Things I learned from March matness 2017, expanded:
How to spell Degenerhardt. Is that right?
Blow-up dinosaur suits are not made to withstand rolling around on the ground in the woods nor the end ranges of motion required of the Pilates mat exercises
T-Rex can in fact do planks and push-ups
Pilates people DO have a sense of humor
Before hitting ‘share’ for the T-Rex hundred picture on Instagram on March 1, I was a little concerned about number four. I only had pictures for the first seven mat exercises and wasn’t even sure I get around to the other 26 of them (skipped crab, no the blind head bump to the floor). My intentions were really just to entertain, mostly entertaining myself--and Abby.
I have come across some VERY intense, Pilates teachers who have heated discussions over socks or no socks (team no socks for those who care), which brand of Pilates equipment is the best, classical teaching style vs. contemporary, which nostril to use while breathing. Resting b---- face could have originated from some of the solemn, determined concentration faces in numerous online Pilates pics/videos I’ve seen, including Joseph Pilates himself. Early in my Pilates career, I was kicked out of a mat class for exhaling improperly. Or what she thought was the wrong way for air to pass out of my body. I still don’t know how that instructor wanted me to breathe. Too serious, too intense for this gal. I like passion, but not to the point of exclusion. I’m lumping my fellow physical therapists and some yoga folks into this ultra serious group. A yogi once told me leaving the door open to the studio pollutes the energy in the room. I do not claim to be an expert on energy or chakras, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.
Needless to say, I was ready for some negative backlash. I am happy to report that I have yet to receive any adverse comments. All negative thoughts were kept quiet, or more realistically the naysayers didn’t see PilaTes-Rex in action.
I love Pilates. My body craves it, when it’s been too long. Pilates has completely changed the way I move, the way my clients move, the direction of my physical therapy career. It has improved so many areas of my life and so many others’ lives. However, let’s not take it too seriously. I don’t want to say it’s “just exercise” because it is not just exercise. But at the same time, in the grand scheme of things, it is "just exercise". The majority of my movement cues are used to decrease tension or turn off muscles that should not be working. You know what decreases tension most effectively? Laughing. It also kicks in the abdominal muscles a little more.
So I was extremely excited to see others in the field embracing T-Rex for what she really is, a silly compilation pictures and videos that made me laugh.
Sidebar: For those who asked how T-Rex came to be, here’s the story.
T-Rex videos have been providing entertainment for Abby (one of my first and favorite Columbia clients) and I for over a year. A few favorites are the American Ninja Warrior T-Rex and first-look bride. She shopped for a dino suit immediately. They were expensive, $250 at the time. We both thought a tyrannosaurus rex doing Pilates would be funny, but not $250 funny. Near the beginning of 2017, the price dropped to $75-80 and my niece was having a dinosaur birthday party in February. The decision to buy at that price was a no-brainer, score major brownie points with the six year old niece and make a few stupid videos, done.
The look on her face would have been worth the $250 price tag. She’s in the black shirt looking up at T-Rex with amazement. The spinning blonde and the pizza eater are my kids, who also thought T-Rex was pretty cool.
Most of the T-Rex videos were shot in one or two takes and edited on my iPhone with my husband, ten year old daughter, or Abby behind the camera or with one of those bendy tripods. I did not learn how to shoot videos, take pictures or edit either one during my Pilates training and it was not part of the physical therapy curriculum either.