Matwork Vs. Equipment Through the Lens of Virtual Classes (during a pandemic).

Our studio has been closed since March 16th because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. On June 3rd we re-opened with modified hours for Physiotherapy and we will open our doors for Physio-Pilates starting June 22nd. 

During this period of lock down, we have been running virtual Pilates classes on Zoom and we have learned so much from our time online. First of all, from a teacher’s perspective, it’s been a wonderful experience re-connecting with the MAT repertoire. As instructors, we learn the matwork first as these exercises are the foundation of Pilates. As we progress in our training, we are introduced to the equipment and in our love affair with the vast array of modifications and support the equipment provides, it’s easy to lose the very important connection with the MAT repertoire.

This is not a conscious decision, but the equipment is so shiny and exciting and the sheer amount of fun and challenging exercises we can do on the Reformer, for instance, can pull our focus away from the MAT work. The beautiful thing about teaching only MAT classes over this time is that we realized that everything on the equipment comes back to these exercises. If you can master (or work consistently on improving) the MAT exercises, the more advanced equipment exercises will suddenly become more available to you. Joseph Pilates invented the equipment as a tool to help people master his MAT repertoire.

One thing is for sure: the Mat exercises are NOT easy. But what’s great about that is we are seeing huge improvements in strength in our clients who have maintained a consistent MAT practice during the last three months of online classes!

Let's take a roll-up for instance. This is a challenging exercise for people to do across the board.  It’s not just about ab strength but also really about spinal mobility. If your back is stiff, you can have the strongest abs in the world...you won’t be able to do a roll-up. Now, let’s think about the roll down with the bar on the Tower...it assists you in order to allow for slow controlled movement. If we work on this long enough the hope is that an unsupported roll-up is an exercise we can master.

Another example is the dreaded teaser! We often start our teaser journey with the push-thru bar on the Tower, using the spring assist to work methodically on spinal articulation, peeling up through the sticky bits, and then gradually adding the legs into the equation. The support of the push-through bar helps us achieve shoulder flexion and a lovely J-curve, and gives the core a boost at the top of our v-sit position, allowing the hip flexors and low abs to lift the legs. Like the roll down bar does for the roll-up exercise, the push-thru bar also helps us control the vertebra-by-vertebra return to the mat. The same exercise on the long box gives us the resistance of the straps to help activate the upper back and deep abdominal muscles to achieve the same classic v-sit. That training ground provides the fundamental muscular engagement to tackle Teaser on the mat--through practice, our body learns and understands that many different muscles need to fire in unison to be successful.

The unplanned closure of our brick-and-mortar operations isn’t something we wanted, and grappling with the effects of the pandemic has been a challenge, but if we can take at least one positive away from this time, it’s been the return to the foundation of our practice. When we are able to open our doors again, we know that not everyone will be comfortable returning right away, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your practice has to suffer. Our virtual classes aren’t going anywhere just yet--and there’s a lot you can get out of a focused Zoom session. Take it from Christine, who’s been doing mat classes five or six times a week:

“I am loving the convenience of being able to walk to my basement for a Pilates class as often as I like. I thought I would miss the reformer, but Pam and Heather have made every workout different, interesting, and challenging, (which is harder without the reformer, I think!) using props and household objects to both encourage and test my development. Very often the instructions are so clear that I don’t need to be able to see my screen, and I have had excellent feedback on form. I have found the virtual pilates experience to be very rewarding.”

Mat Pilates Group Classes are currently offered Mondays and Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8 am. We also offer Virtual physio Pilates 7 days a week. For more information about virtual classes, visit the Covid-19 Response page on our website https://www.yourcoreworks.com/covid-alternative-service