My Back Went Out on Vacation: A Pilates Teacher’s Wake-Up Call at 63

How Fascial Pilates can help you prepare your body for travel, retirement, and the life you’ve worked so hard to enjoy

I’m 63 years old, and for the past 22 years I’ve been an owner and Pilates teacher at Performance Pilates in Sugar Land, Texas.

Movement is what I do for a living.

My husband is 70, and we’re both active, strong and in great shape. We want to travel, explore and enjoy this stage of our lives.

So when we recently took a dream vacation to Banff, Canada, I certainly wasn’t expecting to be the person struggling to walk because of back pain.

But that’s exactly what happened.

And it reminded me of something I tell my clients all the time:

No one is exempt from what happens when we stop moving—especially as we get older.

I Was So Busy Preparing for Vacation That I Stopped Preparing My Body

Before our trip, my schedule at Performance Pilates was packed.

Because I was going to be gone for seven days, I wanted to get as many of my clients in as possible before I left. At the same time, I was planning, packing and taking care of everything that needed to be done before vacation.

I got busy.

And you know what I stopped making time for?

My own workouts.

For about two weeks before we left, I quit working out.

I’m a Pilates teacher. I’m active all day. I’m strong. I move for a living.

Surely two weeks wasn’t going to matter.

Or so I thought.

Then, on Day Three in Banff, My Back Went Out

The first few days of our trip were wonderful.

We traveled, walked, did some mild hiking, went sightseeing and shopped.

My body felt fine.

Then on the third day, I bent over my suitcase to get something.

That’s when it happened.

My back wrenched up.

Suddenly I couldn’t stand up straight.

I had to use my hands on the furniture just to get myself back over to the bed. The pain was intense, and no amount of stretching or moving around was going to make it disappear in that moment.

So I did what a lot of people do.

I took medicine as often as I was allowed and tolerated the pain.

This was our dream vacation, and I wasn’t going to let my back ruin my trip, or my husband’s.

So I muscled through.

My Body Started Compensating

Every time I sat down, the back pain would rear its ugly head again.

I found myself tucking my butt under, bending forward and changing the way I moved just to get from one place to another.

My body was trying to find a position that didn’t hurt.

The pain gradually improved, but it never completely disappeared during the trip.

And somewhere between the walking, sightseeing and trying to enjoy beautiful Banff despite my back, I couldn’t help but see the irony.

This is exactly what I help other people with for a living.

And That’s When It Hit Me

This experience wasn’t just about my back.

It was about why I do what I do at Performance Pilates.

We work with people over 40, including many people who are approaching retirement or already retired.

And I hear it all the time:

“I want to travel when I retire.”

“I want to be able to hike.”

“I want to play with my grandchildren.”

“I finally have time to do all the things I’ve been waiting to do.”

That’s wonderful.

But there’s something we sometimes forget:

Your body has to be ready for the life you’re planning.

Retirement isn’t necessarily a time to slow down.

For many of us, it’s when we finally have the freedom to do more.

Travel more. Walk more. Explore more. Golf more. Spend more time with our families.

And that requires a body that can come along for the ride.

Being Fit Doesn’t Make You Invincible

That may have been the biggest reminder I brought home from Banff.

I’m a Pilates teacher.  I’ve been teaching for 22 years.

I’m strong.  I’m active. And I’m still 63.

None of us gets a free pass when it comes to aging.  That doesn’t mean we should be afraid of getting older.

 Quite the opposite.

I believe we can become incredibly strong, mobile and capable as we age. But we have to keep giving our bodies what they need. And one of those things is movement.

Why Fascia Matters More as We Age

At Performance Pilates, we don’t think about the body as a collection of separate muscles. We look at how the body moves as a connected system.

Fascia is part of the connective-tissue network throughout your body. Movement, loading and changes in position affect how our tissues glide, adapt and transmit forces.

That’s why our approach to Fascial Pilates includes more than simply strengthening individual muscles.We want the body moving in different directions.

Reaching, rotating, lengthening, side bending, flexing, extending, spiraling, walking, loading, adapting.

The goal is to take that strength and movement into your life.

Motion Is Lotion

Our bodies are designed to move.

Regular movement can help us maintain strength, mobility, coordination and confidence as we age.

And while staying active doesn’t guarantee that you’ll never experience back pain, it can help prepare your body for the demands you’re going to place on it.

Think about what happens on a typical vacation.

You sit in a car or airplane for hours, lift luggage, bend over suitcases, sleep in unfamiliar beds, walk much farther than usual, climb stairs, hike, sit in restaurants, then you get up and do it all again the next day.

Don’t Wait Until Retirement to Prepare Your Body for Retirement

This is the message I brought home from Banff.

If you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s or beyond and you’re dreaming about what you’re going to do when you have more freedom, start preparing your body now.

Don’t wait until the month before that European vacation, don’t wait until you’re retired, and don’t wait until something hurts!

Build the strength, mobility and movement capability your body will need for the life you want to live.

Retirement shouldn’t be about living longer, It should be about living better.

I want to be traveling with my husband in my 60s, 70s and hopefully well beyond, and the same thing for my clients.

My experience in Banff was a pretty powerful reminder that I need to practice what I preach, too.

Your Next Vacation Starts Before You Pack Your Suitcase

If you’re preparing for retirement, planning a big trip or simply realizing that you want your body to feel younger than the number on your driver’s license, now is the time to start.

At Performance Pilates in Sugar Land, Texas, we specialize in helping adults over 40 learn how to move their bodies differently through Pilates and fascial-focused movement.

We don’t just want to help you exercise.

We want to help you build a body that can keep up with your life.

Because you’ve worked too hard to finally have the time and freedom to travel, explore and enjoy life, only to have your body be the thing that holds you back.

Ready to prepare your body for your next adventure?

Your next vacation may be months away, but preparing your body can start today.

Start with our Move Smarter Intro: 3 private sessions, where we’ll get to know you, how you move, and what you want to be able to do.

Contact Performance Pilates in Sugar Land, Texas and let’s get started.

Move Better. Feel Younger. Live Your Best Life.