Issue #389 – Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Is There a Place for Beauty in Pilates?
by Brett Miller
I have always loved beauty. It is what attracted me to have a career in ballet, to pursue music now….and to Pilates. I find Pilates can be beautiful.
But in my almost 20 years as a Pilates teacher, I have come across many people who become impatient or even angry over the idea that Pilates can be beautiful. It is said that is that striving for beauty in a Pilates practice thwarts progress.
But first, let’s ask ourselves what beauty is. One ‘no-beauty-in-Pilates-advocate’ said to me, “Beauty, in its classical sense, is symmetry. Life is not symmetrical. Making things ‘pretty’ implies that the ultimate embodiment and expression of Pilates as a method finds its value in beauty.”
Clearly this is a person who has thought about things with depth.
But I just don’t agree.
Beauty is so much more than just symmetry. I would say that beauty is a quality that is present when the person/thing that is being sensed radiates with a shimmering and delicate intelligence…..touching the intellect of the person perceiving that ‘radiating intelligence’ before them, causing them to pause.
And THAT beauty does have a place in Pilates – I think.
Certainly my ‘no-beauty-in-Pilates-advocate’ colleague and I share much common ground. Merely making the body conform to an outside image is cheap and ugly.
I do not want to make people ‘try to be beautiful’. I want to present Pilates as an art to immerse oneself in rather than a system of exercises. I want to teach my Pilates students to do the work with ease, finding strength from deep within.
When a person hooks into this way of thinking, they will be working with lines that make sense and bring a greater organization of the being into play…and then beauty will be there.
Why does that have value?
Because while life is not symmetrical, life is constantly and inexorably moving toward a greater balance and stability…..balance and stability are MORE present as symmetry is approached (my view of evolution) That inexorable movement is alive within each and every individual. And to that individual who is open to this evolution within their own being, the idea of a greater balance, symmetry, and ease calls them to look more deeply at the quality of their Pilates work. And in that moment where a step in that direction takes place, it can provide intense pleasure and satisfaction.
And teaching about beauty, in a beautiful way, entails tapping into that openness to evolution in the individual, touching and challenging their desire for greater consciousness. And this is the way a more evolved, sensitive person responds to the challenge — by deepening their practice, and indeed life, as there is not difference.
It also entails guiding and challenging the individual to take on their own exploratory approach to their Pilates work. And in with a lifetime of working with depth and intelligence, one sees ‘the whole being’ IN ACTION; the reason for doing this so-called ‘physical’ Pilates exercise is to bring the being into a greater balance and symmetry.
This really does happen, at least sometimes, in my classes and workshops.
Let me be specific about a few things I find beautiful.
Let’s take neck pull, for instance. We are in that moment where the student is moving out of being flexed forward over his stretched legs. If you do it by AR – TIC – U – LAT – ING – THROUGH – EACH VER -TA- BRA…and feel the glory of working deeply, and end the roll up by pausing with an elongated vertical spine with the head delicately balanced at the top….in that moment there will be beauty. The beauty itself is tremendously satisfying and having a person ACKNOWLEDGE that beauty is also satisfying…
Another beautiful aspect found in Pilates is when a person starts to really understand what it means to work from the center/powerhouse. You can see how the extremities start to relax and the person is moving more thoughtfully. Anna has been studying with me for 4 months, and in this video I think you can see the start of this understanding.
Another note about external form. If a person continues to work with depth, love and attention, the outer form of the exercise will start to look ‘like a dancer’ because the lines make sense, and you see a flow in the body that is very pleasing to the eye.
So is there a place for beauty in Pilates? My answer is a resounding YES!
Brett Miller is the founder of Pilates Intel, he started his professional life in the world of ballet, working with various companies in the US. Later on he moved to New York and branched out into modern along with the ballet. Since then, he has lived in Finland and now in Stockholm Sweden.
Brett became a Pilates instructor in 2005 and has been teaching ever since. The intelligent technique that Pilates is, and the chance to continue to be physical, attracted him to this field after being so long in the dance world. Along with teaching Pilates and publishing Pilates Intel, Brett is a software developer for Ericsson.