This week, we are looking at another exercise (and apparatus) that found its way into modern Pilates teaching: the beanbag!
Like last week’s post, the beanbag exercise is also inspired from old-timey wrestling and bodybuilding training regimens (where the same exercise is still alive and well). The setup couldn’t be simpler; a dowel, a string, and a weight serve to set your forearms on fire, and strengthen and mobilize your fingers and wrists all while performing one simple move. You roll the weight groundwards, and upwards, and adjust the exercise by reducing or increasing the weight or the duration of the action (by standing on top of a Wunda Chair, for example).
The cover image is from one of the many books on bodybuilding and health published in the United States in the early 1900s: The Way To Live by George Hackenschmidt (in the book, you’ll find several exercises that found their way into the Pilates method)
But, historically, the beanbags (Joseph Pilates’ choice of weight here) also served a different purpose as part of an obscure “head dress” apparatus. From what we can tell, this apparatus was predominantly used in Joseph Pilates’ work with dancers. Check out this video of Anna Woolley Shaffer using the “head dress” in the original studio:
The weighted bar provides important postural feedback and requires immense balance, control, and awareness over the position of the head. The “head dress” has not found its way into mainstream teaching, but showcases just how far Joseph Pilates would go to solve movement problems!
Back to the more common use of the Beanbag, we can see how an exercise can change its meaning in a different context. Outside of Pilates, its main purpose is to strengthen your forearms and work dexterity. In Pilates, we tend to emphasize the focus on challenging the upright posture and working the back muscles (simply by not collapsing against the weight held out in front of the body).
All in all, the Beanbag is a nifty little tool that deserves to be placed in plain view in every Pilates studio—so, pull it out from under the Cadillac ????