We are continually learning, evolving and changing all while aiming to stay connected to ourselves.
Throughout our unique seasons of life we so often leave and then return back, to our true core selves, more authentic and connected than ever before. It’s all about the journey.
Understanding 5 Element philosophy helps you to know where to begin and how to grow roots, how to progress a workout and appropriately challenge, when to go big and where to find the rungs on the ladder to do really hard things.
The lens of the 5 Elements gives us permission to stumble and fall, to come up against walls, and to access our deepest strength and ease in finding our way.
As a Pilates instructor, we practice how to meet a client where they are and adapt. We also have flexibility.
With our clients we have resonance, because within ourselves we have done and embody the richness of the Pilates work.
The Five Element wheel is the cycle of life, from seed (water) to sprout (wood) to flower (fire) to fruit (earth) to decay (metal) and finally to seed again (water); the end is the beginning and around we go.
This is called the generation cycle of the 5 Elements.
By tuning in this way, we honor the seasons in nature, the seasons in our own lives, and the different energetics along the process of becoming who we are, again and again.
WATER
WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE: The most yin of all, Water corresponds to winter, a quiet and restorative time of year. In the life cycle of a plant, it’s a seed deep in the soil, filled with potential and a powerful essence waiting to grow roots and branches.
HOW IT RELATES TO YOUR PRACTICE: It’s the BASIC material and the fundamental principles. The essence of our workout and our deep, true core and spine connection.
HOW IT EMPOWERS YOUR TEACHING: Where do we begin when teaching a new client, and more importantly why do we begin here? Then how do we share these details and true principles with our clients so they feel empowered, connected and self-aware.
WOOD
WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE: Wood aligns with spring, a time of growth and change. The Wood is the sprout coming up out of the ground with courage and flexibility on its creative path to becoming a tree.
HOW IT RELATES TO OUR PILATES PRACTICE: It’s how we grow, stretch, bend, get stronger and take up space. It’s the INTERMEDIATE material and all the bending, twisting and hip work.
HOW IT EMPOWERS YOUR TEACHING: When we advance clients into new and more challenging material we want to progress in a way that they maintain whole body connection, genuine ease in their movement, and remarkable strength. We are setting clients up to feel successful and also to feel challenged outside their comfort zone for valuable growth.
FIRE
WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE: Not surprisingly, Fire corresponds to summer, the most yang and bright time of year. Think of it as the flowers on the big, bold trees—upward, radiant and expansive.
HOW IT RELATES TO OUR PILATES PRACTICE: Fire points to the expansive work, filled with backbends, inversions and smiles. The ADVANCED Pilates material is very fiery, made possible because of the steps of growth from Water to Wood and then to Fire.
HOW IT EMPOWERS YOUR TEACHING: Connecting to genuine joy in our practice and our teaching is essential. How do we remind our clients of this? How do we set them up to do really hard things really well and with safety, zest and pleasure?
EARTH
WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE: The Earth element corresponds to the harvest season, between summer and autumn. This is a time of richness and fullness, where flowers have become fruit and the garden is abundant. We feel a sense of contentment prior to descending into winter.
HOW IT RELATES TO OUR PILATES PRACTICE: Our dedication to and OWNERSHIP of our movement makes us feel full and abundant from the inside out.
HOW IT EMPOWERS YOUR TEACHING: Our Pilates practice supports us in returning home to ourselves, both as practitioners and as instructors.
METAL
WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN CHINESE MEDICINE: Autumn, when the leaves are falling off the trees, the fruit is rotting and the transition from summer (yang) to winter (yin) is omnipresent. It’s a time of release in nature, as the trees become bare and the air cool and crisp.
HOW IT RELATES TO OUR PILATES PRACTICE: It’s when we are mindful of our breath, PRECISION, letting go and stripping away back down to essentials.
HOW IT EMPOWERS YOUR TEACHING: As an instructor there is always a balance of holding on and letting go. Teaching the details and nuances. Refining our teaching and our client’s workouts.