Shapes in Space is a concept unique to Peak Pilates. The shapes we create in Pilates are found over and over in different exercises, with differing relationships to gravity and on different apparatus. Colleen Glenn, our first Educational Director and Pilates Master, brought this concept to Peak Pilates.
This concept is crucial to understand exercise technique and student progression. If you truly comprehend a Shape in Space, you can understand all the exercises related to it as well as the skills required to create it. You can then make informed decisions about what exercises your student is ready to undertake next.
Let’s explore a simple example of Shapes in Space with Pilates Stance. We define Pilates Stance as our working posture, where we are actively aligned against gravity in an efficient manner. Joseph H. Pilates described it to be like a “Greek Column,” and it’s how we begin all of our sessions. But what happens when we tip this position over 90 degrees? Voilà! Leg Pull Front, Long Stretch, Balance and Control Front, and even the inversion set up for Candle on the Cadillac.
Watch for this Shapes in Space column in newsletters to come!
This article was contributed by Zoey Trap M.S., Executive Director of Education and Training at Peak Pilates®.