pilates done wright

pilates done....wright. (right?)

I know, you get it.

pilates. (a form of exercise)
done. (you actually have to do)
(w)right. (as correctly as possible).

My husband, Scott, came up with the play on words using our last name. (After a thirty years of making the “Mr. Wright” joke whenever possible, it was only natural).  At first, I found the name for my home-based Pilates business a bit too cute, too cliché -- perhaps too obvious?
 
However, like most of Scott’s ideas, the name eventually grew on me, and turned out all…(w)right (sorry, I had to!) Not to mention, PDW are my initials (Pamela Dischner Wright).

Still, the idea of actually doing Pilates “right” seems sometimes laughable. It is more like an ever-changing, almost, but never quite achievable goal. Pilates, is a practice, a process - a system of exercises that incorporates not only the physical aspects of movement, but also the challenge of mindfulness, or simply awareness, and can be further complicated by all the emotions of the past and present competing for your attention.

The hundreds of Pilates movement patterns should be learned over a period of time, with many repetitions and hopefully both internal and external feedback. As for the number of times it takes to truly integrate a new movement pattern in Pilates, I’ve seen figures ranging from 25,000 to 50,000. And I believe it.

My thought processes during a typical Pilates practice session:
I find the correct breath pattern, feel the stability in my shoulder blades, spine and pelvis, note the muscles engaging correctly and solidly, start the mobility component and…oh, wait, this feels more challenging then I’d expected.  OK, now I’ve got it, but I lost the neutral pelvis position.  Oh wait, got it back.  But, now the breath pattern is off...
 
You get it; every practice is a challenge.  Pilates movements are meant  to encompass your mind, your heart, and your body.  But rarely do we find everything coming together on each and every repetition.

So, yes, I practice. Training with a goal of doing it well.  Striving to improve each repetition, each session, each month, each year.  I doubt I could ever truthfully say I’m doing it “right,” because there will always be room for growth.

I celebrate when improvements can be felt and seen in my body.  I push harder when they do not come easily, and I accept when my body is not ready to move forward.

That is my definition of pilates done wright.