Proust and Pilates with Alexa
About the series… we’re excited to announce our new feature on our blog called, Proust and Pilates. If you’re like me you skip straight to the last page when you buy vanity fair to read the latest celeb Proustian interview then you will get this! And, we’re calling in proust and Pilates for obvious reasons. Please enjoy our first feature!
Interviewee: Alexa Xavier
Your fav virtue: If we're talking Cardinal virtues then I would say Prudence. It's associated with wisdom, insight and knowledge. I've always been someone who likes to be in the know. It shows up in my passion for always adding to my knowledge and experience as well as my less virtuous trait of loving a bit of gossip.
Fav qualities in a human: I love a person who is dependable. I respect boundaries in friendships and relationships, and I love knowing who I can go to for actual or emotional help. I love knowing that someone is going to show up when they say they will, even if it's not always perfect.
Chief characteristic: I would say authenticity. I spent a lot of my younger life trying to be what I thought everyone wanted me to be, and it feels good to now be so rooted in who I am and what I like about myself.
What do you appreciate most in your friends: I love friends who manage to be honest and dependable but also love to share a little gossip and can poke fun at me when I need to be convinced out of a thought-spiral.
What do you value most about community: I love being a part of someone feeling seen and truly seeing themsleves. We spend a lot of our lives hoping someone will connect with us and understand us for who we truly are and when community forms and we start to see and care for our true selves and each other, it's pretty special!
Favourite Pilates exercise to teach: I really love to help people demystify their breath and allow them to see how paying attention to the expansion of their ribcage and the movement of breath in their body can make a challenging exercise and/or area of the body much more comfortable. I find that I especially like changing people's relationship to side bridge.
If you could have any other profession what would it be: If I wasn't cursed with both a dairy allergy and Celiac disease I probably would have gone to culinary school. In a dream world I can blend my love for cooking and movement!
What do you appreciate most in your Pilates Practice: I love failing and trying again. My relationship to exercise is a story that has constantly been changing; the way that I experience, play with, and/or modify exercises has been what has really informed my teaching over the years.
Your main fault: I am that tricky combo of highly sensitive and stubborn. I will start something that I cannot finish -in literally any respect, and will be grovelling sooner or later.
Your favourite occupation: Teaching movement, duh! I've done a minimum of two dozen different jobs in my life and this has been what I have loved the most, learned from the most, and honestly is the only thing I've ever stuck with!
Your idea of happiness: Spending the day vintage/antique hunting and strolling through a farmer's market and ending it sitting in the early evening sun with a beautiful meal, my pup Lunie, my partner, ideally wearing a fun outfit eating and drinking off of cute dishes and glassware.
If not yourself who/what would you like to be: In a totally different life I think being a farmer would have been interesting, challenging and rewarding.
Where would you like to live: Probably Oaxaca although I’ve never been!
Your fav heroes of fiction: Elle Woods has been an icon for me forever!
Your fav heroes of real life: Agnes Varda was a very special human who’s worked and perspective I’ve always admired.
Your Muse(s): Agnes Varda, Elle Woods, Jenny Holzer
Favourite Pilates exercises to do: I love to side bend! It always feels great and helps me connect to breath, frontal plane awareness and my connection to the ground!
Something you learned this past year: This year I learned a lot about valuing my time. Coming from a family of workaholics I’ve always scheduled myself silly and I’m now learning the value of time off and rest!
Your motto: “F*ck around and find out!”