Variations are Overrated

I’m personally not a huge fan of variations. Although variety is great and it’s fun to do something different every once in a while, I always choose effectiveness over creativity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m actually one of those rare people who like change (most humans are very uncomfortable with change). But I prefer substance over fluff. The problem I see with too much creativity is that just because I CAN do a certain movement, doesn’t mean I SHOULD do it or it has any special value. I guess that’s very classical of me. ;)

Occasionally I come across a contemporary variation, such as Pliés on top of the Cadillac (must be a current member to access link), that is just brilliant, feels so good and achieves something no other exercise does. I still caution new teachers from embracing every new variation they find on the interwebs without asking themselves why they should do it. What’s so special about it, other than it being different? Just because something’s different doesn’t mean it’s good. Just because someone somewhere taught it and filmed it, doesn’t mean you should be doing it, too. I’ve tried variations I’ve seen on Instagram and they look really good, but they didn’t feel good. I might have gotten some detail wrong that changed the exercise, who knows. Use common sense. Be your own authority. Teach what you know.