Getting This Off My Chest (Expansion)

Inspired by my ever-growing list of favorite Jayisms: 

“Don’t trust the Internet.”

~ Jay Grimes, master teacher and first-generation Pilates elder

From the Internet came free-flow uncensored information-sharing. For over two decades, we’ve been able to access details on whatever we want. A new verb was even added to the lexicon in observance of the phenomena. We no longer enter text into a search field and then hit return — instead, we “Google.” 

The answer to your query is right at your fingertips. That level of immediacy has spoiled us into a perpetual state of over-indulgent instant gratification. But abundant flow of information comes at the cost of regulation. The digital world is completely littered — some might even refer to it as a cesspool of misinformation.

Speaking of regulation, or lack thereof, the name “Pilates” has been part of public domain since 2000. I don’t know what that means for its proper pronoun status – perhaps it’s now considered more of a general term. Common. Unregulated and fostering further division, as over the years, we see more and more tributaries, cultivating yet more interpretations on what Pilates is (or is it pilates with a lowercase “p” now?). 

You name it, I’ve seen it plastered online. It lands in my email inbox and on my social media newsfeeds. It’s in the SERPs, on studio websites, online wellness mags and YouTube channels. Countless fragmented, disconnected and wholly loose interpretations of the Pilates method that stem from incorrect use of apparatus, manufacturer changes to the apparatus, inadequate understanding of the method itself and improperly trained teachers training new teachers like the blind leading the blind in a directionless march. 

Suffice it to say, the Pilates world that Jay Grimes was introduced to back in the 60s was so much different than it is today. If you’ve read Joe Pilates’ book, Return to Life Through Contrology, you’ll pick up on the fact that he was not into the idea of creative interpretation when it came to his work. In my studies with Jay, I learned that Joe was protective of his work and particular in the manner in which it was delivered. He did refer to his own method as Contrology, after all. I think we can safely assume that Joe was a bit of a control freak. 

Why do I care? Because I’m a devoted teacher of this method and I believe in the power of practicing it as it was intended. I have made my rounds to the offshoots and watered-down versions and know that the original method is what works. I want to share this method with others, to help my clients see positive change and to continue spreading the joy of authentic Pilates, but it is a constant struggle trying to make a living, trying to deliver a cohesive message in a sea of ever-crossing wires.

So, my friends, let’s disentangle them. Let’s put the Capital “P” back in Pilates!