PILATES EMPOWERMENT
by Kerry De Vivo
Concentration
One of the six Pilates principles is concentration. If you take a look at the quote of the month, you will see how the principle of concentration is applicable. "One of the major results of Contrology is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control of your body." -Joseph H. Pilates
In thinking about concentration, I realize how challenging it is in our society to concentrate. We try our best at the studio in creating a supportive environment for concentration which is the mental component to the Pilates work. We require that cell phones are turned off and keep surrounding sounds to a minimum. But, what can each of us do to help ourselves concentrate on our workouts?
It's important to consider what's on our mind as we enter the studio and acknowledge that some things need to be "checked at the door". This allows us to be more present in our workouts and available to hear and take in the information that's coming our way. As outside thoughts come to mind, consciously set them aside and focus 100% on your action at the moment. You can even ask your instructor to help keep you on coarse.
A client, the one who inspired me with this topic, and I got a laugh from an experience in a recent session. We were about to start the stomach massage series on the reformer, and I told her the name of the series (which I've said during every reformer session for over a year), she responded with amazement with the name of the series. She said she never knew that. Well, we talked and realized that she approached this series with such concern over it's potential to hurt her back that she'd never "heard" the name of the series before. So, it's interesting what might be occurring in our mind that might block the intake of information.
Your reward to turning off your phone and checking your outside thoughts at the door will be a work out that is physically, mentally and spiritually satisfying leaving you to perform you many daily tasks with "spontaneous zest and pleasure".- Joseph H. Pilates
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