My #Pilates45 – by Clare Dunphy
I love sharing the work of Pilates and consider myself to be a bit of a Pilates nerd. Most of you reading this article probably are too, so we are in good company. The problem is that we all live pretty far away from one another and many of us don’t schedule time for our own regular practice. I wanted to share some of the nuances I discover in my daily teaching and practice, reach out to the global community of teachers who I only get to see occasionally, and keep myself connected and motivated to workout regularly through the holidays. I figured, what the heck….if I need a little shot of motivation maybe other people do too.
I am a firm believer that our practice needs to be focused and regular. Going through the motions isn’t enough. A habit of “focused practice” isn’t established until we can get our spirit, our soul, our heart into what we are doing. Doing the action or practice consistently may create the habit in time, but it’s more important for us to really get our heart into it. Creating new habits is about becoming the habit. It’s not about installing a habit, it is about embodying one. Good working habits are not something external, they are a medium through which we express and master ourselves. As soon as we slow ourselves down and give ourselves completely to the development of ourselves, that’s when we see dramatic changes. We have a tendency to try to do too much when all that is required is a wholehearted focus on one thing at a time. You got it, less is more.
What inspires me to come up with something new to post each day? I keep a list of interesting teaching moments, ah ha moments for students, and my own revelations. I make a note of what made a magic moment in a session, what I did to help/guide someone deeper in the work and then I distill it to a simple daily post.
A spiritual truth I believe in: If you want to keep something, you have to give it away.
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Clare Dunphy Hemani