Why is it Called... Elephant

If you've ever wondered why we call the exercise, "Elephant", here are a few reasons that I've been taught over the years.

One simple answer is because, during the exercise, the position of your body is like the shape of an elephant's body. Hmmm.... kind of. I've heard that answer, but I've also learned other reasons why its called Elephant that sound much more interesting!

One of my teachers once told me to imagine that my body was an elephant's body, with the head facing the other way around. My legs were the trunk. The idea was to swing my legs freely, the same way an elephant swings its trunk.

I love that image of an elephant swinging its trunk! That was taught to me at least eight years ago and I still think of it all the time and use it in my teaching.

I was once in a workshop with Bob Liekens and he told a story of how Joseph Pilates actually came up with the name, Elephant. He said that one day, a client came in to see Joe and asked, "Can you give me an exercise to get rid of this elephant butt?". He came up with the exercise, and said, "This is for the 'elephant'"!

How cool is that story!

If anyone reading this has learned other reasons why its called Elephant, or how other exercises got their names, totally feel free to comment and enlighten us.

For photos of the actual exercise and more information about Elephant, check out my other post, "Elephant":
http://headsuponyourbody.blogspot.com/2008/04/elephant.html