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You are here: Home / 2015 / It may help us keep fighting the good fight

It may help us keep fighting the good fight

27 September, 2015 By Marjolein van Sonsbeek 9 Comments

Sunni Almond

Sunni Almond

My dear friend Sunni Almond wrote a great “letter” to all Pilates clients or future Pilates clients. I asked Sunni if I could share this. “Yes of course!”, she responded. So here it is and please share as much as you like!

Sunni started on Facebook with this introduction:

I am taking the liberty of sharing this here, in case some teachers aren’t FB friends of mine. It has gotten a pretty good response from respected colleagues, and I invite you to share if you want. It may help us keep fighting the good fight and maybe help to answer the questions without being defensive about what we do, who we are, and what exactly we teach. This is NOT the classical vs Contemporary fight. This is the weekend cert and big box club and other modalities vs the lineage led educated fight. If what you teach stems from Joe, this may be of interest, if not scroll on.

Dear client, It’s NOT Pilates if:

It’s anything from Acrobatics to sitting and meditating and finding your Zen.
To be clear, I’m not bagging on any sport, any Barre, any Bosu, or Suspension Training or Yoga, Wall or Rock climbing, Skydiving, Wind-tunnel play, Acro yoga, or any yoga. Any super reformer, or mega former. Balls, bands, foam rollers, or any reformer where you put the box over the springs instead of just long or short box, or Zumba.
Those things all have their place, but if you walk into a studio that has Pilates on the sign, and what they teach didn’t come in some major way from Joe and Clara Pilates (and you should ask, if you’re not sure) then it isn’t Pilates. Anyone can say they teach Pilates, there’s no law against it, but if you actually want REAL Pilates, please ask for credentials, find out where your teacher studied, or who their teachers are. Get what you’re paying for.


ALL the other stuff is great, it just isn’t Pilates…. so if Pilates hurt your back or neck, it may not be Pilates, it may be an off shoot. If you are doing more than 10 reps, it isn’t Pilates, if the challenge is to add more spring, it isn’t Pilates. In real Pilates, the less spring you can manage well, with stability and control, precision and fluidity, moving from one exercise to the next with transitions that lead you into the promised land of a new move is probably Pilates. If you are getting to move your spine in every direction, using strength and flexibility, great!…if stability isn’t taught first, it isn’t Pilates.


There is SO much stuff out there, and fun IS the name of the game, don’t quit playing your game, Pilates will make you better at your sport, it’s cross training. You’ll jump higher, run faster, become symmetrical and balanced, have more ease, better posture, less pain. You can do it until you can no longer move. It is the core training that lets you train your core for more fun stuff.


Live your life, get off the couch, out of the chair…even mini baby Pilates moves are amazing. A Pilates teacher will meet your body and guide it gently if that’s what you need. If you’re an animal, Pilates will make you a tougher animal. We don’t work through pain, we don’t heal you, it’s not PT, we aren’t doctors unless we have that education. Pilates is exercise. You can do it daily if you want, there isn’t that lactic acid build up, you will be able to sit and squat, and walk up or down the stairs.

Pilates costs real money, because most Pilates teachers pay real money on a continuing basis to keep increasing their knowledge base, refine their craft and skill, not to mention the apparatus costs a fortune. For the most part we aren’t socking it away, we are repaying the credit cards we bought the apparatus with. We are saving for our next workshop or lessons with our teachers.
We want to be good at what we do, it’s our passion, we have pride in our work. We have websites to keep up, scheduling software to pay for to make it easy for you to schedule, and all the things business owners have and do to run a business, it’s not our hobby, it’s our livelihood.
Our goal is to help you be your best. We are in the service industry, we are givers.
If you’re in a class with no hands on corrections, and lots of people, it’s probably not Pilates. We will touch you, and move you and hold you and support you and cheer you on, and make sure you’re safe. We want you to be great at your life, playing with your kids and dogs and grandchildren…Now get on the mat, cause that’s Pilates and it is the litmus test for how well you’re progressing, the apparatus will make sure your body learns well..and there’s some fun tricks there too. Joe Pilates was a cigar smoking boxer and circus performer, this wasn’t started as something for delicate flowers, but they do just fine too.

 

Filed Under: 2015, Ethics

Pilates Studio van Sonsbeek

Pilates Studio van Sonsbeek

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About Marjolein van Sonsbeek

I love Pilates! It brought my health back. I have been practising Pilates for more than 17 years now and have been a certified Peak Pilates trainer for the past 11 years.
I have never felt so fit, vibrant, energetic, supple and strong in my whole life. And I have no more pain. I do a Pilates workout 5 times per week on mat and apparatus. Every week I attend the classes (private and group) from my mentor and my trainer, Javier Velazquez. He is the best Pilates trainer in the world. Yes, I am very blessed that this extremely talented and experienced teacher is my trainer. Although I am Peak Pilates educated, I adore his very pure, original Joe sessions.
I have an open mind and I give a platform to Pilates trainers from all backgrounds, because we all do a great job! I do this for free in my spare time (which I hardly have).
I run a busy, fully equipped Pilates Studio Pilates Studio van Sonsbeek in the Netherlands in the middle of the historic center of the town Zoetermeer. I love my work, my lovely clients and my beautiful studio. So much fun and positive energy. I teach 6 days a week an average of 30 sessions; privates, duo's, trio's and groups.
You would do me a great favor if you like my page on Facebook! Thank you very much!
I am the owner of the Magazines Pilatesglossy Nederlands and Pilatesglossy International. Please join us on Pilatesglossy and on PilatesWordWide.

Comments

  1. img-4geraldine says

    28 September, 2015 at 02:00

    Excellent! Well said. Thank you.

    Reply
  2. img-5Monica Hoekstra says

    16 April, 2016 at 13:09

    Great Article!!

    Reply
    • img-6Sunni says

      29 September, 2017 at 00:12

      I’m sorry, I forget to check for replies…Thank you Monica.

      Reply
  3. img-7Dr Jacques Rustom says

    2 September, 2017 at 04:42

    Very well said thank you

    Reply
    • img-8Sunni says

      29 September, 2017 at 00:12

      Dr. Jaques Rustom, Thank you so much, Sunni

      Reply
  4. img-9Bonnie Heyman says

    3 September, 2017 at 11:32

    Sunni – an incredible message to the masses. It’s been said before , and it needs reminding … so glad to be a part of this community !

    Reply
    • img-10Sunni says

      29 September, 2017 at 00:13

      Thank you, Bonnie

      Reply
  5. img-11Stefanie O'Rourke says

    8 September, 2017 at 11:52

    This is great, Sunni! Thank you!

    Reply
  6. img-12Sunni says

    29 September, 2017 at 00:13

    You are welcome, Stephanie

    Reply

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