One of my biggest thrills as a teacher comes from the glee in the face of a student when they finally “get it.” That has been happening quite a bit lately. New students “getting it” and gleeful faces leaving the studio.
I wish I had $10 for every time I hear a new student exclaim, “OMG, I can’t believe how much easier it is when you breathe!” as one finds themselves Rolling Like a Ball or moving through Teaser. Another joyful expression of “getting it” is suddenly finding the ease of “pushing the ground away” as one “pulls the powerhouse in and up” to move through a plank-to-push up for Frontal Support.
The “giving” and the “getting” is cyclical; you have to give to get it back. As I get more joy out of my own personal work, I find I have more to give to my students and help them find it for themselves. Those OMG! exclamations have been happening quite a bit more frequently as I have been feeling more joy in my teaching and that translates into more quality in the work of the students.
Note to Self: The merit of doing Pilates everyday is the open space created in your own body. It fills me and opens me. I am lighter, more open and
more available consciously to others as I am much freer in my own movement and body.
This open, joyous feeling is like the backbend stretch that I enjoy on the cadillac at the end of a session with Brett. The stretch moves me so much it feels like a primal release.
I start with a pull up and, he lies on the trap table underneath me and uses his feet to walk the length of my spine.
Then I melt through a full backbend release, completely opening my lungs, heart and chest so much that I have to tape my mouth shut so the noise doesn’t scare the others in the studio. Admittedly, I am such a wild child!
The point being, the opening and joyous release is nothing short of phenomenal. Back bending is the most vulnerable space you can put your body into. It involves opening the heart and chest – the very place we generally shield and protect.
Sometimes it takes a backbend over some stuff to reach another and help them find a way to “get it.”
Give joy to get joy.
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Gina Jackson, is a classically trained Pilates Teacher and has been teaching along the Gold Coast of Hudson and Bergen County, NJ for the past fifteen+ years.
Certified by Power Pilates of New York, Gina has trained with Master Teachers Bob Liekens, Susan Moran and Brett Howard; loved workshop training with Cary Regan and Blossom Leilani-Crawford and has particularly enjoyed listening to the personal stories as told by Pilates Elders, Kathy Grant and Lolita San Miguel.
An active teacher and blogger, Gina manages a private personal training business supporting a myriad of clients, teaching all to honor their health, strength and life with the principles of Pilates at its core.