In each certification program we do the question of neutral spine inevitably comes up at some point.  Someone has done another training program before and he/she raises the question. Or someone starts teaching at a studio where neutral spine is emphasized and the student asks us what the difference is. In PTC3, one student raised the question in a lab in Level 3 and it led to an amazing and exciting conversation among us—we stayed forty-five minutes after lab talking about it.

One student asked about neutral spine and questioned if doing it in her previous Pilates practice could have led to the issues she was having with her back now.  I explained a few points about the two and then demonstrated the differences in supine and standing positions. I explained how to see when clients are doing neutral pelvis; looking at the alignment of the hips and tailbone. And I then gave a few phrases I have found successful in getting clients to find neutral pelvis and keep it from their muscles and not just tucking the tailbone.  Each student experimented with the moves in their own bodies and asked for feedback on the positioning. They felt the differences and had epiphany-like moments that brought light to their eyes. They shared with each other and with me all sorts of stories relating to the topic at hand.

Moments such as this one inspire me as a teacher. The look on a student’s face when the ideas behind the Pilates method start to click is “priceless” (to use the now cliché phrase).  In conversations like this one, where we are able to go beyond the basics of Pilates movements to explore the key elements of technique, the true excitement of sharing Joseph Pilates’ amazing ideas springs to life within me.  Such times are the intersection of the relationship between teacher and students; where we meet in the middle and have a conversation about Pilates instead of a lesson on Pilates.