Pilates Patterns: Circles & Layers

Aka another way to wrap your head around the Pilates Method

A lot of times when I teach I excitedly blurt things out and yesterday during an online class what came out of my mouth is that we should look at the Mat repertoire as layers and circles. 

Does anybody else besides me have images of food pop up when their brain is trying to organise around a new concept, because I immediately thought of baklava because, layers...

Photo by Syed F Hashemi 

 Photo by Girl with red hat

Circles

I know the concept of circling burbled up from my subconscious off the back of co-hosting a Pilates retreat a couple of weeks ago with my friend Shari from Essential Pilates. To start each day of the weekend one of us taught a Mat class and during Shari's she shared a really great insight of how to approach Joseph Pilates' original 34 Mat exercises:

The first third of the exercises lays the foundation (pretty much up to Swan)

The following two thirds of repertoire circle back to the exercises already performed in the first third.

To tell you the truth I haven't done the deep dive that I know this paradigm warrants but it does dovetail nicely with my idea of layering.

Layers

The way I see it one of your jobs in a Mat class is to figure out what concepts and skills each exercise offers and then bring those to subsequent exercises. This helps in many ways:

1. You realise that each exercise builds and layers on the next - what changes is load, gravity, support and choreography. (some people say that Pilates is really just ONE exercise, I love Pilates Andrea’s take on it which comes through her teacher Jay Grimes)
2. You've consciously practiced, honed, and fine-tuned the skills, concepts, and Pilates principles in 'easier' exercises. (Of course I'm not saying that Pilates exercises are easy but some are less challenging than others - see changes above)
3. If you struggle with an exercise you can unpack what skills and strengths you're missing, circling back to specifically work on them in the earlier exercises! 
4. When you have this knowledge YOU take more control over your Pilates practice. Remember your teacher is your guide and should empower you to become your own best teacher.

 Photo by Pam Lim (I had to use this photo because it’s Bryce Canyon in Southern UT and dang I miss that landscape…)

An Exercise with Circles & Layers & Layers & Circles

Back to yesterday...

The class was performing Open Leg Rocker which is such a great example of the layers/circles concept.

First the Layers:

Open Leg Rocker is an intermediate exercise that comes directly after Spine Stretch in Mr. Pilates' original order, it clocks in at #9 which means you have information from eight previous exercises to use.

What can they tell us?

What can they give us?

Inside each and every one of them are allllll the Pilates Principles: Breath, Control, Precision, Flow, Centring, and Concentration

Here are a few more specific skills & concepts from them individually:

• The Hundred: how to hold up the weight of your legs from a strong pelvis & how to maintain the upper abdominal curl
• RollUp: spinal articulation, hamstring stretch, & the idea of a lifted curve
• Rollover: arm connection into the back, hamstring stretch, & opening up the spine
• Single Leg Circle: pelvic stabilisation & freedom of the leg in the hip socket as well as connecting the arms through the shoulder blades and into the upper abs
• Tree (I'm adding this here even though it's technically a Single Leg Circle variation brought over from Short Box on the Reformer): energising through the hamstring & making the arm/back/ab/leg connection
• Rolling Like A Ball: rolling & the position of the upper body
• Single Leg Stretch: also upper body positioning & the strong pelvis > leg connection
• Double Leg Stretch: upper ab endurance & pelvis holding up the legs
• Spine Stretch: the press of the backs of the legs to enable the lift of the spine, maintaining The Hundred Curl and belly lift under load, i.e. not collapsing onto the legs

How about the Circles?

Which exercises do you go back to?

IMHO the three are:

1. Rollover: the same shape inverted and with the arms in a different place
2. Tree: Open Leg Rocker is basically a Double Tree
3. Spine Stretch: place your hands on your shins and change where your body is in space - voila’! other than that it's the same exercise - you’re rolling your Spine Stretch back and up

👆sorry this photo is such great quality - cue irony

In Conclusion

There are many ways to explore the Pilates Method.

For me, Parsing the Pilates exercises and finding Patterns and Paradigms to help my clients (& me) do the best Pilates Possible is one of my favourite things (plus I do love a bit of alliteration). I hope this post gave you some food (baklava?) for thought?😉

If you want to explore more of my teaching, I have classes online both live-streamed and on demand - check out my website for the deets: https://www.dragonflypilates.com.au You can always leave a comment or flick me an email, just keep in touch.

Be Well,

xBec

The information contained above is provided for information purposes 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

 cover and social photo by moi’