Welcome to this week’s Newsletter and the focus of this week is progress over perfection. Throughout my life I have been held back by feelings of ‘not being perfect’ and therefore failing. So I want to encourage you to move away from this perception and focus on the progress made, OR not, depending on what it is. For example, I will never be able to produce an exhibition-level painting, and I don’t think I am even getting any better than when I first picked up my paint brush, but I absolutely love the process of painting a picture. The place it takes me in my head is why I do it, not to be perfect, but to enjoy the process. Hopefully Your Whole Self below will help you too, if you are finding yourself more hung up on perfection than the process or the progression.
 

Our final week working with the Leg Pull Supine.

This time I am showing a progressive level of this exercise which works on connection with your core, strength through the shoulders and arms, mobility and strength in the hips, and of course ‘posture, posture, posture’ as Craig would say (Strictly fans this is for you!)

As with every Exercise Of The Week, work appropriately for your body and don’t push through pain. Message me if you have any questions.

Do you ever have that feeling like you should be baking gluten-free muffins while simultaneously performing a Pilates move, getting a load of washing done, and all whilst having a completely clutter free house?  If so, you’re in good company. I think its safe to say that perfection is overrated. 

Real life just isn’t like this, but that’s okay, because this weekend, I want us to celebrate the joy of imperfection!

First of all I want us to get rid of the idea that only when something is perfect is it valuable. This goes for Pilates practice, your baking skills, and yes, if it applies, even all the clutter or untidiness that may be part of your life. 

The problem with perfection is that it can trap you into a place of not wanting to try new things because... what if you’re terrible at them? This has definitely been an issue with me in the past. Whether you’re wobbling through standing, balance work in Pilates or ending up with a soggy bottom with your cake, it's more about the process and the progression as you learn, laugh and grow. 

Besides, who are the ‘Pilates Police’ that decide what a perfect roll down looks like?  I’ve been teaching Pilates for nearly 30 years, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that no two bodies move the same way. So, when you’re on the mat and your shoulder bridge looks more like a plank of wood rather than a ‘string of beads being lifted one by one from the mat’, remember that you're working with your body — your unique, beautifully imperfect body. And that’s something I think we should celebrate.

I think we should start to celebrate that our life is messy — quite literally,  watching my son and daughter in law with their two young children, who cares if the toys are scattered over the floor if there are smiles and joy and laughter coming from them during their play. I think we should simply embrace the mess because that is where life happens. 

I have long realised that my kitchen floor doesn’t need to look like an Ideal Homes magazine picture for me to enjoy baking with my granddaughter, and in the same way your Pilates practice doesn’t need to be a perfect sequence for you to reap the benefits of movement and connections between your mind and body.

If you’ve joined me online when I’ve been teaching a Pilates session, you will have seen me lose my balance but guess what? The sky didn’t fall. Instead, we all had a laugh, and remembered that we’re all human. Perfection isn’t real, but authenticity is.

Perfection can be boring and very stressful. The best stories we share with friends and family aren’t always how brilliantly I ‘ironed my bed sheets before putting them on the bed’. Who cares? The best stories are when we share the stumbles, or the embarrassment. I once served coffee to 20 university lecturers and only found out that the zip to my skirt was undone the whole time, when I went back to my office!  Much funnier. These are the moments that become cherished memories. The pursuit of perfection, on the other hand, is a stressful race toward an ever-moving finish line.

So, this weekend, I invite you to let go of perfection. Don’t worry about the stumbles, the bad-baking, still not getting round to clearing the clutter — instead laugh about it, share it with friends and celebrate the perfectly, imperfect moments.

Finally, focus more on the progress, the process over perfection. Next time you find yourself aiming for “perfect,” think more about the process and the progress you may be making whether it be your Pilates exercises or just through daily life. It’s all part of the personal journey and it’s something worth celebrating.

So here’s to a weekend filled with a little less stress, a lot more laughs, and plenty of perfectly imperfect moments, remember to embrace the wobble.

Keep looking, moving and feeling good,

With love 

Jane xxx