Teaching « Alycea Ungaro

Back to Basics

In September as we shuttle our children and ourselves back into familiar routines there is always a period where we must re acclimate. Part of getting back in the swing of things requires us to review what we’ve known or done before in order to begin the season anew. Beginning with the basics is the simplest way to keep moving forward.

This month with the chaos of new beginnings it is even more important to indulge for just a moment and reflect on how we arrived at this routine in the first place. And so, this morning I took stock of my beginnings and recalled the early days of Real Pilates.

All beginnings are precipitated by an idea. And so it was with my beloved studio. In 1995 I imagined only that I would build a home studio in Tribeca and work my way through Physical Therapy school. There are clients here today who were part of that early crew. I never imagined that I would love running a business, I thought only that Pilates might allow me a path as a physical therapist, not that my physical therapy education would serve and support my Pilates career. Over the past 17 years, I’ve launched projects, campaigns, policies, products and more but always I come back to the idea on which the studio was founded. To make Pilates accessible to everyone. Whether or not you embrace Pilates, you can certainly agree that the ideas and principles, i.e. the “basics” of Pilates are universal and have applications in everyone’s life.

It was with the six principles of Control, Concentration, Centering, Precision, Breath and Flow of movement that I founded Real Pilates. Those same six principles propel me forward and guide me in each decision both small and big.

As the first day of school arrived for my children today, so it did for me as well. I am one third of the way through my pursuit of a Master’s degree in Nutrition and as I nervously read through my own syllabus and glanced at the pile of high school applications due in short order for my older daughter I remembered to take a breath and start with the basics.

One principle at a time.

~Alycea

Monthly Teacher’s Challenge:
This September is a time to properly organize your priorities as a teacher. One thing I charge my teaching team with is to select one of the Pilates principles that speaks most to you this month. Then choose an exercise you feel embodies that principle. Work within your own body and with your students this month to dissect, explore and play with both the theme and the move. THEN, choose an exercise you dislike or resist teaching or doing. Repeat the exercise and work to find the positive aspects, new applications for the move as well as the key Pilates principles within the move. When you stumble upon those A-ha moments, pat yourself on the back. You done good!

Several years ago I hosted a number of short workshops called Get a New Lens. The idea was to take an alternate approach to teaching your Pilates clients. See it a new way, adopt a new perspective and deliver a fresh, engaging and targeted session each and every time. A teacher who had attended most of the workshops approached me and said she had figured it out, no matter which lens you looked through – “it’s all about the cueing”. She was excited and I wanted to preserve that moment in time for her. I agreed.

Later however, I considered her words. The cueing is key of course. But it is the result of something bigger. The Cueing is the last piece. And can only come into play well after you’ve visually identified, cognitively coalesced all the information and intuitively established a plan of action. Only then, will you be able to cue effectively. It’s the visual and instinctive components that inform the verbal instruction. Put simply, you can’t say it differently, if you can’t see it differently.

Our theme at Real Pilates this month is the “grid”. In Pilates we work with respect to the “box” – the grid formed by outlining the shoulder and hips in a linear box like configuration. Taken to the equipment you can see how most of our apparatus are structured with this same rectangular like box shape. From the long rectangular Mats and Cadillac and Reformer frames to the shorter reformer carriages, and finally to the chairs, this box like surface area is a constant.

For many teachers, the body works independent of the surface area. For some time now, I’ve been using this visual framework to guide my clients through their sessions with tremendous results. Seeing how the body fits in these boxes and works within the frames, forms the basis of what I call “teaching from the grid.” Rather than looking at the body first – look at the grid first. Then align the body to the grid. It’s easiest on the Mat. Takes a bit of practice on the Reformer where a small frame is moving within a larger frame. You may get tripped up on the Cadillac but you can actually use the metal frame above to cue effectively.

At the end of the day it’s the simplest tools and techniques that are carried out mindfully that make the most profound difference. With each passing month, dedicate time to your teaching craft, whether it’s one cue, one idea or one “box” at a time.

Alycea Ungaro

go to Real Pilates

Notes from the first Day of School – (Teacher’s Challenge at the bottom)

TEACHING FROM THE GRID

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