joe pilates

Hanging Upside Down

Last week I tried Anti-Gravity Yoga. I’ve been wanting to try this for what feels like years, but it has actually only been since whenever Sheri Sheppard tried it on the View. (Given the way time has been flying by that could have been three months ago.)

I was a little nervous because I had taken an exhausting fitness class before and was afraid my muscles would be exhausted. I’ve also hung upside down before and while my back loves it, sometimes my head feels like my brain is going to ooze out of my eyes after they have popped out from all the force. (Great image, I know.)

Fears aside, I finally found a mixed-level class in NYC and met my sister so we could take the class together. She’d been wanted to try it too and is a yoga instructor, which for some reason made me feel like her skills might rub off on me. We share genetics, but I don’t seem to be any better at yoga than she is at Pilates.

Hanging Upside DownMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:35:27-04:00

Pilates Woman

This summer my best friend, Julie, moved to Chicago. Before the big day, she and her husband decided (somewhat last minute) that they didn’t want to sell the tree they had planted in honor of their wedding with their house. They wanted to dig it up and replant it at Julie’s parents house. I agreed to help. Uprooting a tree in Connecticut is no easy task and after a full day of hard labor, we still hadn’t finished and had to call in actual experts.

Julie kept apologizing for the workload, but oddly enough, I kind of liked it. A few days later she sent me this card that she had drawn. It made me laugh. I loved it and I’ve been meaning to share it ever since. I love the creativity, and, personally, I think Pilates Woman would make a great comic strip. To see the picture in a larger size, click on it.

Pilates WomanMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:26-04:00

Ron Fletcher

Last weekend I had the honor to train under my third Pilates Elder: Ron Fletcher. I was one of thirty Pilates teachers participating in the workshop, and I was informed that this will probably be his final workshop that is open the the general Pilates public.

Ron Fletcher was a major inspiration. At eighty-nine (nearly) he still moves his body in ways many people half his age unfortunately can’t do. He still pays homage to Joe and Clara Pilates while he is teaching. He was also a student of http://marthagraham.org/center/Martha Graham and his style really seems to combine dance and Pilates. Ultimately, the movement and exercises are still about control–the intention behind Pilates.

He had many wonderful quotes, some were his own and some belonged to his teachers and colleagues (to whom he always gave credit). One of my favorites was, “And so to up.”

Ron FletcherMaggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:58-04:00