While reading the book Emergent Strategy, I was reminded of the idea “a mile wide and an inch deep” vs. “an inch wide and a mile deep.” It got me thinking about how we relate to ourselves and how our studio mission is evolving.
Let me say first that I love that there is so much interest and passion for fitness in NYC and beyond. I love that there are so many people getting creative, innovating, and making different approaches accessible with the goal to inspire people to move. However, it’s no secret that there’s a certain kind of body that’s revered and exemplified as fit (especially the Eurocentric view of the ballerina as the ideal Pilates body), and that we are a culture of PUSH, DRIVE, DIG!!! I’m guilty of teaching it, participating in it, and revering it myself.
While I love a workout that gets me to expel energy, it’s a type of work that doesn’t leave a ton of room for deep connection. The popular image and approach stays relatively on the surface, quite literally; many workouts focus on the anatomically superficial muscles we see just under the skin rather than the deeper, smaller, more subtle muscles closer to our skeleton.
Can you describe your relationship with your body as “inch wide and mile deep”?
What if we were vulnerable and compassionate with ourselves as a practice? What if our health goals came from a place of abundance, acceptance, and pleasure rather than scarcity, judgement, or pain?
For example: “I don’t like the way I look or feel; I’ll feel better if I look this way.” “I’ve had this back pain for so long with no answers; I just don’t want to be in pain anymore.”
Versus: “I appreciate my body the way that it is, and I want to learn what more is possible.” “Not only do I want to be pain free, I also want to learn how to feel good in my body again.”
This is where the evolving mission of The Co Pilates comes in.
I’m going to say what I'm probably not supposed to say here: Pilates isn’t “the thing.” What we are offering is a Pilates-based practice to get to “the thing.”
"The Thing" is awareness, learning what you didn't know you didn't know. It's a new way to practice mindfulness, growing a relationship with yourself as a small act of rebellion that has positive ripple effects in your/the world.
Our entire team has a foundation in teaching Pilates, but we also have other unique skills that allow us to be facilitators and guides as you become an active participant in a new kind of relationship with yourself. A mindful movement practice is a way to gain insight to your behavior and movement patterns, be more aware of them on a regular basis, be able to observe them without judgement, ask critical questions of them with curiosity, and evolve them for the better.
At The Co Pilates, we are deeply intrigued and excited by the potential ripple effects that come from a heightened state of awareness of your body, mind, and their interplay. What if everyone walked out into the world from a place of deeper connection to their bodies – to themselves? Could it change the way you interact with friends, family, co-workers, your community? Could it change the way you process stress and difficult emotions? Could it change the choices you make?
Our hypothesis is that if we become more aware and connected to the reality that each piece, system, and cell of our body is interconnected (and dis-ease in one segment affects the whole), we can more easily accept and apply that same truth to each other and the entirety of our communities. We are all connected.
If I may be so bold as to quote Beyonce, "When you love me, you love yourself."
We are on a mission to be part of that change from the one on one interaction of instructor to client (micro) to our partnerships with organizations dedicated to making our community, industry, and country more safe and equitable (macro). Adrienne Maree Brown, author of Emergent Strategy says that we can “unlock crucial understanding about our own humanity if we pay closer attention to this body we are in.” I tend to agree with her.
Client Spotlight
Recently, a client who has been an avid weightlifter shared that the fine-tuned movements he has done at The Co have helped him face a childhood fear of not being coordinated enough. There’s a deep-seated story about his body and his abilities as a person; his identity is embedded in those movements.
We aren’t just doing Pilates anymore – we are getting to The Thing. This work has allowed him not just to learn to move more efficiently and wholly so that he can recover from and prevent injury (physical body), but also dig up, feel, and process a childhood fear (emotional body), and, through practice of the movement, allow himself to step away from that fear and feel the accomplishment and progress in his body, therefore writing a new story about his body and identity (energetic body).
As a result, we have witnessed him speaking differently about himself in this subtle way and seen his interaction with exercises he used to despise change to a pleasurable experience. These are the goals we want to be part of accomplishing. The point of this work is to be a facilitator for wholeness, not perfection, not absolute symmetry, not mastery, not replicating how I look when I do the movement, but how does the movement feel in your body when you do it?
#WitchyWednesday
On Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00pm EDT, I will be hosting another Witchy Wednesday Women's Circle!
This month is a powerful one for manifestation and reflection with two full moons – one right at the beginning and another at the very end – with a new moon in the middle. We will be circling up to contemplate this in between as a "Bridge Moon," as Sarah Faith Gottessdiener, author of Many Moons Lunar Planner, refers to it. With a bridge moon in a bridge month, how can we serve as a bridge, and what bridges do we need for real change and evolution for our highest good and the highest good of all?
In addition to guidance from an oracle deck and tapping into our own intuition through guided meditation, we will also be integrating action steps in support of our larger collective from League of Women Voters and Grassroots Law Project. As we enter Libra season, which is associated with the idea of balance, please consider joining us in 90 minutes of collectively practicing balance in taking care of yourself and our larger community.
And if this isn't your thing, it feels like too much right now, you can't make it, or you have family/friends who are struggling and/or are ill, I'm offering to hold space in the circle, send Reiki, and include you/them in our "group shout out." If this is something you'd be interested in, simply reply to this email and I'll include you.
Beautiful Bones Workshop
When The Co team member, Colleen, was diagnosed with osteoporosis a little over a year ago after a routine bone density test, it came as quite a surprise. Colleen has always been active, weight trained, and had virtually no symptoms. To realize that your bones – the building blocks of stability – are unstable is emotionally and physically challenging, to say the least.
Colleen's osteoporosis has influenced her approach for moving her body and how she teaches others to move. It has also inspired her to shed more light on what's possible despite this diagnosis, which is why we are so excited that she’s leading the second iteration of this very special workshop this month!
Join us on Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30pm EDT to learn what an osteoporosis diagnosis means, how it can affect your identity and relationship with your body, and how to move through it safely. This workshop will be part informational and part conversational, with an opportunity to move this knowledge through your body at the end.
Referral Program
A referral is the kindest compliment you could give us. If you think we would be a good fit for anyone you know, please consider spreading the word about the work we do together. For any new clients that may come our way as a result of your kind words, we would love to gift you an additional session to any current package you have with us. They can always schedule a call using the link below.
And, if you are part of or know a social justice organization looking for wellness support and collaboration for their clients or employees, please consider connecting us.