A Deep Dive Into Pilates Part Seven: Flow

“Contrology (Pilates) is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities.”

~ Joseph Pilates ~

How appropriate that we come to the final part of our series, A Deep Dive Into Pilates, in the final month of the year. In fact, let it be a New Year's wish for you all! As you journey through 2022, may you experience and enjoy a sense of flow - recognize the moments and savor them. I hope that this series has stimulated thought, reflection, and consideration. If you have missed any of the segments and wish to go back to read them, they can all be accessed here. As you enter this next year, we at Sakash Health and Wellness hope that you integrate these principles into your life and prioritize a multi-dimensional approach to self care in your daily practice.

If I had a penny for every time a client said, “I don’t know what it is about Pilates but I feel amazing every time I leave”, I’d be on my way to a very full piggy bank. It’s one of the experiences as practitioners of the work that we enjoy the most - the energy shift that happens from the moment a person walks into the studio, to the time that they walk out. It’s knowing that their day just got better and it gives us a sense of purpose that we can teach and offer our clients the magic of this work. So what exactly is it that creates this result? It’s Flow.

The word in itself is defined as “the action or fact of moving along in a steady, continuous stream”. In a group Pilates class we encourage a continuous flow of exercises with mindful and integrated transitions. However, we also integrate breath, concentration, centering, control, and precision into each movement. We do this to promote a “state of flow”, otherwise known as being “in the zone”. Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian American psychologist and university professor, published a very popular and influential book in 1990 titled Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience. In it he described Flow as a mental state where, “The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” His TED talk has been viewed nearly 7 million times. I encourage all of you to take a moment to watch it.

Beyond the “flow experience” of being in a Pilates class, the practice of Pilates and the integration of the work into the body creates a sense of ease and physical flow through life.  We live with our body every day and we will only ever get one to reside in. Life is harder when we have poor posture, weaknesses, uncoordinated movements, and that small nagging pain we keep ignoring.  Pilates makes life easier, more seamless, by creating grace, balance, and efficiency in a subconscious dance through life.  Achieving this takes time and it is a learning process from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence.  The latter being the end goal. Through flow we experience comfort and peace within ourselves.  It is one of the reasons that a dedicated Pilates practice has such a profound effect on the quality of a person’s life. 

At Sakash Health and Wellness our studio is infused with “the Flow experience”.  Whether it is the teachers who are immersed in their craft and the mission of the work, or the clients who enter our doors to enhance their mind-body connection and prioritize their health and well-being.  I am thankful for that, and feel it is the reason our studio is so effective in helping our clients to heal and to feel rejuvenated and refreshed.  Recognize that each of us is a unique and extraordinary human, influenced not by the function of our separate parts but rather the harmonization of our entire being.  We find harmony when we find flow.  

Expect nothing less than feeling your best. 

Sincerely, 

Shellie Sakash

“We can’t afford to become trapped within ourselves, our jobs, and religions, and lose sight of the entire tapestry of life. When the self loses itself in a transcendent purpose — whether to write great poetry, craft beautiful furniture, understand the motions of galaxies, or help children be happier — the self becomes largely invulnerable to the fears and setbacks of ordinary existence.”
~ Csikszentmihali ~