November 07, 2018

Ep 60: Amy Taylor Alpers

1 hour 42 minutes

This is a wonderful and rich conversation that if you call yourself a Pilates teacher you DON'T WANT TO MISS. It's an iconic and critical dialogue with one of the teachers who has not only been trail blazing within the industry for 30 years, but is and has been deeply invested in understanding the Pilates system in all of it's power and uniqueness.

If you're not a Pilates teacher but a movement teacher of ANY KIND -- or a Pilates enthusiast -- this is one of those conversations that will give you perspective on both how to go deeper into the method or modality you do teach, how to stay curious and committed to a personal path in movement, and give you lots of wonderful perspectives on movement and teaching in and of themselves.

It's long and it's WORTH IT.

Listen. Explore. Get quiet. Take deep breaths and GET CURIOUS...And SHARE.

James: "When you read my piece, what did you read? Can you talk to me abut how that piece land with you?"Amy: "I just got very inspired and then I read the article and I thought here's how I've always seen it, or not always seen it, I think. The first few years of my career I didn't even know there was this conversation...You know. You're educated the way you're educated. You come into, in this case, Pilates in whatever door you've entered. I've always just felt exceedingly grateful and sheer lucky that I started with Romana. And I knew nothing else until many years later when I was like, oh, there's all of these other people doing Pilates and it doesn't look like what Romana taught me necessarily.'So over the many years I've been trying to, because it's just my way, define what it is that's so unique about the system of Pilates versus a lot of exercises done on Pilates equipment, many of which are also very good.But what's the distinction of the system: the order, the sequence, the equipment being correct, the fact that all of the exercises are whole body. There's a uniqueness to the full design of the system and I think for so many years we've been standing for THAT out in kind of the more contemporary world; being the only classical people to attend the PMA until very recently.So many years ago I knew I was going to have to figure out for myself what is this thing?!Because I could speak my truth at a PMA but there were lots of people who had very different truths. So i had to get to a place where I was very clear for myself, for me personally, what this thing was and how I'd be able to stand with deep roots when I spoke about it in the face of so many other opinions and perspectives and even the knowledge that people had about what was good and what wasn't good to do in movement.I long ago started this conversation with myself, and it was just another opportunity when I read your article to try to put it into words again."

About Amy

Amy with her sister Rachel opened the Pilates Center in Boulder, CO, more than 25 years ago and have been leaders in the industry for nearly as long. Amy studied Pilates at the Pilates Studio in NYC and was trained by Romana Kryzanowska.

Learn more about Amy and The Pilates Center HERE.

WE ASKED:

If you were a superhero in your field what would your superhero name be?

Mind/Body Reader

What inspired you to take the leap into the work you're currently doing?

Having to figure our how "classical" Pilates was healthy despite what seemed to be tremendous opposition to that idea. I had to take a long, deep journey to be able to understand it for myself and not just spout jargon, etc.

How would you describe your teaching self?

Inquisitive and unafraid to speak up when inspired and sure about your ideas, but not necessarily a risk taker.

Get-in-touch with Amy: