Book Review: Centered. Organizing the Body through Kinesiology, Movement Theory and Pilates Technique

Book Review: Centered. Organizing the Body through Kinesiology, Movement Theory and Pilates Technique

Author- Madeline Black, First published 2015. Edition-1^st. Format-Paperback. Pages-341

Madeline Black is a devout student and teacher of anatomy. At the beginning of her Pilates journey, in New York in the 80’s, she studied with Jean-Claude West who was integrating Rolfing techniques with his Pilates teaching. So, from the get go, her concept of being a Pilates teacher included hands-on work to facilitate movement. Toward that end, for the last 25 years she has regularly studied anatomy, doing cadaver labs and taking courses with osteopaths and other body workers, and studying body work techniques including IMT (Integrative Manual Therapy).

“Centered” is a compilation of Madeline’s years of work and study as a hands-on movement practitioner. It’s a comprehensive manual of biomechanics (is “fascia” one of your favorite words? If so, you’ll love this book); and it’s a manual of hands-on techniques to release and balance the body when there’s a restriction or poor movement pattern. Finally, it includes exercises, both Pilates and non-Pilates, to facilitate healthier movement.

No doubt about it, there is a lot of anatomy in this book. It’s packed with the latest scientific thoughts on anatomy and it’s meticulously footnoted. The illustrations are many and excellent. This is not a book written at a fifth grade reading level; this is “Anatomy of Movement” on steroids. Personally I love that. But it does use anatomy lingo. So if superior, inferior, lateral, and medial are unfamiliar terms, you’ll want to acquaint yourself with common anatomical references before diving in or your head might explode. However, if the term “thoracolumbar fascia” gets you all excited (show of hands?) then “Centered” will be right up your alley.

“Centered” is also a manual release technique book, showing many releases for virtually every part of the body using Muscle Energy Techniques (similar to PNF stretching). Some releases you will be able to do for yourself and some will require a practitioner (and some are designed to do with a practitioner but, with a little creativity, you can do yourself). Some of these exercises and release techniques use Pilates apparatus in innovative ways and some use just your hands or other props like a foam roller or physio ball. Team up with a colleague to practice the techniques before you start using them on clients. Find someone who’ll give you educated feedback and someone who can do the releases on you in return so you can feel what it is to be on the receiving end of the techniques (hmm, just like teaching Pilates!). I found this aspect of the book particularly exciting and am starting to integrate some of techniques in “Centered” into my teaching.

“Centered” starts with the feet and works it way up to your head, each chapter covering a different part of the body, taking a look at that part specifically and then how it relates to the rest of the body. It’s designed so that you can jump right into the section that interests you, you don’t need to read it start to finish. Shoulder issue? Jump right there.

By its nature learning the names of our individual parts can disconnect us into pieces. But “Centered” shows how we’re beautifully connected. That word gets used a lot in Pilates, “connected”. We want to address the whole body, and no, we don’t want to only see one part as separate from the others. But understanding the individual parts can help you play detective when trying to help a client (or yourself) find a better movement pattern. Ida Rolf said, “Where it is, it ain’t”, meaning where you see the restriction isn’t the source of the problem. “Centered” can help you find where it really is.

It’s difficult to teach tactile cueing/facilitation in a book. But Madeline does a great job because she’s very specific. Where, exactly, do you place your hands to mobilize the subtalar joint? Madeline will tell you! Put your thumb here, place your index finger there. Feel for this movement. When describing tactile cues or the manual releases Madeline is very thorough. But sometimes it helps to see it in action. So to accompany the book there are 32 videos on Pilates Anytime, 1hr 40 minutes in total, (you don’t need to be a Pilates Anytime member to view the videos, there is a code in the book which will grant you access to all the videos). The videos are demonstrations of releases or exercises in the book, and a few are new content. QR codes linking to the videos are throughout the book so you can scan it with your phone or tablet and go right to the video and watch it as you’re reading (or just type the address into your web browser and enter the code in the book to see them all). 3 PMA CECs are even available after watching the videos and taking a quiz. The videos are available for purchase for $69 as premium content on Pilates Anytime without needing to buy the book, but why would you do that? It’s cheaper to get the book and the video content for free.

Two teaching stories: I have a client with foot issues. Despite work we do with the Toe Corrector, Foot Corrector, and the 2×4 her toes continue to drift to the outside and her arches collapse. I did some of “Centered” ankle exercises with her: “Arches In, Arches Out”, “Standing on Pencils”, and an exercise to restore internal tibial rotation using a Balance Body spinny disc (technical name Biomechanical Asymmetry Corrector, developed by Madeline’s teacher/mentor Jean-Claude West). The change in her feet was instantaneous and remarkable. And it endured. She was able to keep her foot aligned throughout her session. And I had another client who’s hip thunked one day during Roll Downs on the Cadillac. I tried cueing him to get more space in his hip joint but he continued to thunk no matter what we tried. His outer hip struck me as congested so I did a TFL release and an IT band release from “Centered”. We tried Roll Downs again. No thunk, no restriction whatsoever. His eyes got wide and he said “Wow, you DO know what the f*** you’re doing!” That’s what the book is about, in my opinion, moments like that.

One caveat: I would say this is not a book for new teachers who are still learning the repertoire and developing their Teacher’s Eye. But once you have a good foundation in teaching Pilates this will be an invaluable resource for elevating your practice.

To buy or not to buy?

Are you kidding? This is a must-have permanent addition to your collection. It’s jam-packed with information and it will be a reference book you turn to again and again. Each time you come back to it you’ll assimilate more information that maybe you didn’t even realize was there the last time.

Full disclosure: I had dinner with Madeline Black a few months before this book came out. I mentioned that I had a great Rolfer and that my best Pilates lessons were always soon after a Rolfing sessions. She said (I’m paraphrasing), “Exactly! That’s what my book will be about.” So I knew chances were excellent that I’d like “Centered”. But I’m absolutely blown away by the amount of work and wealth of information in the book. The excellent bottle of Bordeaux she brought has nothing to do with my glowing review; it was just a beautiful bonus.

Reviewed by-Tracy Maurstad

 

Availability

Amazon (best price US$48.95+$3.99 shipping), Amazon UK (£32), and Madeline’s website madelineblack.com ($49.95+$10.50 shipping/handling in US or $30.50 International). Buying direct from Madeline’s site has higher shipping costs but will get you a personalized signed copy and free pencils, useful for the exercise “Standing on Pencils”.