This Mat & Chat was hosted on on Instagram Live on Saturday, November 7th, 2020. The chat followed a 25 minute mat workout.
Victoria: If you are unfamiliar with Jordan, she’s been around the Instagram game for quite some time. So, I wanted to start the chat portion today by talking about that, actually. We sort of spoke about this yesterday on the phone. You started this Instagram account that you have a long time ago, and you have a big following. I think that most people are familiar with your name and your brand and I think it’s because it’s very specific- it’s very curated, and you’re very particular about the way that you post. For a long time you were only posting in black and white, but then you started adding in pops of color! So I wanted to talk to you about how you started your Instagram and why you think it resonated so much.
Jordan: Well, I started Instagram- I think we talked about it yesterday- I was trying to be creative in a different way. I would talk about “the language of flowers” and I would put pictures of flowers at the farmer’s market, and I’d look at what the meaning of them was. So then I started asking myself: “Okay, what do I want to project? What do I want to say? What is my voice saying?” And I thought- just start posting Pilates. And that’s kind of how it started. I had to kind of shift gears and go right into what I know and what I love. My Instagram just developed as I drew from all of my history of movement and from the artistry that I have developed over my lifetime. I think that’s really how it started.
Like you said, I’m very specific. I’m very specific with lighting, and design- I know that it feels like it’s over-designed sometimes-but I wanted to create a certain type of feeling. And that was it- I always wanted to just focus on the work. So highlights were- making everything around the work highlight the work. So I think that’s maybe why people like it? I tried to make it super creative with different apps and music for a while and then that got tired, so I stopped doing that, and then I had a baby, but it was black and white because some of my most favorite photographs are all in black and white and it’s stark, some of it’s romantic, its very clean as well. Sometimes if there’s too much jumble, it gets confusing. I was also looking at the whole page- I wasn’t just looking at the shot. So when you go to someone’s page, there’s a visual there that you want to see as well. What does that do for you emotionally? I always go like: “Okay, how does this work? Should I save this post for another day? How does this look on the grid?” So I’m not necessarily overthinking about it, but I might think: “Oh, these would look really cool if I did these in the next day.”
Also, people weren’t doing the advanced stuff. Pilates was new on Instagram when I was- well, not new, but people weren’t really posting the work. I’m such a nerd- I’m such a Pilates nerd, and I love it so much to go deeper into it. It was just so important to me. I wanted to film squirrel, I wanted to film stomach jumping. And I got backlash for it! It was really funny!
Victoria: Why!?
Jordan: Somebody said: “You’re going to hurt yourself!” I mean you and I met because someone said something similar. I mean, people don’t know, and that’s fine! That’s fine if I get the backlash, because I want people to understand that this is the work. Some of the stuff, while I might not be doing it amazingly, I’m trying my very hardest to do it the best that I can. It’s really fun to do the stuff that people haven’t seen. One of my favorite ones that I did was all of the knee stretches. I did Tinkerbell, and the Michael Jackson, and the single leg, and knees off- it was a whole series of those just to show people that aspect of the work, too.
Victoria: Obviously, based on the following you’ve gained and the following you still have, that people are attracted to seeing that kind of stuff. I asked you: “Can you send me a few pictures of you doing Pilates?” because that’s how I advertise on my feed before the Mat & Chat and [Jordan] sent me three of her doing Pilates, and all of them were so amazing.
Jordan: Thank you.
Victoria: Yesterday I was in the studio and one of my clients or maybe one of the apprentices was like: “Who is that and oh my God!” I just chose one at random. The three that you sent- they were all beautiful! There was no losing there. So I posted one and the girls were chatting about you, I was like: “I know you guys- and she sent others and they were equally as beautiful and as advanced.” We can see pictures of teasers all day long- and teaser is so hard- you saw me struggle with it- but to see some of this super advanced and intricate work? People are so attracted to it. And once I posted that on my feed- you saw! The comments! People were like: “Oh my gosh! Will I ever be able to do this?” Maybe! It’s gold. People love looking up to something that they can aspire to, and I think that’s probably where a lot of that following and support comes from.
Jordan Thank you so much. For me, it’s never-ending. The one that you did post? I see: “Oh, but I could have done this there. Let’s make this stronger! Let’s push more! Let’s lift here!” So I continue to see the growth even in that.
Victoria: Yeah- I think that’s one of the beautiful things about Pilates. We’ve spoken about this before, but it is never-ending. You’re never done in Pilates.
Jordan: Never. It’s a journey! And there are bumps in the road- I mean this past week, has been like: “How do we manage this?” You know people manage that in different ways.
Victoria: There are so many places I want to go, and so many opportunities for me to go places with the tidbits you’re giving. We said you’re never done with Pilates, but similarly you have a background in figure skating. Are you ever done learning to be a better figure skater? Or better dancer? Or what-have-you. They all come together, you’re always working towards the next level. Although, you made it pretty far- so maybe there was nowhere else for you to go with figure skating!
Jordan: No, no, no. I stopped figure skating- I don’t want to say burnt out? Because I started figure skating at 2, moved away at 12, we qualified for our first nationals at 12, and then we qualified (with my partner- I did ice dancing) and then for the next two years we also qualified. After that- I don’t want to say burnt out, but I knew I needed to grow in a different direction. I kept skating after I had stopped skating with my partner and moved home. I lived in Boston for a few years with different families, so that was amazing. It’s kind of like going to college when you’re 12, when you leave home. So when I did go to college, I was kind of like: “Whatever, mom. See you later!”
Victoria: Yeah, you’re like: “Been there, done that!”
Jordan: Yeah, it was fine. That was a pivotal point in my growth as a person and in my personal career as a mover. It catapulted me into super drive of me learning about my body and movement. When you learn that from that young, you kind of carry it on and take it with you on your journey. That’s what I do now.
Looking back, it can be a blessing and a curse. Because of the fact that you are trained so highly in one way, your body becomes so efficient in that way, so it may have deficiencies in other ways, so that’s when the Pilates kind of brings you back into balance. So when I was posting a lot, and this came up recently, and the person was like: “Why don’t you move more flowy and connected? Why aren’t you moving this way?” I had to think about it and go: “I love moving that way, but now after having a child and having to relearn all of the work, I had to relearn where I am in my body personally.” It is slower, it is more methodical. It is not as showy or as flashy. Now, I’m posting more technique because that’s personally where I am in my journey. Sometimes I’ll do more- I did thread the needle the other day, and that was super fun. It was really hard, it was challenging and, I tried to make it aesthetically beautiful for people to see. That’s another one that a lot of people do.
As far as now, people change. We grow, and I’m growing in this way now. Sure, I did squirrel prep the other day, and I tried it for shits & giggles to see if I could do it after baby. Of course my body wasn’t completely ready, but I didn’t hurt myself and it was super fun.
Victoria: Yeah, so talking about- well, obviously you said this, but just to be clear, you had a baby. How old is our son?
Jordan: Yes, a son. His name is Marius. He’s two and a half.
Victoria: Yeah, so two and a half years of you recovering, you have a new body now. I have a client who I work with and her daughter just turned 3, and she had a C-section, and we are still working to her pre-baby body. It’s a journey; it takes a long time.
Jordan: Oh yeah. I also had a Caesarian. I really was playing by the rules. I had heard that when you get pregnant, if you’re super tight in your stomach muscles, if your rectus is super connected and super tight, then you’re more inclined to have a separation. And I did! I had some lower abdominal separation, so that was really hard. And it’s hard to see in photos, because I’m trying so hard- and I posted about this- I was doing a weepy post that day. It’s a definite recovery bringing all of that back together. I did physical therapy- I actually went to physical therapy to learn how to move and to pull everything in. I did it until I realized that I didn’t really like where she was going- this sounds terrible. But I got the foundation of where she was going, and then I was like: “I’m done.” So I stopped and then just continued on my own. So after that, I continued to do pre-Pilates. I took some online classes with my old teacher and realized: “Okay, I’m not going to do that anymore.” And then we sold my apparatus, because I just didn’t have the room in our tiny apartment in LA. When we moved, I was just doing mat work. I was getting to train at Trish’s in the valley! Trish Garland. She’s a Romana studio. So I trained there, and that really helped-working with her. I think I did ten sessions, and then we moved.
Not until recently have I gotten my studio back from Los Angeles that I’ve really been able to dig in, consistently. And that’s when I’ve seen the most change this year, where I’ve really been able to do as much as I can with equipment. I had the reformer from Balanced Body sent to Colorado, and that was really helpful to start me on the journey of reincorporating all of my studio back into my body, and the work back into my body.
Victoria: Yeah, and you basically covered the question, but like I said, people send me questions if they have any for you, and one of them was basically that she wanted to hear about your journey back from pregnancy- the things you did and the things that you avoided, if there is anything you avoided when you went back to movement.
Jordan: You know, I didn’t really do a lot of flexion for about a year. I did a lot of stabilization, I did a lot of elongation, I did a lot of reconnection. I did do flexion, but I didn’t do as much as I’m doing now, because I really wanted to heal that separation and diastatis recti- when the muscles separate. I was all belly. I was very lucky that I was all belly. I stopped moving early. I did a lot of seated stuff, I did a lot of standing stuff when I was pregnant because it just didn’t feel good. I know some people love Pilates when they’re pregnant, but I’m just not one of those people.
Victoria: Yeah, it’s a different journey for everybody!
Jordan: I’m a mover; I love to move. But for whatever reason, I just needed to pull everything in. Pull everything into my body and encourage more lift in my body. What’s changed is my perception of the work in my body. I just did it before, and I didn’t have the consciousness in certain places in my bod because I was so strong from being an athlete and a dancer. Now, breaking the work down and building it back up, I’m stronger than before baby, which is amazing! I’m actually making connections that I never had before because I had to start over. So starting over is not a bad thing, it just really hurts your ego. *laughs*
Victoria: Not gonna lie, I feel like I am starting over right now. I’ve seen all of these memes going around on the internet that during this quarantine/Covid/seven month period, people have said: “This has been so long that I’ve already gotten into and fallen back out of shape.” In the beginning we were all stuck at home, working out like crazy, and we’re like: “Wow! This is the fittest I’ve ever been!” Then it got tired, felt a little old, and then now I’m like ugh! I’m getting back into it! I do feel like sometimes you have to reset and re-approach. It’s a great way for you to figure out what was lacking before, and allows you to refocus on yourself and your body.
Jordan: Yeah, for sure. While this was happening, I put some blogs out, and I did a v-log, and everything was actually about consciousness. What you’re speaking about- Covid, being in isolation, being quarantined- there was a moment like: “Let’s get back into shape,” but there was also an opportunity to work on the other part of us as well, and that’s what I mainly wrote about and talked about while being in quarantine, how we have to work on the rest of our body and how the work highlights that and brings it out, as far as being conscious of how we are feeling before the session and how we are feeling during the session, how we are feeling after the session. I mentioned this to you yesterday, that sometimes in my sessions I feel: “I do not like you right now, I want to go sit on my couch, and I’m really not happy doing this movement!”
Victoria: That’s how I felt with you!
Jordan Oh, I’m so sorry!
Victoria: No, I’m just kidding.
Jordan: But that’s change! Change is happening. My teacher is amazing, because she’s like: “That’s great!” Because she gets me to feel things that I don’t want to feel. And most of it’s standing. A lot of it is foundational; it’s pelvic floor, it’s feet. I have all of this stuff going on in my ankles and my hips, and my feet, and whenever I stand and feel my power- I don’t know, we’re going to go deep here- because when I stand and I’m in power, I’m like: “Whoa!” And I’m like: “I don’t like you right now,” but it does give you a different sense of where you are in your body and how you feel in there.
Victoria: Definitely.
Jordan: If you’re conscious and you’re willing to go there, the work will take you there and help you connect everything. And that’s the beauty of the method.
Victoria: And the way that we are taught through Alycea’s teacher training program- and I’m sure it was the same at Power- but you start standing, and you end standing, because that’s the power. Not only that, but you’re upright- that’s your posture. I want you walking right out the door the way we ended. So I do think there is something to be said for all of the standing work and learning how to center yourself and kind of harness that energy.
Jordan: Yes. But do you ever notice a client, if they’re in an emotional state? Do you know how to read clients if they’re in an emotional state? You have to manage that with their physical body and help them take them through the journey of that emotion. Sometimes, yes, I agree with the program of standing to end. But sometimes, if you end over the spine corrector doing the leg series (let’s say), sometimes it’s just as good for the client to end in kind of a savasana as opposed to a standing posture. I find that also to be super helpful. But yes, I do like standing, but that’s just because I like the push-ups…but that’s just me.
Victoria: *laughs* Crazy girl!
Jordan: There’s a time and a place for it all. You know me, I’m a little cuckoo with the work- I love it all.
Victoria: I want to go back to this- yesterday on the phone, when I was talking about who you are and you brand, and how we’ve gotten to know you on Instagram- because obviously knowing you on Instagram is not the same as knowing you now in this chat- you’re specific. The way that you’ve chosen to brand yourself has resonated with many people, which we discussed earlier. We spoke yesterday about how you think really everybody could use some help with, some teaching, some workshops about who we are on the Internet!
Jordan: You mean how I was taking about doing a workshop for aesthetics on their pages?
Victoria: Yup- that! That.
Jordan: I was thinking about hosting a workshop, although I don’t know who would be interested or how it would fly on the Internet, but trying to help people find their own voice in their own way and heighten themselves artistically. I was a photographer in high school- I got the photography award. My dad is an artist; it’s in my blood. I’ve always been into art. I wanted to help people understand lighting, design, camera angles, things like that. So I’m thinking about hosting a workshop to help people not copy my aesthetic- unless it speaks to them- but to help them find their own aesthetic that helps speak through them, to help them find the work and put it out their in their own way. I was thinking about doing that. I’m thinking maybe I’ll launch it in December.
Victoria: I think it’s a good idea! I had my Instagram page for a long time and didn’t really use it to it’s fullest advantage, it’s full potential at first. I wasn’t consistent about posting. I’ve had this account for over four years, so that goes to show. Probably about a year ago, I was in this organization mode and I was going back to school for the fall semester last September, and I was like, as you said: “I need to commit to this grid design with a focus on a font.” I decided I needed to be really consistent about posting and care about what it looks like. I will say- it changed everything. I felt much more confident in the messaging that I was putting out, and portraying who I am and what my brand is. It’s very important. I think it’s something that we don’t necessarily pay enough attention to, but when you do it well, people notice. And that’s important.
Jordan: I do, and it’s a feeling that you’re sending out, that you’re portraying. When you’re conscious of the feeling- light attracts light. You’re focused on what you want to say, and then people will hear that message without actually hearing it- they’ll feel it. So that’s another reason why I want to help people.
Victoria: I always say- what is it, Field of Dreams? “If you post it, they will come.” You can’t- nobody will come to your page or discuss anything unless you post something. That’s the firs step. It’s challenging to figure out who you want to be on the Internet, but I think once you actually figure it out and start executing that’s half the battle.
Jordan: You can go so deep in that! Colors have a resonation. They have different meanings and why you post I a red hue versus a blue hue has a different energetic meaning.
Victoria: Yeah, my Instagram page has a lot of dogs.
Jordan: I love dogs. Friendly, loving…
Victoria: To me, you’re a good person if you have dogs on your Instagram page.
Jordan: I like to put my dog on my Instagram page too.
Victoria: Norman only makes surprise guest appearances on mine, but if there was a way to incorporate him more, I would.
Jordan: Minnie just decides when she wants to come down and join me. Mostly she sits on my during teasers, but that’s okay.
Victoria: I have a client who I have been teaching virtually, and it’s the same thing. She’ll open the door halfway through the session and her dog will find a way to come in and be completely in the way. We’ll be doing a shoulder bridge and she’ll go right under her.
Jordan: Oh sure! She’s feeling her master’s energy and she loves it!
Victoria: It’s great.
Jordan’s Speed Round
City or beach
Sweet or savory? Both!
Cat or dog?
Adventure or comfort? Depends on the day
Books or movies?
Nights in or nights out?
Summer or winter?
Tea or coffee?
Early bird or night owl?
Pizza or pasta?
Europe or Asia? Hasn’t been to Asia!
Spring or fall?
Breakfast or dinner?