March Matness- One Leg Kick

Dear One Leg Kick,

You help me find the anchor through my hips abs the work through the back of my body. You challenge me to keep my hips stable and not rock them side to side. You are the one I knew from the Beginner Mat. But your friends that came along right after were all new and I could not get their names straight or the order right. I thought learning the Beginner order was hard. But that’s the thing about Pilates. Once you have it down it will probably be changed. This is where the famous mat order “story” starts from teacher training.

When I did my Intermediate Mat training, I still had trouble with my brain due to Lyme disease. Remembering simple things was a challenge. So I asked an expert. Ava was ten and she had to study for tests all the time. So I asked her to remind me how to study. The solution we found was to create a story, THE Story, around the exercises and their names. This story is a little macabre, but so are Ava and I. Ultimately it helped me and many others remember the order. 

Centennial Park is a great place for storytelling and entertainment. You can go pretty much anywhere in Nashville and see live music but Centennial has an awesome series @muscornernash. Musician’s Corner sets up in the corner of the park and hosts live music for free. Ava and I went to see one of my favorite’s #nancigriffith there, shortly after The Story. When Ava and her sister, @hannahhleathers we little we would dance around their living room for hours, listening to her album The Flyer. Nashville Ballet used this album as inspiration for their ballet This Heart. I listened to it in New York whenever I missed Nashville. I finally got to meet Nanci Griffith that day after Ava almost One Leg Kicked me over to her. Thank you Centennial Park for making the arts in Nashville and the artists more accessible.

Love,

Heather

Photography by Jennifer Gouge