'Wait what, but don't mostly women do it?' I actually don't know the stats on that, but probably yes.
But that's also not what I mean. Any body who identifies as any gender can (and should) access Pilates, but I mean they style and energy of Pilates. It's about archetypes rather than men and women.
Energetically, most things and people will lean towards either masculine traits or feminine traits, regardless of anatomy. It is commonly said that our society here in the West is out of balance with a strong patriarchal dominance with masculine traits such as doing, working, planning and achieving.
The theory of masculine and feminine energy can be seen in Carl Jung's work, lots of relationship theory psychology and many Eastern philosophies - once you're aware of it you start to notice it everywhere.
Here are some characteristics of each type:
Masculine vibes
Structure, consistency, logic, strength, action-based (doing rather than being), discipline, yang energy, survival, leadership, adventure, power, pride, focus and efficiency.
Masculine energy is represented by the sun, a strong and consistent source of power ☀️
Feminine vibes
Softness, rounded shapes & cycles, intuition, fluidity, being or feeling, creation, nurturing, openness, being receptive, community, nurturing, yin energy and understanding.
Feminine energy is represented by the cyclical and ever-changing moon, taking what the sun provides and sharing it / reflecting it on... 🌜 this blog explains the sun and moon energies really well.
The ancient Greek personification of the moon was the feminine Selene, depicted here by French painter Albert Louis Aublet.
Anyway, now we've covered all that - think about Pilates, as a methodology and the characteristics it has.
The classical Pilates series is a sequence of 34 exercises performed in a set order with control and precision, and to be repeated in that set order each time. The movements are precise, the associated breath patterns dictated and entirely based on scientific evidence of 'move this bit and it will do x.'
Joe Pilates either worked 1:1 with people, or there are some great images and footage of bigger classes, with participants lined up in neat rows performing the actions in unison.
That's not to say that these traits are either positive or negative, I'm just noticing that the original Pilates methodology is pretty masculine in it's style.
Now, on a personal level, I have been looking at the masculine and feminine 'thing' in my own life this past year, it's maybe why I'm noticing it in other applications. I was deeply deeply in my strong independent action-driven masculine energy. Throughout 2022, with the development of a new relationship and some personal development work I have softened and am learning to embrace the softer, more fluid feminine energies within myself.
I think I am starting to let those experiments flow into my teaching practice as I introduce more feminine qualities into my classes.
But what does that mean, like practically?
It means:
- changing the lesson plan according to how either I feel, or those in my class feel on a particular day.
- having small sections of class that are less prescribed and more experimental leaving my class participants to move according to how their bodies feel and what they need.
- bringing softer mindfulness and somatic practices into class too.
I don't want to mess with a good thing too much, Pilates has been highly effective for people for the last 100 years. But at the same time, I think there's always room for balance and experimentation, and maybe drip-feeding some feminine energy into this excellent movement methodology could result in a deeper more holistic outcome.
So with that in mind, take look at the qualities that exist in your life, work, workout routines or relationships - where is there balance between masculine and feminine, and would it be good to experiment with seeing what these different qualities can offer?
With love,
Sarah x
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