I recently completed my very last Teacher Training weekend. As always, I was filled with anxiety and worry. There are tons of things to remember. Those things range from remember the exercise name, to how to perform them and what order to things like contraindications and risks. Some serious and daunting stuff when you really think about it. Add in that my schedule (and level of initiative) haven't made it easy for me to practice teaching or do much observation. (We won't even mention personal practice time.)
A couple weeks before training weekend, though, I remembered to check out Pilatesology and PilatesAnytime. Both are such amazing resources for Pilates. I watched a video of Lolita San Miguel instructing teachers on sessions for seniors. Ms. San Miguel is just amazing. She's an older woman considered one of the elders for Pilates and she can still perform these movements as beautifully as people much younger. Every video I watched with her was just so inspiring. The more I watched from these sites, the more I felt excited to be a part of this. It's like the spark I needed...just to keep it going and build it to a full-fledged fire.
So anyway, the weekend came and went. It was truly exhausting, but also fun. To add to that, I finally was able to do some in-studio observation. This was just added fuel to the spark. Four hours of watching my friend and mentor teach. It was the last person in the studio that just made me light up. The person didn't have the most spinal mobility and was fairly new to practice. What was just so awe-inspiring (for me) was being able to see when things "clicked." It isn't always intuitive or easy to "get" an upper abdominal curl or lengthen / broaden the spine / chest. Sometimes it's even more basic than that--it's having someone able to pick up one hand and an opposite foot. There were just beautiful moments in this session where the first repetition was awkward, but the third was practically perfect. The person left with a smile--never a bad way to end a long day.
The hardest part about observing was just itching to actually get on the reformer or the Cadillac and get in a workout. It kind of made me miss the days when I could do so much more. One day...maybe...I can get back the strength and flexibility I had. If not the same level, at least closer. I'm seriously considering buying a Wunda chair for home. It's small enough that I'm sure I can find a place for it and versatile enough that I can do a lot with it. I'm sure I could find a volunteer to come over and be given free sessions as I practice teaching on the apparatus.
There is just so much to think about. Not only is it trying to amass the requisite hours for certification and the eventual testing out; it's also thinking what comes next. Where do I teach (obviously, at least some time at my certifying studio--that's kind of a given if she'll have me)? When do I teach? It leads to bigger questions like: Do I even care / want my "traditional" corporate job? What if I want more by having less?
Like I said...lots to think about and thoughts best addressed little by little another day.
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