I excitedly arrived at The Source, found a mat and lay down to stretch while waiting for the Master Pilates Matwork session to start. I had been looking forward to this for weeks!
A lady came and sat next to me and greeted me nervously. She asked me a few questions and then admitted that she wasn’t quite sure what this series was going to be about. All she knew was when she saw that it would be a matwork series taught by Renee, it didn’t matter what it was about, she was in!
I immediately agreed with her. The fact that this was an opportunity to enhance my Pilates Matwork and to learn from Renee Watson was all the information I needed too. This was an opportunity I would not be missing!
The idea behind this series is to deepen our understanding of the Pilates method.
The first and last classes will be centered around the original 34 Pilates Matwork exercises in order to get a ‘marker’ of how our bodies are feeling at that stage. This will help us to see where our strengths are, and where we’re struggling. With the last class being a repeat of the first class, we’ll have an opportunity to see how our bodies and technique have evolved and improved over the 6 week period!
I’ve been working on my own slightly modified version of the original 34 series consistently for about a month now and I’m so excited that this training series has coincided with my personal practice. I cant wait to see the difference these 6 weeks are going to make to my strength, flexibility and flow.
Here’s a video at the start of my personal challenge just with 1 or 2 reps of each exercise to condense the length of the video. My challenge was to perform the series once a day as often as possible over a 30 day period.
Pilates Matwork based on the Original 34 (my slightly modified version)
The first class was an amazing class filled with balance, flow and precision. Flowing through the 34 exercises is a challenging task but with Renee’s seamless transitions and beautiful cues, the class felt like a choreographed dance that moved the body in every possible way. We woke every muscle up while bringing a constant focus to our breath and the precision of each movement.
After doing this series on my own for the last month I thought I would be reasonably strong but let me tell you, I felt like I’d had a proper workout the next day! I feel like I woke up lazy muscles that were quietly chilling in the background during my self practice. This is another powerful reminder that self practice is a must and joining a class and being taught by an inspiring teacher pushes you out of your comfort zone in a way you hardly ever push yourself.
