There are two things we humans do better than any other animal on the planet. First, we learn. Humans are indefatigable learners.
The second thing we do best is movement. One scientist calls us the Swiss army knives of the animal world -- we alone move in all planes and with enormous ranges and possibilities. The current thinking in world of cognitive research is that we have these big brains not because we think, but to calibrate and coordinate our intricate movements.
Pilates and Gyrotonic capitalize on both of these innate human abilities and put them together. That's what makes these methods so effective, so fun, so cerebral, so basically physical and sometimes so frustrating but ultimately so exhilarating. "Movement builds our brain because movement requires a brain".
And that brings us to the incredible tale of the incredible Sea Squirt!
A sea squirt is a simple (read, primitive) marine animal. When the squirt is born (however a sea squirt gets born), it motors around in the shallows until it finds something, a rock or barnacle, in the path of a food supply where it can attach itself. And that's where mr. squirt stays for his whole life.
But look! The first thing he does when he attaches is metabolize his own brain. He eats his brain because without movement, he doesn't need a brain anymore.
We see it in the news everyday: the massive pile of research that says the quickest, surest way to both physical and brain health is through movement. Specifically movement that challenges, that builds new physical skills, that requires focus and attention, that surprises the body and brain with new vectors, new planes and shifting loads... and ever increasing challenges.
And we are now seeing research that shows that what we've been calling the illness and infirmity and even dementia of old age are actually the results of sedentary living.
So I ask that you take what you learn in the studio home with you. I have seen people make astounding not-to-be-believed changes in their bodies and how they approach life, and these people all, to a man, dedicated themselves to applying what they learned in their sessions in their daily lives.
I've also seen people end their session standing tall, with wide-open hearts and faces, only to watch them sink back into their old slumped, closed posture as they walk out the door.. So please, USE WHAT YOU LEARN in your session. Change is a bitch and it requires learning and moving. But what else do you have to do with your life? And happily, it's what we do best.