Pilates Makes My Life Better

To be a fitness instructor, you need to really love what you’re doing to teach it over and over again. And I do – I love Pilates. I love the challenge, the people I’ve met over the years, and the business I’ve built around it. The number one reason I’ve stuck with Pilates though, is because Pilates makes my life better. 

When I first started doing Pilates, I didn’t do it for any of the reasons why I do it now. Rather, I started because it was convenient, a reason to miss out on toddler bedtime one night a week, and because I love all sorts of exercise. At the time, I was teaching twelve fitness and spin classes a week, running, and doing mom things (like lifting and carrying little people). I had tightness in my body that I tolerated or didn’t even notice. After a short time doing Pilates, I started to recognize the tightness, and then it started to disappear. 

Once the pain and discomfort started to dissipate, I knew that I didn’t want to go back. Pilates helped me feel great and be more aware of how my body was feeling. Prior to Pilates I hadn’t realized how limited my mobility was, and the new alternative became a passion. 

Now, twenty years later, Pilates is still part of my routine. I’ll do Pilates after heavy strength training, intense runs, and long bike rides because I know that it will reduce the tightness I feel after those workouts. Just last week I did a 17km run (after a three-week hiatus), and I was so tight afterward. I can usually bend over and put my hands flat on the ground, but after this run I could barely reach my shins. Once upon a time I would have hobbled around for a few days and tried a few gentle stretches after pushing myself through teaching a class. Now I know better, and instead I turned to some short Pilates workouts to release a lot of tightness and pain. Whoever said “no pain, no gain” must have been crazy. I work out to feel good, not worse!

A Note On Flexibility

When I started Pilates I had no idea what I was getting into, other than I thought I had to be flexible. Many people still think this! Here’s the thing: I was wrong. Pilates will help you become more mobile, strong, and flexible. The more you do, the more you get from it, and those impossible-looking exercises (that there are modifications for, by the way) will soon be part of your repertoire. 

And if you never manage to do a full roll-up or boomerang (which feels like you’re using every muscle you have), that’s okay, too. With Pilates, you get to listen to your body and make adjustments. Today, I used the tower system and began with slower, smaller movements. The more I moved, the better I felt, and soon I could flow more easily and make bigger movements. I went from hobbling out of bed and limping down the stairs, tight from last night’s run, to feeling comfortable running up my stairs like normal. Pilates makes my life better because I can bounce back from those super-tight days, and get to keep enjoying all the things I love to do with a lot less pain.

Are you curious to see how you can move and feel better with Pilates? This spring we’re going to come together online to do Pilates every day for ten days. Join the waitlist, and you’ll get a free 15-minute class to start practicing right away. 

Join the Waitlist