Pilates Fundamental: The Upper Body Curl
One of the primary reasons why I decided to pursue instructor certification through the Pilates Center is that I want to master the excercises for my own well-being into the future. I have predominantly done mat classes up until this point and I’m realizing that I have been doing some movements incorrectly. One of these movements is the upper body curl, which is one of the fundamental movements in Pilates. I’ve gotten some great tips from instructors within the last 10 days. Here are some of the tips/techniques they shared:
Trey helped me engage my lower abdominals in the upper body curl through putting his hand on the crown of my head and telling me to push against his hand with the top of my head. That movement helped me lengthen in the spine and the abdominals (length seems to be the desired movement of almost all of the excercises in Pilates.) In my personal workouts, I tried to practice the feeling of reaching for the ceiling with the crown of my head. Doing this, I definitely engaged my abs more than I have in quite awhile, but after focusing too much on this technique alone, I realized that I was not really in a curl.
Instructor Debby observed my upper body curl in our private lesson yesterday and discovered that I’m “winging” my shoulder blades. In other words I’m contracting in my shoulder blades so that the shoulder blades actually jut out in the back. (This habit puts pressure on my neck.) What I actually want to do is more of a forward reaching/wrapping motion of the shoulder blades, which engages my lats and shoulder girdle. In my personal workout today, I practiced this in mat work, and also with magic circles. But when I work with this new shoulder positioning (which seeks to undo almost ten years of bad habits), I get no height on my upperbody curl. I think that part of the secret to unlocking a better upper body curl lies in restoring flexibility to my Thorassic spine.
I was reading “Return to Life Through Contrology Today,” and realized that Joseph Pilates instructed his clients to keep their chin in close to their chest. I will check with Debby on this, as this is not something that I have been doing (usually have tried to keep a grapefruit space between my chin and my chest), but this did feel like it both protected my neck and stretched my upper spine.
The upper body curl will continue to be a focus for me over the next few weeks. One thing that I have to mention that feels kind of thrilling! Many people are already interested in taking lessons from me! Relatives and family friends (around 8 so far) are already interested in being practice students. Makes me really excited and also a little nervous! It’s exciting how validating it feels, but I want to be able to make a difference, and help my loved ones receive the same healing and revitalization that I’ve received from Pilates.
It’s Sunday night, and I’ve had a wonderfully restful weekend. Let the week begin!
Segue to Pilates
I love moving. I am my happiest, healthiest, most energetic and most alive when I move. I especially love Pilates. I feel my mood instantly soar when I do Pilates. I’m most comfortable of all when I’m in my Lululemon clothes. For all of these reasons, I decided to pursue becoming a Pilates instructor through The Pilates Center Program which, by some stroke of good fortune, has a satelite facility in Fox Point. To be honest, I couldn’t really afford the time or the money that this program costs, but my inner voice (the theme of this blog) was so strongly leading me to this program that I just decided to go forward and trust. I have a feeling that trusting is going to somehow connect all of the unique dots that represent my passions (work, love, Paris, adventure, writing and words, excercise, travel, spirituality, food and nutrition, art, and of course fashion), but I don’t have the slightest clue how. This journal will chronicle my journey, and also serve as my Pilates journal. I’ve wanted to start blogging more, and The Pilates Center Program requires a journal. Perfect. I will keep my Pilates journal in my blog. Again, this is a blog about wellness, simplicity, and it will have a strong emphasis on my Pilates journey.
“Advance Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams …” -Thoreau
I’ve been really motivated lately by Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address to Stanford University. Two of the main points that he focuses on in the address are: love what you do and live your authentic life. Those two things are exactly what I am trying to do at this particular point in my life. Here is where I am at: I’m 32 years old with the best education one could get in this country (I have my Master’s Degree in marketing from one of the top universities in the country), but I’m stuck in a job that is 80 percent data entry. (There is more that makes this job not right for me, but I’ll spare the details to keep the tone of this blog positive.) I get very little job satisfaction. I have taken the safe corporate America route, but it’s unrewarding, and usually leaves me feeling like I’m not good enough). But I am good enough. At this point, I know that. And I’m determined to find the career that I am passionate about. I don’t know what it is, but I know the way that it will make me feel:
-I’m passionate about it. I don’t feel like my working hours consist of unappreciated effort.
-I earn good money. More than enough to support myself, but I don’t really think about the money, because what I do is about a lot more than money. It is about sharing my own unique talents and creative abilities with the world.
-It uses the gifts bestowed upon me by a higher power, and therefore, represents a divine presence in the world (I would use these words to describe the work of some of my professional idols like Suze Orman, Oprah, JK Rowling, Steve Jobs, and John Mackey.)
-My Work is not measured by the hours that go into the day, but by my output.
-My right work is so ultimately rewarding, and even fun, because it makes a difference in people’s (even if it’s not that many people’s) lives.
-I’m proud because my work is uniquely mine, and not someone else’s.
-It is energizing, not draining
-If today were my last day on Earth, feel no regret, because I have left no dreams unclaimed
-If I could do my life all over again, this is the work I would do.
-It has to do with a passion–perhaps fashion, style, travel, food or writing
-I work with people who I like and respect, and who ultimately like and respect me exactly the way that I am.
-Words that describe my work: whimsical, creative, unique, authentically Sarah, visionary, not status quo.
-Paris. I want Paris to be a part of my life. I want to speak fluent French again, and I have a feeling that France will be somehow involved with my own unique work.
This is what I’m going for, and I’m putting it out there. I firmly believe that this exists for all of us if we just have the courage to trust ourselves and, as Thoreau puts it, “advance confidently in the direction of our dreams.”
Getting Started. Again.
It’s been two years since I last attempted to get this blog going. And a lot has changed. But a lot has also stayed the same. To be more specific about what has stayed the same, I work hard. Really hard.
And I have everything I could ever want or need and more. I have my health, a network of wonderfully supportive friends and family, a beautiful place to live (a two-bedroom apartment in a paradise-like neighborhood), a refrigerator full of nourishing, mostly-organic food, a closet full of amazing clothes, and my dream car (a bright red VW beetle).
But I need more passion; and I need less rigidity. I need to give into my whims more and give in to my schedule/diet/expectations (that I have of myself and that others have more me) less. This blog will chronicle my movement to give in to that quiet inner voice that so often tries to guide me, but then almost as often loses out to the stronger voice of reason. No wonder that inner voice has grown faint. I’m surprised it hasn’t completely given up on me by now!
Remain strong, quiet inner voice, I will find you again!
A hard-working girl gets inspired by Walden
It all started several months ago when an over-taxed twenty-something (me) picked up an old copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And there was one particular quote that made me want to sing from the rooftops:
“The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.” – from “Economy”
It was a Tuesday night, at 10:00 p.m., and I was exhausted, but not nearly as exhausted as I felt by the end of the work week.
Was I really preserving the finest qualities of my nature? Then again, do any of us? Preserving the finest qualities of our nature. That’s what this blog is focused on.
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