March MATness
Each March, Pilates enthusiasts from around the world unite, to share their love of Pilates with a daily mat exercise/s, some do it in the snow, some in forests, and some on surfboards. Participating in March MATness creates a beautiful Pilates community and an awareness around the world.
I must be honest, I have known about March MATness and have followed it for years. But never taken part for reasons unknown. Maybe it was that I felt digitallyLY challenged or because so many of the Pilates exercises are very challenging, but I have decided to do it my way, with modifications for my over 50 body where I need them. Having a better understanding of how to do posts, I’m going to give it bash this year.
Now you might ask, why on earth? Well, why not? It’s going to be fun.
Did you know that the March MATness hashtag was used on average 1 200 times a day?
So who started March MATness and why?
Pilates instructor, Benjamin Degenhardt, went on holiday in 2012 armed with his smartphone and Joseph Pilates’ original book “Return to Life through Contrology.” While on holiday he documented his Pilates workouts and created a folder of each of his Pilates exercises to share online to start conversations about the original mat work.
By the end of the first year, his audience asked if he would be doing it again the following year and so March MATness became an annual event.
“The concept couldn’t be simpler: following the same schedule each year, every day in March is dedicated to one Pilates exercise, sometimes two. The posts have run the gamut from artsy photography, educational tutorials, poems and drawings, and have allowed the global Pilates community to connect in a powerful and positive way.”
How you can participate.
I’ve attached the March MATness Calendar below so that you can join in the fun. I have used the names of each exercise as I call them in our studio and the hashtags are from Benjamin Degenhardt.
The idea is simple, every day during or after you’ve done the relevant Pilates exercise/s for the day listed on the calendar, take a photo and share it on social media using the relevant hashtag for the exercise.
This year Benjamin has added some love notes:
“Thank you notes to Pilates.”
‘Share with the world what your thank you notes sound and look like; think about what your Mat has done for you this past year, how your practice may have changed, and what it feels like to recommit to your practice on the Mat again for 31 days.
The caption theme is just another way for us all to connect and unite in our shared passion. If you want to participate, be sure to tag @360pilatesonline and @marchmatness, and use the hashtag #mmthankyou.”
Will you join us this year?
