When I first told my friends and family that I was going to train to become a Pilates instructor I got more than a few surprised looks, most likely because I had spent the past 20 years working in real estate development in London (UK). Forget the obvious work/life balance reasons for a minute; Why Pilates? What is Pilates?
Here is my story. I had spent 20 years working mainly in an office environment, there were meetings to go to and site visits to make but my job was fairly sedentary, add to that a lengthy commute on public transport, I spent most of my day sitting down. I thought of myself as an active person, I had a dog to walk and liked to go to spin classes and the gym a couple of times a week, but I felt lethargic, had lots of aches and pains and suffered from migraines that seemed to be appearing more frequently.
One thing I began to understand about humans and physical activity is that if we sit for most of the day, then go full steam into a class or the gym session, our body is unlikely to respond well. Simply put, unless we are training for something specific, we are designed to move more frequently at a more sensible tempo with the occasional burst of cardio. At the time I did not recognise or appreciate this, I was getting my daily exercise in and that was all that mattered. But, I was feeling terrible after my spin classes, I felt exhausted, my neck pain and tension headaches got worse and I wasn’t noticing any positive changes from my gym sessions. I appreciate that stress, diet, sleep patterns etc all play their part but my focus at the time was exercise and I knew I needed to change something.
There was a studio near my office called Ten Health & Fitness that taught reformer Pilates classes, they also offered Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Personal Training and Massage so it felt more like a health clinic than a gym. They had an offer introducing you to reformer classes so after a bit of research I decided to give it a go.
I started once a week, then twice, then I was averaging three times a week. The classes were about 45 minutes so I could just about get away with going in my ‘lunch break’. After about a month or so I started to notice a difference with my neck and shoulder pain, my body shape was changing, more toned, and I felt less stressed. I was still walking my dog (a Hungarian Vizsla so needed a lot of exercise) and going to the gym to do a light workout once a week but my main source of movement and exercise was reformer Pilates.
To be honest I had never heard of equipment Pilates before I started going to Ten, but having experienced the changes in my body and general wellbeing, I got interested. At this point a few life changing events happened, I decided to leave my job/career and move to Canada with my partner for a bit of an adventure. He had a job lined up (as an Osteopath) but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and then Tony found the Embody School of Pilates in Canmore, Alberta. I had started to take mat Pilates classes in the UK as well as reformer but I had no idea the extent of the Pilates method of exercise until I read the syllabus for the Classical Teacher Training diploma at Embody.
Coming from a completely different career and industry the diploma was perfect. We would learn the history of Pilates, how to assess bodies, postural analysis, teaching techniques and skills, how to teach groups as well as 1:1, a full module on anatomy, pain science and how to work with special populations, covering over 50 common health problems and injuries. That was all before learning all of the beginner to advanced exercises on all of the equipment; the reformer, mat, tower/cadillac, wunda chair, barrels and small equipment. 500+ exercises in a 850 hour program (no wonder they gave us 12 months to complete it). The icing on the cake was that we had an entire module on how to start up and run a Pilates teaching business, how to market and general life skills adapting to a new career.
One thing I cannot gloss over is the history of Pilates. It is not commonly known that the exercises, equipment and apparatus were originally created by one man, Joseph Pilates (hence the name) and it dates back to the 1920s. I won’t go into too much detail here as you can easily look up his story, but there are two quotes from his book ‘Return to Life Through Contrology’ that really stuck in my mind;
“All in all we do not give our bodies the care that our wellbeing deserves”
“Accordingly, since we are living in this Modern Age we must of necessity devote more time and more thought to the important matter of acquiring physical fitness”
The book I am referring to, was first published in 1945, he was calling the 1940s a ‘Modern Age’, imagine what that means for us 80 years later! He really was ahead of his time with his statements and observations relating to our health, wellbeing, exercise and rehabilitating the human body.
A certain global pandemic interfered a little bit with my training, but I passed my exams and started my teaching business in September 2020.
I found myself in an environment where Pilates was not that well known, this time as a teacher trying to make a living. I started by teaching some mat classes (and then had to stop because of government restrictions) but I could teach 1:1 so I persuaded some of my class attendees to try the equipment, and that’s when people really started to appreciate the Pilates method. There was no doubt that the sight of some rather tortuous looking machines did put a few people off, but once those brave enough to try it did, they were hooked.
People began to understand and appreciate what Pilates was about and my client base grew. The men I taught found it challenging and our sessions helped them with aches, pains, mobility issues and tested their strength. I taught all ages from 17-78. I taught people with hip replacements as well as those waiting for knee operations, and those that had just had them. I taught those that had suffered strokes and the people I could really resonated with, those that worked long hours, sat at a desk or in a vehicle all day and didn’t get to move as much as they should. Every session is different because Pilates can be tailored to absolutely anyone, any age, any ability.
Here’s what practicing Pilates helped me with when I first started and now:
- For the 45-50 minutes I was doing Pilates, I was concentrating so much on what I was doing, I did not have time to think about work or anything else playing on my mind.
- My body shape changed, I was working muscles I did not even know I had. The exercises are intricate and really focus on working smaller muscle groups. I didn’t bulk up but I did discover my triceps and abs.
- My frequent headaches, shoulder and neck pain improved significantly. The odd long journey or time sat working at a desk will trigger some aches, but I know what Pilates movements and exercises will help with the tension.
- I am stronger, more mobile and flexible, and my balance is better.
- And lastly I learnt to breathe (a crazy statement I know) but I was a shallow breather (I still am sometimes) and when learning or practicing Pilates, the techniques and movements force you to think about your breathing, it makes the movements easier when you breathe correctly.
What’s important to note is that we are all different which is wonderful, if we were all the same, life would be very boring. I am just sharing my experiences (with a bit of an agenda!). I believe that movement and exercise is great for all humans, so find something you like that makes you happy, takes you out of your own head and ideally makes your body feel good.
Why not try Pilates? There are more and more studios opening up, offering mat and equipment Pilates, try it all, you might like it. If not, then that’s ok, but please don’t assume Pilates is a form of exercise that is just for older ladies, or dancers or flexible people. It really is for everyone and anyone willing to give it a try. You may share the benefits I have or it may help you in many other ways. You won’t know unless you try.
Stay happy and healthy and try to keep your body moving as much as possible. Movement really is medicine for the body and mind.
