Precision is a Spectrum

Diving into the deep Pilates pool for a moment, here. Come with me if you will. I’ve been musing on the six principles of Pilates. Ordinarily I would pontificate on Control. But it’s the concept of Precision that has a grip on me lately.

Primary Pilates education is all about getting it right.

Being precise - as the fourth principle goes. (Recall the famous list of six).

Every setup must be precise. The execution as well. The completion and transition - should follow suit.

This exacting precision is key to Pilates. To my mind the every day cue of “precision” is less about it being right for the body - and more about the work of the mind. The effort we deploy to simply "get it" just the way our instructors say, yields the mental benefit that puts Pilates in a category of its own. 

The sheer focus itself, may be one of the primary benefits and biggest results of Pilates.

Having said all of that - the longer you spend working on the exactness and specificity of each move as an instructor - the more you find the delicate nuance that each human requires. That angle of the legs for the Hundred - can land so many places in order for the abdominals to work optimally.

And the curl of the tail under for stomach massage - can be a myriad of degrees of lumbar flexion.
Or almost none. 

It all depends on the needs of that spine, in that body, on that day.

Precision is a spectrum. A range. A smorgasbord of possibilities that you get to choose from.

Knowing the textbook version, or what's in your manual is where we all begin. 

This is the guide and the guardrails for all instructors. It's the safe zone from where you navigate.

But the longer you teach the more you will find that the "right position" - the perfect setup, the ideal execution... is that one that serves your client the best.

~Alycea Ungaro - (January 2023)