Pilates

[Yoda]

QUOTE(Cameron Momeni @ Sep 29 2005, 08:59 AM)

In all the years I have been reading your posts I don't remember you ever resorting to profanity to make a point. Pilates must be the fucking shit!

 

Trunk's response:

 

LOL, lol.

 

It is. I think if the Taoist community really gets a taste of what pilates is, they'll be showing up to pilates classes in droves.

 

Pilates just doesn't have the terminology... all of western exercise culture doesn't have the terminology, the conceptual framework, to appreciate what pilates is on to. Taoism has all this appreciation and focus on: "the tan tien", built into the Taoist system of knowledge. Those principles are so present in pilates, its unbelievable. Its what pilates is all about. And I can go just a few blocks away, pay the price of a regular yoga class, and have someone drill me through an hour of different poses-moves (which I probably don't have the discipline to put myself through). Popularly available classes for Taoists!!!, I can't believe it I'm in heaven.

 

Its just that pilates can't market it that way.. What are they gonna say, "develope your tan tien"? The closest they get is "powerhouse" or "core", and then they go on to say how it makes your stomach flat, makes you lean and strong. And there is some moderate muscular exercise in there, but its easy to see that that's not the main thing going on in the pilates system: its tan tien development.

 

 

 

Noni turned out to be nasty shit, but this Pilates discovery could be huge.

 

I've often admired all the ab exercises of Pilates but Dragondoor was dismissive of Pilates as being another supermodel fitness scam that I never checked it out.

 

So I've order a classic pilates mat exercises dvd which is supposed to be pretty fast paced, but I also ran to the bookstore to get the basic exercise list.

 

It's essentially yoga plus all the abdominal exercises you can imagine.

 

I'm thinking maybe if I can keep these drills fast paced that they will keep me amused and I'll stick to it.

 

Also, I still pine for the 5 Tibetans and this may be my big opportunity... do the Warrior Wellness to "open all the joints so the Chi can get in" do my 5T for the yoga type benefits and then do all the Pilates ab stuff for the core goodies.

 

-Yoda

[Trunk]

Noni turned out to be nasty shit, but this Pilates discovery could be huge.

The taste of straight Noni juice is harsh; the effects are excellent - just buy the stuff that is blended with blueberry juice and its tastes good, too.

 

I'm thinking maybe if I can keep these drills fast paced that they will keep me amused and I'll stick to it.

imo, going too fast could be counter-productive. What I'm using pilates for is ltt development. So, the key to that is to keep my breath and attention steadied in the lower tan tien during the pilates exercises. If I go the exercises too fast, it puts my attention on the externals .. and I might clench up in the tan tien and just try to muscle through the exercises.

 

Basically, pilates is a system of massaging the lower tan tien, through breath, movement, and concentration. If it gets reduced to external exercises, then its not productive towards what I'm there for.

 

Could be that at a high level one could do all the exercises fast and still be centered from the tan tien (not from a clenched-power perspective, but from being able to steady smoothly inhale~exhale count of five for each and letting the massage of the exercise go as deeply through the ltt as it will).

 

Cross-training suits me. At this point, I'm going to take an hour long pilates class once a week, do some minor but regular exploration of pilates during the week, and keep up with swimming, other qi gong, etc. I don't know that an hour every day of pilates is desirable. Certainly beyond my capability, at this point, anyway. I'd like to get to a place where I take the hour class 2 or three times a week. And have some shorter routine, and favorite exercises, nailed for home.

 

I don't know what books/videos are good over all. Too green. Maybe we could provide reviews of what we each bought, compare notes. I have Brooke Siler's The Pilates Body and like it a lot. I also bought "Pilates for Men" and so far don't like it: its breathing method is not in line with what I want to accomplish. .. breathing should be steady and smooth. Also, I found that, after a couple of weeks of experimenting and reading, that a class was the bomb. Just being led through the exercises for an hour is so cool.

[Yoda]

Well, as long as I keep moving I should be able to stick with it. Pilates for Dummies is a good book.

[GrandTrinity]

My friend is all about this Goji Jiuce. Made from goji berries? Saposedly form the himalayas and make you live very long. I tend to think its B.S. though, I dont know.

[Yoda]

The plan is to very gradually introduce Pilates style exercises as my tummy can deal with it. Right now I'm doing the five tibetans plus extra situp type stuff and that's good enough for the moment. One thing I'm noticing is that after doing this stuff and then letting my pulse rate fall and doing sitting meditation with the hands in the classic, zen, cosmic mudra with the thumbs touching my ltt is breathing chi big time. Every inhalation my ltt is breathing in chi through the mudra. When I just sit without situps first, say just light yoga or nothing, I don't feel this effect. It feels very enriching. The basic situp seems to awaken the ltt and make it hungry. Cool stuff.

 

This is the first time my ltt really feels awake and alive.

 

I've noticed this ltt breathing before, but situps make the effect much stronger and more predictable.

[Yoda]

Mom just gave me a tutorial on Pilates. I tried not to reveal it, but I was definitely struggling on many of the drills that she's comfortable with. Trunk mentioned that Mr Pilates was infatuated with core development. I discovered that he also has a strong foot fetish like a good taoboy should. My feet will be sore tomorrow.

 

It's very "power yoga" in feel with lots of ab work and toe and heel strengthening/stretching work. You get a good joint mobility/Warrior wellness buzz, good core strength, and actually a light cardio effect too.

 

-Yoda

[三江源]

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Edited April 18, 2015 by 三江源

[Trunk]

.. lots of ab work and toe and heel strengthening/stretching work.  ..good core strength, and actually a light cardio effect too.

I'm mostly interested in the core work. (And there's a difference between core and ab work, ime.) Though some of all the rest is cool, too.

 

I think that the pilates system development was significantly influenced by Joseph Pilates' clientele. First he used it to heal himself, then worked in infirmaries, then it caught on really big with the dance community. (See history of pilates.) So, with some of the leg-work, you can see how its geared towards dancers. But the core work is, imo, is really the key of pilates. It'd be cool to see a Taoist version of pilates develop.

[Yoda]

Mom has the "reformer", so that's what she knows. Some of that stuff would work just on the ground, but at least I got a flavor of it.