The very first time I met Amy she said to me: “Hi, I’ve done Pilates but if you ask me to pretend I am a bowl I am going to walk out.” I laughed until I cried. Seven years later, she is still a client that comes twice a week, once for a private lesson and once for a duet. Now, check this out. Her duet partner, Pam, looooooooves when I say “Pretend you’re a bowl.”
Okay. So …… lets get back to tthe question. Why does a Pilates teacher need a Pilates lesson? There are many reasons, but here is one good one.
When I ask my clients to feel something, I HAVE to know how it actually feels. How on earth will I be able to explain it to them otherwise. Then, on top of that, I need to be able to explain it in various ways to reach the Amys and Pams of this world.
Listening and teaching are both key Pilates skills. Believe it or not, spending 600 hours learning Pilates movements is the easy part. How to teach these moves to students is the fun challenge. Everyone has a different learning style. This keeps me on my toes every day. Taking lessons from other teachers is one way to learn other cues, but taking lessons also keeps me engaged in my own body to learn what cues may or may not work for me, which helps me to come up with cues for others.
So when I ask you to pretend you’re a bowl, I know it sounds weird but I also know what it feels like and how to cue you to feel it too. I promise, the weird turns to fun, wild, cool and awesome really quickly.
