“Can thirty-four exercises change your life?”  That’s the question I like to open the door to the semester with as my college students step into the studio.  “Can the thirty-four exercises outlined in the original Pilates repetoire change your life?”

Yes, Pilates, indeed, can change your life.

I know, you know, we have Zumba, Kickboxing, Yoga, when it comes right down to it, a million ways to exercise.  So why Pilates?  Because Pilates “rights” you bio mechanically in a way no other exercise system can and gives you the endurance you need to meet all of your life’s demands.

I came late to Pilates, very late.  Multiple C-Sections meant I was doing everything, and I do mean everything from shepherding four boys to schlepping groceries, with my low back muscles.  One day, they revolted.  The searing pain ripping through my back extensors was news to me.  Athletic my whole life, I was thrown off guard when my back gave out.  

The perfect word to describe that experience?  Hell.   Take someone who grew up taking turns jumping on a trampoline with eleven brothers and sisters and flash forward to running four boys to innumerable sporting events.  Yep, my version of hell was being home bound stranded on an ice pack – for nearly two years.

I spare you the rest of the story and just say Pilates saved my you-know-what.  (Please read the blog post on “Hurts Less” if you’re a veteran of back pain.)  After Pilates resurrected my spinal column, I was hooked.

Core strength changes everything.  The building of your corset of strength can be challenging, but those thirty-four exercises are also the best health care policy insuring you an upright future.  Whether you’re a college student studying hours on end or looking to graduate into the greener pastues of retirement, Pilates works.

I teach Pilates with options, multi-level classes that are adjustable to fit your needs.  Most of us know what it’s like to suffer through an injury.  Lying on an ice pack there’s not much happening except maybe depression, anxiety and streaming Netflix reruns.  Students might come in with a tweaked shoulder, an achey hip, or some sort of injury that mysteriously popped up during the night, and it’s perfectly fine.  You can and will find your way.  You’re encouraged to take ‘er easy or go full throttle, whatever fits that day.  

Those thrity-four exercises Joe designed are placed in a very specific order for very specific reasons.  Now, mind you, we don’t stay with the same exercises every class.  What we do stay with is opening your spinal extension, rotation and strengthening so you leave feeling refreshed and energized for the day ahead.  

I know you’ll find just like me, core strength is your game-changer.  You can begin Pilates in your twenties and keep going till you hit your eighties.  It’ll help you hit that tennis ball harder, run faster and even run cirlces around your friends at work.  Be sure and read through the posts on the blog to find more info about Pilates and yoga and feel free to join us at any time!