Pilates Rhythm

“I’ve got rhythm, I’ve got music, I’ve got my gal (or my guy or my non binary person) who could ask for anything more?” George & Ira Gershwin, 1930

Does this song have anything to do with Pilates?

Good question but let me backtrack…

I take inspiration from wherever it happens to come, and yep, many different, random things twig something in my brain and lead me back to thinking about Pilates & movement, what can I say?

How a calendar cartoon inspired me to examine how I practice Pilates

This Far Side cartoon is actually the jumping off point for this blog post and led me to the song, or at least the title, “I’ve got rhythm”

Most movement practices set up some sort of rhythm and those rhythms come in many forms. You can think of the thwack of the ball in a long tennis rally, as well as the the ebb and flow of the whole match. You can think of the rhythmic pounding of your feet if you’re a runner that maybe increases if you’re trying to catch the end of a green light at a crosswalk. The swing of a golf club and follow through to the ball coupled with the pace that the players walk the course? There’s a rhythm to that as well - you get the idea. Individual components can have a rhythm which then affects the rhythm of the whole match, game, or happening.

Pilates is no different

When I was trained to be a Pilates instructor and had to master the Advanced Mat sequence in order to test out, the exercises as well as the transitions between them were taught as part of the rhythm and flow of the whole class. I didn’t put much thought into this until I saw that Far Side cartoon but when I practice my Pilates I definitely hear the rhythm of each exercise in my head.

Maybe it makes more sense to you if I say that each exercise is a song or has a song. And just to confuse things, I’d add that exercises can have more than one song depending on how they’re taught or what’s being emphasised.

What I’m proposing is that one way to support and/or enhance your Pilates method practice, is through the rhythm or song of the exercise. But how can you tap into the rhythm?

Connect the Breath

The rhythm that I hear in my head actually tells me how I should breathe. And I think the inverse is also true: the breathing pattern helps me find the exercise’s rhythm.

Here’s a fun thought: like great music that can move you, the song or rhythm of an exercise can move you (literally).

The breath can inform the timing and the speed of the exercise and while I didn’t mention it in the video, where you switch from the inhale to the exhale can also have an effect. 

Some Examples

In the pinned video above, I gave you my rhythm for four exercises:

• The Hundred
• Jackknife (Overhead on the reformer)
• Saw

Now usually if I play music when I teach or work out it’s something mellow in the background but…

For a little inspo let’s actually put these three to music:

• The Hundred feels to me like a drone or some minimalist music, maybe like this: Matthias Grassow groove
• The rhythm of the Jackknife/Overhead is completely different, it’s uneven in it’s timing so how about trying it to this groove by the incomparable Paloma Faith (if you ever get the chance to see her live - do it!)
• Saw has more of a running, smooth, never ending feel so I thought this. Ahn Trio selection was perfect. Fun Fact: I taught them Pilates a long time ago when they were part of a performance project produced by my friend Amy at Brolly Arts  

What do you think?

Is it fun to experience the Pilates exercises in potentially a different way? Leave me a comment and let me know.

If you’re especially inspired pick an exercise and pair it with a piece of music.

Thanks for reading and always remember to move and breathe.

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