There's Matness in March!

[ChannelRunner2]

Get your mat ready because we're planning on doing some March MATness again this year!

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Pilates teacher Benjamin Degenhardt started March MATness in 2013. Every day that month, he did one (or two) Pilates exercises as instructed by Joseph Pilates in his book "Return to Life." The photos here show him in action... It's a way to reconnect with the origins of Pilates (and a play on words to March Madness, which is the U.S. obsession with basketball during March...).

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Last year, I posted the exercise of the day so that we could all follow along. This year, we'll build on that by encouraging each other to try this again! On March 1st, I'll post a slightly edited version of my summary post and we can share our experiences on weekly posts.

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So, dust off your mat and get ready to try some of Joe's original moves!

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If you can't wait, you can check out the website here: marchmatness.com/

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Woohoo! That sounds awesome. There were a few days I missed, last time around, so I’ll give the month another go!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to CBDB]

Oh, and my poses didn’t look anywhere as elegant as his! 🤣🤣

[Folkylass]

I might give that a go. I’m not saying I’ll be able to do them all as good as him but I will try.However I’m over 60 now so will it be too hard for me do you think? I’m just starting out with Rachel Lawrence ….” The girl with the Pilates mat”. Looking at some of the above poses ,I wonder if I would be able😂😂

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Folkylass]

It starts quite easy, but there are some poses which I will never be able to do “right”, but there is always “adapt and amend”!

Last year I found it a great introduction to Pilates, and the focus on one pose or movement at a time really helps you to understand and practice what your body is doing.

[Folkylass in reply to CBDB]

That’s very true CBDB and I love the adapt and amend ,it’s so prevalent 😂😂x

[Sax64 in reply to Folkylass]

Ah, me too. I've learnt that I need to stick to her beginner sessions for the time being. Hopefully in time it will all click into place, or is that just my joints!!

[Folkylass in reply to Sax64]

I know I think that too about the old joints😂😂

[chrisl72]

Been following along with Move with Nicole for some time, but this sounds good - I'm in!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to chrisl72]

Yey!

[ChannelRunner2]

Of course, we won't look like Benjamin! He's doing this like forever 🤣 Seriously, even if I compare myself today with a few years ago, it looks better now. Most days. Practice helps and all of it is a practice... (And, we don't know how often he tried to get those photos 😉)

The posts have links to info on variations/modifications. And as John Howard Steel recounted in Caged Lion, even Joseph Pilates encouraged to simplify! Even thinking about lifting your legs and arms into a Teaser counted (that's the 6th photo down the 4th column...).

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to ChannelRunner2]

🥰😍😃👍🏽

[Fiadh79]

Ooh, this looks interesting! How long does it take each day?

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to Fiadh79]

I guess it depends on how much time you spend watching the videos 😉 I'd plan in maybe 10-15 minutes to make sure you have time to read and/or watch the instructions. The exercise itself can be done in about a minute...

Also make sure you have a mat, the thicker, the better... Although if you don't have one, you can also do the standing variations or just do them on carpet.

[Teaching]

I'll definitely do this.