One of the most impressionable teachers I ever had was a dance teacher, Thomas Molinaro, who was not only a brilliant dancer but had an extremely keen eye. I was in my early twenties before my introduction to Pilates, and Thomas would incorporate Pilates mat work into our ballet and stretch classes. His disciplined approach to ballet training included the required back or pink attire only and classes were conducted with a high degree of formality. Class was held every weekday from 9 - 11:45 a.m. Each day was the same format with the same students, same music, and same work each day – and yet in some way, everyday something was different; our alertness, energy, strength, balance, emotional state, etc.
I’ll never forget how Thomas would slowly and closely walk by us all lined up, simply observing our individual qualities that day. He would occasionally quietly ask how someone how they were doing and politely we would always respond we were doing “fine.” I was very surprised the first time he poignantly said, and a lesson that remains with me today, that our bodies don’t lie, our mouths do. I found it fascinating how accurately Thomas could see how we really felt on the inside based on how we were expressing on the outside. Even when our mouths said everything was “fine,” it was clear as a bell to Thomas when our inside state and outward report were out of sync. Without judgment or a single word he would raise an eyebrow and in that instant we both knew the truth.
But it didn’t stop there. He held out an olive branch to each of us, an invitation that very moment and each moment during class to change our minds choose a different reality. Once class was underway, each of us had a chance to start anew; not only to meet ourselves in the newly created moment, but to learn to trust our ability to use movement as a way to transform our mood or inner state. He always held the door open for possibility. In subtle ways he was teaching us powerful life lessons: we are responsible for our own reality, we alone create our reality, and we have a choice in the matter - and all of this for the price of class admission!
Reflecting on the teacher-student relationship and the non-verbal messaging that transpires during a session I am reminded again that we can always re-choose our reality in the moment both as teachers and as students. Today when I teach I will have my olive branch ready.
- Clare Dunphy, Peak Pilates Master Trainer