WELL AWARE 39: Erika Bloom on Pilates, Bodywork, Body Reading, and Unpacking Self-Love

Photo credit: Live the Process; edit by Lindsay Mueller

Erika Bloom is one of the most literate bodyworkers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. I trekked to her Upper East Side studio—which was kind of a big deal, because I don’t particularly enjoy venturing above 14th street—prior to our interview to see what the buzz was about. This was once upon a time in 2017.

Photo credit: Varley; edit by Lindsay Mueller 

I had my (completely unfounded) doubts. The best somatic experiences I’ve had have come from scrappy yoga teachers or humble bodyworkers, not celebrity teachers who look like supermodels themselves. Expecting a challenging session on some combination of the cadillac and the reformer, I was floored by Erika’s process and intuition. She read my body head to toe, front to back, and silently decided on a gentle plan of action. We did some small, targeted movements for which the breath was central, but our hour together was focused on bodywork and release. Bodywork! I thought I came for pilates and there she was, giving me one of the best myofascial releases I’ve ever had.

Since that session, we’ve enjoyed several meals and yoga classes together. Our discussions meander from super nerdy-healing topics like how ancestral trauma affects our health and romantic relationships to practical ones like how to really listen to the body, what it’s like to live with autoimmune issues, and more. This conversation is one of those fly-on-the-wall scenarios, an accurate representation of what an hour with Erika is like.

Photo credit: Live the Process; edit by Lindsay Mueller

Another reason I wanted her on the show? Erika Bloom’s 600-hour certification program is arguably the most comprehensive pilates training in the world. Aside from the traditional mat and apparatus techniques, Bloom has modernized the training by including material from modern sources she’s studied, experienced, and trusts: Alexander technique, Body-Mind Centering by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Zero Balancing by Fritz, the tenets of rolfing by Ida Rolf, and more. This makes our conversation—and any conversation with Bloom relating to the body, mind, and spirit—so rich.

Photo credit: A Wild Dove; edit by Lindsay Mueller

In our conversation, Erika and I discuss:

• her body reading technique and “building a library of possibilities”
• the new somatic material that’s interesting to her right now (hint: it has to do with fascia,which happens to be an obsession of mine too)
• why you don’t need to “feel the burn” to increase muscular strength
• her personal movement, meditation, and home organization practices
• how over-doing cardio can lead to health issues
• where she misunderstood self-love
• her preferred bodywork modalities like zero balancing by Fritz
• her best advice for new teachers, especially if you have anxiety

Thank you for listening and as always, let me know what you think.

Photo credit: Madison Birnbaum; edit by Lindsay Mueller

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