An Assesment with Mary Bowen
An Assessment with Mary Bowen:
Pilates Exercise and Jungian Psychology
Charlotte Addington Weikel
NH 121 Introduction to Natural Health
November 5, 2004
I saw Mary Bowen speak at a convention in Denver last November. Mary is a Pilates Elder, one of just five Pilates teachers still teaching who studied with Joseph and Clara Pilates. Mary’s energy and presentation of her own unique combination of the exercise system devised by Pilates and Jungian psychology fascinated me. I was eager to find an opportunity to meet with her privately to experience her perspective.
I met Mary at her 200 year-old home in Killington, Connecticut in early May. She came into the sitting room with all the enthusiasm I remembered bubbling from somewhere deep within her. Among the eleven cats, I met Pia, an elder herself who doesn’t move much anymore. The room was filled with plants, vines, cats, feathers, and curios that have become part of the personality of her home.
The studio was a separate building across the yard from the house. The short distance revealed the interests of the couple living there. I commented on the sailboat, flower gardens, and wild birds feeding close by. It was a rainy day and quite chilly so the wood-burning stove warming the studio for our three-hour appointment felt welcoming.
I asked how Mary liked to work with people, and how she connected two different mind and body approaches. She said, “I like to get to know people, understand them a bit and then start exercising.” Mary sees a bridge linking Pilates physical movements and Jung’s psychology since the mind and body are one and are affected by one another. “Anything that makes you reach into yourself through physical limits helps complete the self and brings about growth and healing,” she explained. She uses Jungian typology to better understand her client’s ability to go deeply into the breathing and choreography of the exercises. Her psychological work makes her believe we are all driven towards a desire for wholeness in the development of our psyche. Mary states, “Pilates is never learned once and for all. As you access and grow yourself, you grow in the work which should always be changing in you and in your teaching – if you are developing into yourself!” (2003) To this end, Mary strongly recommends weekly classes for all teachers, and she models that behavior.
We began with conversation and lots of questions about me. She asked about my business, staff and relationship dynamics, husband, and pets. My responses led her to determine that my first and conscious function is Intuitive with Thinker as second. She explained that by age 55, I would be well into my unconscious third and fourth functions of Feeling and Sensate. In review of Mary’s lecture brochure, A Graphic Guide to Jungian Typology as it applies to Pilates, I agree with her.
Mary made suggestions and asked questions throughout the entire workout. She switched from observations, feedback, and instructions about my physical performance to conversation about my life’s details. The physical workout began with a brief visual and hands on assessment of my posture. She viewed me from all sides, placed her hands on my hips, and announced that I am truly an American. I am a car driver. My left hip hikes and my right hip rotates forward as a result. Sleeping positions may help correct the misalignments.
Mary never stopped exercising me as she spoke and gave manual cues. She related my body issues to my Intuitive first function, explaining that I am not well grounded in my body. I tend to multi-task…get the whole picture at once, and have a hard time settling down. “Let your body do it – let go. Breathe. Yawn”, she instructed me. Being a Sensate in the fourth function makes my physical body uptight. She said I should be, and am moving nicely towards my unconscious fourth function of Sensate, which is demonstrated by the strong leadership challenges in my work. Even Jupiter, my cat, tries to get the best of me. “You should change that relationship. Show him strength. He’ll be surprised and then show you respect”, she advised me.
Another priority for our session evolved as she talked again of my journey towards Sensate and how it relates to the tightness in my ribcage. I must deal with the mechanics of life, be practical and animal, but mostly be grounded and experience my body. She talked about the body freedom of being an animal. “Lengthen through release and not from the tension of pulling up”, she explained. This phrase struck a deep place within me and I asked why that free feeling is a bit frightening for me. Mary answered, “Moving into your body and away from the airy side, not controlling, is a bit of a test and could feel scary.” She encouraged me to yawn again. “A yawn is your body’s attempt at being more present, not boredom. All animals yawn and no animal tries to stop it. They experience it.”
Undoubtedly, the most challenging exercise was the Inversion Table. I didn’t like the look of it and liked it less as Mary strapped my feet in place and turned me upside down. I was nervous nearly to the point of panic and sure I was going to fall out of the ankle straps and onto my head. Very scary! Mary assured me this was an excellent way for me to be in my body’s experience of the moment. I felt that I had not control. She had me do it twice.
As an exercise system, Pilates has changed over the years. Traditional Reformer, Cadillac, and Wunda Chair equipment exercises have been adapted to stability balls, therapeutic foam rollers, and elastic bands. Many interpretations of the original work now exist but the philosophy is explained by Pilates himself in Return to Life Through Contrology, first published in 1945. The first sentence is, “Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.” (p. 9) About the union of mind and body Pilates writes, “Contrology begins with mind control over muscles”. (p. 10)
The importance of breath and proper breathing is remarkable. “To breathe correctly”, Pilates wrote, “you must completely exhale and inhale, always trying very hard to squeeze every atom of impure air from your lungs…” (p. 13)
Regarding wholeness and integration, Mary says “…with years of patient development the 4th Function can turn around and become our greatest gift, our strength. Until development is achieved, no matter what type on is, the 4th Function will be experienced negatively.” (2003)
The complex map of the psyche of Jungian psychology also encourages the wholeness of body, mind, and spirit. Mary uses both physical movement and psychology in her approach to health. Her gift to Pilates is to find and explore the depth of the psyche and its influence on physical performance.
