When starting a puzzle I always start with the border because it frames the puzzle and gives you an idea of the location of the remaining pieces. But after that, where do you start? Do you add to the border pieces or pick a big section of the puzzle? Do you look for specific colors?
When I do puzzles I look for whatever shapes or colors jump out at me. Usually these pieces are big items or photos that make up the larger picture. So I’m taking items that contribute to the overall puzzle and then at the end I fill in the gaps with the dark colored pieces or obscure shapes. For example when I did a succulent puzzle I chose the large succulents first and did the gravel pieces last because they had similar colors. I’m working on a NASA puzzle that has a lot of NASA patches and one patch was in the center with an eagle and I did that one while my husband worked on the smaller patches.
Pilates is about connecting the pieces of a puzzle together. It’s using your mind to see the connections between the other exercises. That way when you see your client do one exercise you can know how to cue them in the next exercise or take apart an exercise and work on the individual pieces of the exercise/puzzle.
I’ll admit I struggled with this at first. I could see the exercises and the order of them but not the smaller pieces. Now that I see the connections between the exercises it helps me understand the exercises I struggle with and helps my teaching skills.
Sometimes I take an exercise and see how many different ways I can teach it, on mat and all apparatuses. And if it’s one that is especially helpful with a spring I look to see if there are other elements I can use: props, weights, or bands, to give it the feeling of having the spring’s help.