« August 2006 | Main | October 2006 »
9/7/06 The impassable gap between what is observed and the observer.
Understanding isn't up to the observed, the burden of understanding is upon the observer. When the observer places the burden of understanding upon the observed, the observer evades the only place where understanding can come from.
We are all meant to express our lives.
From this forum:
http://www.forums.pilatesconnections.com/
I have seen a couple of you seem to have experience of Millers Pilates.I wondered if it was worth subscribing to the site, how helpful and clear is the instruction given and does he cover everything?
Here is my response:
From my experience with this forum, no one has any real understanding of Michael Miller Pilates, what it says, what it means, and what empowerment that it gives to you, let alone the meaning or the impact of my web site.
My web site offers a huge amount of material including pictures and lists of all the beginning exercises on mat and apparatus—for free. Subscribers get access to all the intermediate and advanced material, so it’s easy to see what you are going to get if you subscribe.
The key is to recognize that lists match the pictures and all of it is rooted in archival data. You will notice if you look closely that all my work is consistent with and accurate to the oldest archival material in existence. Beware aristocrats who claim secret material illuminating the inner wisdom of the method held in an attic, a studio, a storage closet, or some distant library. “The bulk of the votes are in,” so to speak, and it’s a landslide pointing to Pilates as an idea.
I don’t offer much explanation beyond the pictures and the lists because I teach across so many languages it seems better to focus on a level above linguistic limitations. (hence my section on sign language) Focus on alignment, see the alignment in the photos, find the alignment in your body.
If you really want printed material I did go into debt to publish a book 6 years ago on my own, no editing, all me, only me, that explains my view of Pilates. If you get distracted and stumble in the middle section looking for approvable nuggets you missed the main vein which occurs in the first 11 pages. People that are willing to admit what they find of value in the book overlook its short comings.
My DVD “The Mat is the Method” is the most significant DVD in existence on the Pilates method. The exercises and lists on the web site all come together to show the work as an integrated method geared towards the complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. In the assumption that the mat is the method, this DVD shows each mat exercise done first on the Cadillac, (most supportive) then on the Reformer, (less supportive) then on the Chair, (even less support) till finally done on the mat. (no support) Nothing was ever more significant to the survival of Pilates as an idea than this work, and nothing to come will ever do more to ensure its survival.
When is comes to understanding Michael Miller Pilates listen to those who will tell you the message in my view. Listen to those who actually have some experience. Critics always care more about their opinions than their subject, and forums can be like a spider’s web woven with intent and purpose to catch you up in their agenda. I am, of course, assuming you are not one of the spiders.
It is amusing that this discussion quickly turned away from a dismissal of Michael Miller Pilates and into the latest and greatest book. The very qualities the book is praised for exist on my web site, have for some time now, and been accessible to anyone in the world—24/7. My resource has become the backbone for Pilates training materials developed independently in countries all over the world. With web page visits over 90 days approaching the 2,000,000 mark, the grass is definitely rising.
If my web site is not for you, I publish my schedule on my site as well as guidelines on how you can make some money by hosting me in your area. You can always call at +1 303 499 8228 if you want to talk directly to me.
Wishing you an enlightened future and leaving you with my favorite reminder that,
“Embodiment is the ultimate authority.”
Michael Miller
Michael Miller Pilates makes sense. Sm
www.hermit.com
michaelmiller@hermit.com
