March 2009

Yesterday I attended the Continuing Professional Education (CPE)seminar for Romana’s Pilates teachers held in Sydney.  The venue was great, we spent the day at the Bangarra Dance Theatre right down on the harbour.  I arrived at 7am and even though I have seen it many times before, I have to say it was a pretty impressive sight walking around the harbour, looking at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as the sun was rising.  I had to snap a couple of shots. 

The day itself was just what I needed.  Reconnecting with other teachers and having the opportunity to watching some very strong and flexible people doing their thing!  We were lucky enough to have Juanita Lopez there for the day.  Juanita is a Level 1 Pilates Teacher Trainer based in Chicago.  This is the second time that I have been to a seminar taught by her.  I thoroughly enjoy the way she is able to effortlessly combine her instruction on how to teach with advice on how to maintain your our personal health, fitness and enjoyment of Pilates as a teacher.   

The seminar was hosted by the Pilates Method Studio in Surry Hills who also put on a fantastic lunch.  The day was sunny and gorgeous and we all sat out on the pier watching groups of people walking over the top of the Harbour Bridge, jelly fish in the water and all the lovely yachts, ferries and other ships sailing by. 

During the day I was flipping back through my notes of past seminars.  I found it interesting to notice that each time I go to a CPE seminar I take less notes but seem to learn more.  When I first started teaching I remember  hearing my teachers talk about how important it is to understand an exercise in your own body to be able to effectively teach it.  I also heard more experienced teachers say that until you had been teaching for at least 5-10 years you were still a baby in terms of your understanding.  I have just reached the 5 year mark, and I have to say, I am just starting to understand how clever and truthful both those statements are:)  The Pilates Method is a form of physical exercise that requires a great depth of understanding.  The more you understand the movements through your own experience, the better equipped you are to help others, and the more fun you will have at pilates parties!

I bought myself a copy of The Pilates Body (by Brooke Siler) quite early on in my Pilates study.  I have found it to be an invaluable resource.  There are a lot of books on Pilates out there at the moment, but I haven’t seen any that compare to this one for quality, content and practical application.  The Pilates Body begins with clear, useful information about the Pilates Method and its principles.  The exercise lay out is clear, easy to follow and successfully delivers quality Pilates. 

The Pilates Body covers the entire Mat work series.  It caters for complete beginners through to advanced level practitioners.  Each exercise is presented with clear written instructions and easy to follow pictures.  The exercise models are in very good shape, are very good at Pilates and offer a wonderful example of how each exercise should be performed.  My favourite part of the book is the fantastic little cartoon pictures in the top corner of each page, giving you tips on how to imagine what you should be feeling while performing each exercise.  Those little pictures helped me so much with my own workouts, and also gave me a lot of ideas I could pass on to my clients when trying to explain exercises.  A good visual image of what you are trying to achieve, that engages your imagination, makes your workouts more effective and a lot more fun.

The Pilates Body is a resource that you will refer back to again and again and I have found that the better I get, the more I get out o this book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is teaching Pilates, taking classes, thinking about taking classes or doing it by themselves at home.

You can buy a copy of The Pilates Body from Amazon (click on the link below) or your should be able to pick one up in any good book store.    

The Pilates Body: The Ultimate At-Home Guide to Strengthening, Lengthening, and Toning Your Body — Without Machines