Backward rolls and sexy cats in Valencia....

Every now and then the stars align and send you somewhere they know you need to be. I'm awkward, I've never really fitted anyway 100%, I was a child that preferred her own company, I was never cool, a rotund, quiet and uncool presence, fitting in just wasn't on the agenda. I became a performer with a morbid fear of performing having been told at college that perhaps I should consider the plumbing course instead of the dance one. I soon discovered I enjoyed the process of movement, I loved rehearsing, exploring, playing, I loved double work and even being dropped from heights. I loved flying through space. I was strong but never flexible, on reflection dancing was never going to be an easy path but I just loved the emotional freedom movement gave me. I'm grateful for those years, in spite of the heartache and the legacy of poor body image, I met my two closest friends. That in itself ,makes it all worthwhile, not to mention meeting my husband  too!

Time out with my husband in Valencia after a day of Pilates!

And then two years ago on a trip to NYC, on advice from a fellow Pilates teacher I went to re:AB Pilates http://www.reabnyc.com/ I had a 1-1 session with +BrookeSiler , on  previous trips I had not had the courage to take class in NYC fearing I wasn't good enough and would just embarrass myself (even after 10 years of teaching Pilates), I had always felt lacking because of my lack of Studio apprenticeship training. I needn't have worried as the generous, fun and vivacious energy that Brooke gave me was all about discovering what I could do and leaving the negativity of ingrained over analysis and judgement at the door. I discovered that perhaps Teaser was possible in my body, I just had to change tactics and perspective. I left knowing my teaching would never be the same again but more importantly with a passion for Pilates re awakened in a way that blind sided me. I will be forever grateful for this brief encounter.

Two years on and randomly through Facebook I heard about the Classical Pilates Conference in Valencia http://www.valenciaclassicalpilates.com/  Now as I mentioned before I'm awkward in groups, nervous around people I don't know but Brooke was one of the presenters and this was too good an opportunity to miss, and so with my husband coming along as company (to keep me in Caipirinha's etc) I went to my first Pilates conference. And so it was I met the other presenters +KathiRoss-Nash and +PeterFiasca , along side Brooke these three teachers took us all through three days of Classical Pilates.
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Peter's energy is calm, clear and technical conveying a deep love and knowledge of Joseph Pilates legacy but nothing could have prepared me for the energetic, unstoppable whirlwind that is Kathi, she alone is a reason to take up drinking Vodka, regularly! (on the assumption that my Pilates would of course be improved) Session One had us being sexy cats and slutty cats and rolling down picking up imaginary martini's, that's it - Finally I found somewhere I fitted in as a teacher (if you have read the previous blog on dancing stegosauruses you will appreciate this epiphany) .We sweated, laughed, collided and grown men definitely cried through the Mat classes taught at the beginning and end of days, everyone left full of energy, vibrant and full of life, and surely that's the point, as Pilates teachers/students shouldn't we always leave workshops, seminars and lectures full of answers and even more questions that we can then use  to inspire our own clients? Instead of finding reasons to restrict, analyse and reign them in more, filling them with fear of their bodies and moving we should be freeing them up, after all, just because 1 in 3 of us likely to experience cancer in our lifetime doesn't mean we should treat everyone with the thought that they might already have it, surely?!

I left the conference with renewed energy, not withstanding various new aches and some new friends but also  a burning need to learn more and more and with the notion that perhaps one day I would actually be able to do a cartwheel, if not before my 40th birthday next month then at least in my 40th year...So as I approach my birthday I cant wait to start a studio apprenticeship in September, although equipment qualified I have never felt my training gave me the full understanding that an apprenticeship would allow me, much like learning choreograhy from Labanotation or video never compared to rehearsing in a studio. Up until now I never wanted to teach on equipment as I never felt it was fully in my bones and muscles, and so finally I'm taking the time to explore, play and inevitably fall of the Wunda chair, and because just maybe instead of being the shy insecure cat (my classes are never going to believe this description!) I might finally become a sexy one and maybe even become a better Pilates teacher in the process.

With sincere thanks to Brooke Siler, Kathi Ross-Nash, Peter Fiasca and Tony Balongo for an amazing event, roll on 2014!

Keep Cart wheeling everyone...

Suzy x