Many lifetimes ago, I was a dancer, and like anyone who pursues the art seriously, I had my share of injuries. Like many other dancers, I investigated Pilates as a way to heal. I discovered that it also helped with my overall flexibility, strength, posture, body awareness, and muscle tone, staving off future aches and pains.
While my dancing days are long over, I remain physically active, so I thought I’d try Pilates once again, especially since I’m still recovering from having broken my shoulder a year ago. I booked a session with Jennifer Knight, owner of Vineyard Pilates & Body Work, for my friend Alexia Prichard and myself. This is how I found myself lying on my back, my head in the shoulder block, legs bent with my feet against a bar, and arms stretched by my side. Knight, who took over the studio after her husband, Stefan Knight, passed away in October, was leading us through an hour class on a reformer machine.
Whether I was intently stretching my legs out straight or raising them bent at 90° toward my chest, my focus was always to engage my entire core. Essential, too, was breathing consistently in correlation to the in-and-out or up-and-down of my movement. This conscious control of my body and breathing fully engaged my mind in an intense and frankly wonderful way, so I was solely focused on the here and now.
Knight explained that Joseph Pilates (1883–1967) called his body-focusing technique “Contrology,” as in the study of control: “His idea is that it combines mind, body, and spirit. We are moving our bodies, breathing, and bending our spine. The body and mind are already integrally connected, but Pilates brings our consciousness to it.” In fact, the very first thing we did in the lesson was to stimulate this mind-body connection. We balanced on small spiky rubber balls, which both woke up our feet and sent sensations to our brains, which in turn sent signals to our bodies to keep us balanced.
Knight explained that Pilates taught several different elders, each of whom carried forth exercises that were similar. She says, “A beautiful thing about having a studio where you have multiple instructors is we learn from each other. There are over 500 different exercises in the Pilates method, and people are constantly making them their own.” Knight modifies exercises to suit the differences in my and Alexia’s bodies and abilities, creating a continual two-way dialogue between us.
Knight also came to Pilates through an injury, seeking to recover and to prevent future injuries. She quickly fell in love with the form, which was different from exercising to maintain a particular weight or look. She soon pursued her instructor training, and later her pre- and postnatal Pilates certificate. She is a superb teacher, with a calm manner, magnificent guidance, and eye for detail.
Knight led us through a series of exercises that used different muscles and body parts, increasing our speed once we had control. In the second half of the session, we moved to a machine called the tower. Here, a mat on the floor abuts a tall-poled apparatus with a push-through bar that pulls you up from different prone positions. In an excellent exercise for my spine, I sat, legs bent with my feet at the bottom of the poles and hands on the bar. As I rolled forward, the bar rose, lengthening my back. The feeling was expansive, even as I engaged my entire core.
Throughout the session, we felt how the inventive interaction with the specialized equipment helps tone muscles, stimulates circulation, and encourages range of motion and proper alignment. After about 20 different exercises, we ended in a child pose, which felt glorious.
Between the exercises that worked every muscle group and my continual conscious breathing, I felt integrated, taller, and had a deep sense of peace. Prichard added, “I feel balanced. We were here for an hour, and I never had the experience of being bored, because you’re so focused.”
While you work hard throughout the lesson, Pilates is not about powering through. As Knight explains, it is more about how your body feels than about maintaining a certain weight or physical appearance. Finding the session as useful now as decades after my first introduction, I realized the beauty of Pilates is that it can be tailored to meet your individual health goals regardless of your age or fitness level.
For more information, or to book an appointment, visit vineyardpilates.com.
