Well, I still have 100 to go to reach my goal of 1000 today (10 sets of the Pilates’ 100). I am sort of saving it. I want to work on the stability ball because when I filmed myself doing that, wow, that was enlightening. I was bouncing and falling all over the place. Room for improvement there!
That is one of the interesting things about this challenge, now that I’ve started to film myself especially. I am seeing so many ways in which I slack off of precise Pilates technique and things that aren’t up to my own standards which I hold my students to.
I am feeling very humbled by the process. That is a feeling I welcome. On day 7 I was really wondering if I could do this very much longer. By 8 and 9, I was jazzed again. Today, I am once again wondering how much further I can take this.
I have a new plan now for continuing into the year. Once January is done I would like to continue on through each month, focusing on a new Pilates exercise. I thought I would follow the “basic ten.”
1. Hundred
2. Roll Up
3. Single Leg Circles
4. Rolling (Like A Ball)
5. Single Leg Stretch
6. Spine Stretch
7. Saw
8. Single Leg Kick
9. Side Leg Kick
10. Seal
So in February, I will still do the 100, but just once a day. On February 1st, I will add on The Roll Up and do that progressively as I have done the 100. In March I will do the 100 once a day, do one set of The Roll Up (I’ll use the numbers suggested by Joe Pilates in his Return to Life Through Contrology.) Those exercises will take me through October, then I can add on two other exercises for November and December, or repeat the 100 in December.
It MIGHT very conceivably happen that I cannot make it through a month continuing to add on high numbers, much as I hate to admit it. In particular, I am thinking this 100 thing is a little insane. I am 1/3 of the way through. I might just even run out of time in my days to do Pilates. I do have to work and take care of my children still. I have developed a back up plan, sort of. Instead of fretting and really pushing myself beyond what my body can do. I’ll just do what I can do! How’s that? So let’s say on day 12, I think, “okay that’s just too much I cannot cannot do 1200 today.” Then I’ll just do 1100, or whatever I can. I’ll document that, and then see what happens the next day, but I’ll try to keep up at least 100 every day.
I am going to see what affect these exercises will have on my body and my life.