studio please remember that it may look the business, but is it really the Pilates Method ?

Choose wisely whose hands you place your body in 🤍

Lockdown reads

2021 may not be starting the way we had hoped, but with online classes continuing we can all stay healthy, in body & mind. This book is one I can highly recommend for this latest lockdown. It’s a happy blend of relevant science and accessibility, enjoy!

Online delivery

When I was heavily pregnant with my youngest, I quickly developed a set of teaching skills and verbal cues that would enable me to correct, assist and guide everyone in my classes, without me having to bend and get up and down so much ! Necessity is the mother of all invention and I needed to sit and rest a bit more!

I never imagined that those skills would be so useful until we were thrown into this Global pandemic and subsequent lock down. I had to very quickly transfer my classes and all of my clients onto Zoom, the online platform which i’ve been teaching from and spending most of my days on, since the middle of March.

Pilates teachers love to get their hands on you. To correct your posture and improve your alignment. it makes all the difference to your practice and is in essence, why you need a teacher to spot you. Suddenly we couldn’t. Now my round bellied skills would come into their own.

Being able to get someone to move their body in exactly the way needed in order to feel the benefit, is what good online Pilates has become all about. Communicating those skills through my laptop to theirs has been my main challenge.

Along the way however, it became apparent that the classes were becoming about so much more than moving well . Those who were self isolating were suddenly propelled back into the hum of their regular class settings, with the same familiar faces.

Everyone’s collective stress levels and tension in the body, had all reached new heights. The connection between body and mind, had never been more apparent. We needed to move, to breathe and to reconnect with one another even if I couldn’t get my hands on you all, I would find a way to reach you and help you to move, to feel, better.

My inspiring weekend with Pilates Elder, Mary Bowen

I was so excited at the prospect of attending a workshop presented by Mary Bowen, this most incredible Pilates teacher.

Mary had not only studied with Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara in their New York studio. But was also one the privileged few students, entrusted by Joseph himself, to teach his beloved “Contrology” method. (It wasn’t called Pilates until after his death).

Mary has played a significant role in the story and history of Pilates and I was utterly thrilled at the opportunity to meet her.

This prestigious honour has earned Mary Bowen the title of Pilates Elder, alongside Kathy Grant, Romana Kryzanowska and Ron Fletcher to name a few. At 87 however, Mary is the oldest Pilates Elder to still be teaching.

I had expected Mary - like most octogenarians I’ve known - to be sitting quietly, telling amusing anecdotes from her youth. Mary Bowen however, is an extraordinary lady. And although the anecdotes were free flowing, there was certainly no sitting still for this movement teacher!

Mary swung from the Pilates Cadillac with the ease and strength that a woman half her age would be proud of. A large inflatable egg shaped ball, was then placed ( by Mary herself, as no one else would have suggested something so unstable for her to use! ) , onto the Cadillac.

There she was able to demonstrate what almost 70 years of Pilates practice can do for your balance , strength, stability and agility.

Watching this incredible lady gave me so much hope and inspiration. In a world where by their mid thirties, the majority of professional athletes and dancers, are considered to have passed their prime, often forced to retire, usually due to injury. Here was Mary moving with such grace and confidence. And perhaps most importantly, feeling all the better for it!

Movement is so fundamental to our physical, mental and emotional health, we need to be thinking of prolonging our movement potential for as long as we possibly can. Mary has found a way with Pilates.

If Mary could do this in her eighties then having had 5 children and being in my late 30’s didn’t seem such an obstacle! And what freedom of movement and joy lay before me?

Alongside her Pilates career Mary Bowen has continued as a Jungian psychologist. A profession that she is adamant has always benefitted her teaching.

Mary attributed her good working relationships to her greater knowledge in this field.

The Body and mind connection was being explored and appreciated so many years ago. By one of Joseph Pilates proteges after she first entered his New York studio with a back issue.

Mary was so generous with her knowledge of the method & with her stories of the man who’s techniques we still use and benefit from today.
Such a wealth of knowledge and experience & such a fabulous character. She encouraged me to make the most ludicrous noises as I performed the Seal, rocking back and forth embracing the freedom from inhibition, despite the onlook of peers & I was fully enjoying the movement. The breath, the unification of body and mind and the uplifting joy it brought.

Thank you Mary, thank you for sharing.