Finding Ease In The Effort

After another great morning of classes I’m happy to report that my students are progressing at an incredible rate each week. I love it! I get such joy out of watching them master their roll-ups and take their teasers one step further each class.

I enjoy watching my students work hard. I love the occasional eye roll and grunt as I guide them through a long abdominal series. It’s okay. I get it. Pilates takes a lot of self-motivation and active engagement to get the best work out of a class. And it truly is HARD work!

That being said, as I continue to push each student to challenge themselves and engage deeper in each movement, many of them are progressing on to the next stage of the work…finding ease in the effort.

It’s one thing to do hold a plank for 60 seconds while tensing your shoulders, clenching your glutes, hanging your head, and scrunching your face. It’s quite another thing to hold a plank with secure shoulders blades and an engaged abdomen while simultaneously lengthening your spine and calming your breath.

If you find yourself getting bored with your training or more importantly, if you find yourself feeling tense after your workouts, I encourage you to find the ease in the effort as you move forward. Perfect the art of calm, controlled movement. Move beyond brute force and work gracefully with your body and your breath. Find strength in the flow and learn trust your own strength.

Give it a try this week and let me know how it goes 🙂