Why Pilates?

There are so many factors that inform why a person gravitates towards one movement practice vs another. One driving factor for why we choose to do what we do is the perceived purpose that exercise serves in our lives. Do you exercise to fit into a pair of jeans? Build muscle? Prevent Injury? Pick up your grandchild without pain? And this perceived purpose is not static, it evolves with time, our lived experiences or can be altered by our experience with the movement itself. My relationship with exercise has certainly evolved during my 31 years, but I feel extremely confident when I say that Pilates will be an ongoing part of my life from here on out. Below are 10 reasons why I have chosen to incorporate Pilates not only into my exercise regimen, but also make it my career!

Functional Movement: Pilates is not the only form of exercise I do, however, Pilates IS the foundation, the functional movement practice, that INFORMS all other movement in my life. And I mean everything! From biking 40+ miles/week to how I sit in a car for a 4+ hour road trip.

Longevity: Many of my Pilates clients are in their 60s, 70s, even 80s. And while I’ve never cared much about running a sub X-minute mile, I do care about staying active until the very end! Pilates builds strength, improves flexibility, teaching stability, and facilitates healthy joint play, all important factors in maintaining a healthy, able body as we age.

Accessibility: No matter your age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, or location in the world you can practice Pilates. All you truly need is a mat. It’s a goal of mine for 2020 to provide FREE resources that anyone can access here on my site.

For Every Body: Pilates exercises can be tailored to the needs of each student. By adjusting spring tension you can provide more or less support, by shortening or lengthening levers you can promote increased flexibility or prioritize stability, and by breaking down exercises you can make them accessible for those with an injury. Even in a group class Pilates exercises should be taught in a way that’s accessible for both novice and expert students.

Goal Oriented: I no longer focus on calories burned or losing 5 pounds, goals that were destructive to my mental health. Instead I focus on refining muscle engagement, adding complexity or building strength to perform exercises that were once outside my body’s capabilities.

Based in Stability: Centering is one of the 6 Pilates Principles. Every exercise is rooted in and informed by a strong foundation for our spine. By creating a strong support system through our abdominals, pelvic floor and hip complex (glutes, hip flexors, hip ab/adductors) we can then begin to explore mobilization or increased resistance/weight safely!

Repetition: The classical Pilates order by Joseph Pilates himself is an advanced series that is done in his specific order, it stays the same every time. By performing these exercises with repetition (or more modified versions of these exercises) you begin to notice improvement in strength, flow, flexibility and precision with each class. This classical repertoire provides consistent feedback about your progress and also creates the muscle memory that leads to more informed movement out in the real world.

Variety: In contrast to the repetition inherently provided by the classical mat repertoire mentioned above, Pilates can also provide great variety. With so many different pieces of equipment, there is always something new to practice! Even on the mat, small props can provide limitless possibilities that assist or challenge both novice and expert movers.

Morning Workout Friendly: My morning routine informs how the rest of my day will unfold. While I’ve always loved the idea of working out in the morning, cardio and HIIT always made me feel nauseous, but not Pilates. Now, as an Instructor, I work out in between clients throughout the day, but when I was a student I always found Pilates to be the best way to start my day.

Studio Atmosphere: I really dislike large gyms. I love the more intimate, boutique Pilates studio setting because of the sense of community.

I’m curious to know, what movement makes you excited, feel strong, and is fun?! Let me know in the comments!