Big in Japan

By Amit Younger

Pilates in Japan

A long flight is always a good opportunity to put your thought and impressions into writing. Saying that, I’m not sure the next 12 hours of flight would be enough to digest the last 10 days I spent in Japan….

It was my fourth visit to Japan and as always, the visit was packed full with activities. We started off with two days of Mat Pilates teacher training with 33 students attending, all very eager to learn, try new things and improve their skills. The next 8 days were a mix of all the other things I love teaching… private classes, group mat classes and workshops.

All this would be enough to make a fulfilling trip, but this time I was in for a real treat as my visit was planned to co-inside with a big event in Tokyo where members of the public are invited to take part in series of three mass Pilates classes in the park. Over 300 people attended my class, which I must admit I was a bit nervous about. But soon the nerves settled and the energy was absolutely fantastic. Even the rain paused for long enough to allow us to enjoy a magical hour in the open air in mid-town Tokyo.

I believe that every Pilates teacher should always be on a journey of discovery, a journey that teaches him more and more about the body (his own and his clients’) and one that sees new understanding emerging when knowledge, practice and intuition come together.  When such moments take place, they take us on a path to explain, demonstrate and empower our clients and students with what we have understood and felt ourselves.

The last 10 days have given me the opportunity to dig deeper and find new and exciting ways to share my own journey with my students and clients, even through the barriers of language. I was very pleased to see how people responded and to hear how much “deeper” they could feel the work and how it physically challenges and strengthen them. What a joy!