Consistent Persistence & Lifelong Finesse

“Put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be walking 'cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be walking out the door.”

This little ditty’s been stuck in my head for days. It comes from a 1970 stop animation Christmas special called, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I’m really dating myself here but in the mid 70’s my younger sister and I used  to watch it on TV every December and besides the song, I loved the fact that Fred Astaire was one of the voice actors. #dancenerd

So, back to the song’s lyrics and why they’ve recently been banging around my brain…

Learning By Rote

In Pilates (and in a lot of other things as well) one of the ways we learn is by rote, i.e. memorising something based on repetition. At school this looks like drilling facts with no theory or understanding behind them, think of formulas in science, math equations, or rules of how to spell.. "i before e, except after c"... 

I’m not debating the positives or negatives of rote learning in a school setting however, I will say that thanks to endless, out loud, repetition of the times table in 7th grade, I can still pull the correct answer to 7 times 8 out of the old memory bank.

photo by Enric Moreu

In a movement practice, specifically in Pilates, we repeat many of the same exercises every single time we get down on to our mat, reformer, low chair, etc. etc.

I’m putting forth the argument that even if you get sooo sick of being asked to do another set of the Hundred or Single Leg Circles, or you feel a bit bored by the SSDD* nature of your class or session, learning by rote is a good thing.

This is the process of putting one foot in front of another to begin walking 'cross the floor!

We repeat and repeat and repeat not only the exercises but the sequence of exercises for a number of reasons.

First we want to build the foundational skills that the Pilates Method is based on:

• the breath
• being able to recruit and use our deep stabilising muscles
• differentiation of the leg from the pelvis
• connecting the arm into the torso front and back
• finding as neutral alignment as we can
• sequential movement, especially in the spine

Next we want to build strength in those exercises so that we can lay the groundwork for the more advanced exercises. 

We want to have done those first exercises so many times we know we’ll be able to call on the well-honed, learned by rote skills when we attempt an exercise that’s a bit more advanced and challenging  without having to devote mental energy to the basics.

Finally we want to have repeated those exercises so many times that we've explore the subtleties and depth of their many layers.

Once the beginning exercises become familiar we dig even deeper and eke out the information we’re going to use when the choreography gets more complicated, or the gravitational load changes.

My clients have named this LIFELONG FINESSE. I love that!

These three things...

• First, the foundational skills - The What
• Next, the building of strength - The How
• Finally, the Lifelong Finesse - The Why 

...These three things give us the tools to layer the Pilates work so that we can build a robust practice that continues to challenge us no matter how many time we repeat the same exercises.

We circle back to the basics again and again to inform the more advanced exercises and become aware of how the foundational skills and knowledge are woven into the method no matter your level of practice.

One of the catchphrases that I love from my gym is “Consistent Persistence”

This is the idea that if you just keep showing up and doing your best you'll surprise yourself at how far you'll go, how strong you'll become, and what you can accomplish. #lifelesson

You're putting one foot in front of the other...

At the gym this means that if you build the skills inherent in an exercise, eventually you can put the skills together and perform the full exercise. 

Basically you back yourself and trust that there's a sequence that will lead to a positive outcome.

Same, same in Pilates.

Let's take an exercise that's probably in most Mat classes, the Spine Stretch:

The skills inside Spine Stretch include:

• Stretching the spine in a long, supported, even curve
• Engaging the deep belly muscles in, up, and back into a scoop (posterior tilt)
• Finding the two way stretch to decompress the spine and energise the back line of the body
• Holding up the weight of the torso in flexion (in front of the body)
• Moving from the inside > out, creating dynamic tension
• Keeping the shoulder blades 'at home' on the ribcage
• Using the breath to find the tempo and flow of the exercise

I could list more but you get the idea, there's a whole heap of stuff (the Finesse) that can be explored. We can probably agree that most of those skills (or at least knowledge of them) would be handy to have at our disposal in pretty every other single Pilates exercise.

But, let's get more specific and look at the ones that are very much connected to Spine Stretch.

How about Open Leg Rocker? It's basically the same shape but is now moved through space.

And there's Rollover, (which technically precedes Spine Stretch in the Classical order) but in part is an upside down Spine Stretch.

We can link Spine Stretch to some of the more advanced Mat exercises like Jackknife or Control Balance.

Or how about Boomerang?

On the Reformer Spine Stretch links to Short Spine, the Rowing Series, Short Box-Round Back, and Overhead.

Have you ever tried to perform Spine Stretch on the Low Chair? If you don't have the embedded, foundational skills from the mat, that spring on the chair is not going to open!

Click >> HERE << for a video demo/tutorial from my Schtudio.

Isn't this just the juiciest way of looking at your Pilates practice?

photo by George Kedenburg III

By figuratively putting one foot in front of the other we make progress in our Pilates practice. By repeating and repeating (and repeating) the same beginning exercises we build the foundational skills, strength, and awareness to not only walk across the floor, but then out the door to a more advanced practice.

Thanks for reading

xBec

*Same Shit Different Day

The information contained above is provided for informational purposed only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and Rebecca Forde disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this post.

social & cover photo by Михаил Павленко