Embracing Spontaneity and Silliness: Eurovision Inspired

Reflecting on my once yearly hit of The Eurovision Song Contest and how it inspires me to loosen up

Are you feeling fabulous??

Dive with me into the unexpected synergy between two seemingly unrelated worlds: the Eurovision Song Contest and the Pilates Method.

Let’s explore how the essence of Eurovision's OTTness can infuse your Pilates (or any movement) practice with renewed energy and joy.

I see connections between life, movement, and Pilates everywhere. So, whether you're a Eurovision enthusiast, a Pilates aficionado, or simply someone seeking a fresh perspective on movement or fitness, this post offers insights into how we can move with a newfound sense of freedom and fun. (plus you can take a peek at how my weird-o brain sees the world) Man that was a long sentence - sorry…

MY EUROVISION STORY: some background

If you’ve been in my orbit for a while you’ll know that I’m a Eurovision fan.

I came to the song contest relatively late in life a few years after we’d moved to Australia. It was 2011 and somehow on a Friday night this sparkly, crazy, worldwide event showed up on the telly and we (the hubby, kiddo, and I) Got. Sucked. In.

Now every year I get up and watch the semi-finals and final live, which in my part of Australia is 5:00AM, so yes, there’s some dedication there. (if that seems early, the now adult kiddo, who lives in Perth, is watching at 3:00AM!)

I also watch the recorded shows that are on in the evenings even though I know the outcome.

Why?

Hello, this is where the behind the scenes goss and performer interviews are interspersed with the contest; cheeky fun on offer + bts content.

I’m a FAN But Not a FANATIC!

What do I mean by that?

I’m not a fanatic because I don’t:

• listen to the songs beforehand (except Australia’s entry)

• watch the official music videos

• study the performers and their odds of winning prior to the live broadcast

• know which countries are in which semi-final (except Australia, lol)

I do:

• get up a little bit early to make a coffee

• flop down on the couch in my jammies and slippers

• aim to be surprised and entertained with no preconceived notions

Watching with “no preconceived notions” is how I experienced that very first Eurovision Song Contest when I had no idea what in the actual eff it was.

I was so, so, so enthralled with its wonderful wackiness that hasn’t changed.

What has changed is the now layered way that I watch:

• I view the I’m-going-to-need-a-nap-later-in-the-day live shows

And

• also tune into the more packaged prime time broadcasts.

Are you a Eurovision fan??? Let me know

photo by Alfonso

SPONTANEITY, SILLINESS, LAYERING

Okay, so I’ve talked about Eurovision but how exactly does it relate to Pilates again?

To reiterate…

Two things we can learn from the world’s biggest song competition? Spontaneity & Silliness

The way I watch the contest? Layered

Let’s mix these three together to enhance our Pilates practice.

EMBRACE SPONTANEITY

I know that we’re supposed to do the exercises we avoid because the hard exercises are the ones we need to focus on if we want to Uniformly Develop our bodies but…

What would happen if we did the exercises our bodies call out for because they’re easy, fun, and would just feel so good to do?

When we bring spontaneity into our Pilates practice who knows what we’ll discover or learn?

Try this:

Become a Body Detective

Here’s how:

Gather clues from how you naturally move to inform how you want to move.

Get down on your mat (or bed). What would feel good to your body? (this should be easy to answer but for some reason can be difficult) Give yourself permission to have a play. You want to embody your movement tendencies rather than just think about them.

My friend and fellow Pilates instructor teaches differently to me.

She guides her clients through a Pilates class with the freedom to ‘choose their own adventure’ asking them to decide what their body would like to do inside of an exercise.

Yes we teach the same exercises but her approach is definitely more spontaneous than my structured, let’s start from a, move to b, and then to c, style.

INFUSE SILLINESS

Hand in hand with spontaneity, aka paying attention to the feel good thing to do, is infusing silliness into our practice.

Eurovision inspires because let me tell you, it’s chock full of silliness.

Every year there are some questionable choices of staging, lighting, costumes (& costume reveals), choreography, props, song choices, etc. etc. etc.

And of course there are drinking games:

Wind machine? take a drink.

Key change? take a drink.

Pyrotechnics? take a drink

Levity (even if perhaps unplanned by the performing country) lightens things up; the chance to bask in this silliness is one of the main reasons I & probably most of the world tune in.

Still not clear? Here’s a link to one of my absolute fave performances which encapsulates everything wonderful, whacky, and silly about Eurovision in one, short, three minute hit: Cezar 2013

Seriously, you’d be full on drunk after that if you had a shot for every Eurovision trope on display

Loved that? More song links at the bottom of the post

The BENEFITS of LIGHTENING UP!

SILLINESS in YOUR PILATES or MOVEMENT PRACTICE Means:

• you’ll be less attached to the outcome and more tuned into enjoying yourself in the moment.

• you’ll be more inclined to keep pursuing something that brings you pleasure.

• when exercises or movement skills get harder it can help you to continue on (it’s a great distraction technique)

• you won’t default to being too hard on yourself when you struggle to progress with an exercise.

• you’ll create a more positive environment whether that’s in a Pilates studio, a gym, on a walking track, or in your lounge room when you turn it into a dance floor.

• you’ll be healthier because Laughing has many health benefits

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about treating what we’re doing as silly but that we don’t take ourselves too seriously!

TAKE A LAYERED APPROACH

The way I watch Eurovision, first the live, unfiltered version followed by the packaged prime time show, means that my experience is layered.

At my bleary eyed best I get the raw experience and then in the evening shows I get to fill in the details with the back stage interviews and commentary. Plus I’m seeing the performances again so I can pay attention to different aspects that I might not have noticed (see “bleary eyed” above)

Use This Concept of Layering in Your Pilates Practice

If you’re learning a new exercise, or revisiting one you haven’t done for a while, at first you’ll just give the choreography a red hot go and do your best. It’ll most likely be raw and not super smooth, heck you might even say it has a level of spontaneity.

As you repeat the exercise, not only in the original class or session, but as you continue in your practice over time, it becomes familiar. This allows you the chance(s) to finesse and fine tune each time you practice it.

Surprise! This layering and repetition is actually how we learn.

Layers schmayers, Charlie doesn’t care - just give her a soft mat and she’s happy as

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Is there a link between Eurovision and Pilates? Of course there is!

Embracing Spontaneity

If we can incorporate some spontaneity into our lives and our Pilates practice we’ll find the ability to be fully present.

Becoming Body Detectives and taking the time to discover the types or styles of movement that make our bodies feel good is a delicious gift to ourselves.

Infusing Silliness

Eurovision's def got some entertaining performances and if you can find some of that playfulness in your Pilates practice you’ll reap many benefits.

Layered Learning

I have a multi-dimensional experience watching Eurovision and you can apply that to how you learn new exercises

• first the raw approach, rough as guts

• next refine bit by bit each time you practice the exercise

• finally, fingers crossed, find finesse (and it appears, alliteration!)

Finally

The more you explore and the more you can learn about your body and how it works the more you’ll enjoy your Pilates or movement practice.

I always remember that Joseph Pilates said we should live our lives “with spontaneous zest and pleasure” which is just the perfect sentiment, don’t you think?

So off you go… On or off your mat be silly and be spontaneous,

xBec

P.S. Here are some more Eurovision song recommends:

2nd place from 2018 Fuego

The winner from 2023 Tattoo

2023’s runner up Cha Cha Cha

And, 2014’s winner Rise Like A Phoenix

Photo by Will Myers on Unsplash

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and Rebecca Forde disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this post