Stomach Massage

I was in a small café today for lunch wearing my Performance Pilates T-Shirt.  A very nice gentleman approached me and said “Pilates…that’s mind, body, and soul…from the inside out right?”  I thanked him for knowing something about Pilates and told him that was a very good response.  He went on to tell me how he would probably hurt himself if he tried to do some of those “poses”.

I actually get that a lot.  People tell me that they could never do Pilates because they aren’t very flexible, or coordinated.  The truth is, any kind of movement requires coordination, and if you are tight and lacking flexibility YOU NEED TO DO PILATES!  Many of us are very sedentary at work every day, (See “Movement Heals”) or maybe you play a sport or participate in an activity that calls upon the same muscles every day.  This can lead to imbalance in the muscles, tightness in some areas and weakness in others.  From the words of Joseph Pilates himself:

”Contrology (Pilates) develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit” – Joseph H. Pilates

…so see mind body and soul were not too far off.  Another famous Joseph Pilates quote…

“Where flat feet, curvature of the spine, protruding stomach, stooped shoulders, hollow chest, hollow back, bow legs, and knock-kneed conditions are cured through corrective exercises.”   – Joseph H. Pilates

That’s one of my favorites because most of those were going on in my body when I began taking Pilates  classes.  I was born pigeon-toed and knock-kneed, will always deal with some degree of curvature of the spine.   I had terrible back pain and rounded shoulders from hovering over a computer for long periods of time in my previous career.  With Pilates my posture, strength, and flexibility have greatly improved.  I no longer have on-going back pain…and when my back does hurt, that means it’s time to MOVE!

So that’s my personal testimonial …not a sales pitch, but the honest truth.  Sometimes when I’m explaining Pilates I feel like I’m selling snake-oil on a street corner, but Pilates IS for every “body” and practically any issue.  Pilates gets people who don’t get to move, moving correctly and safely, and works to enhance athletic performance, and/or undo any damage…restoring alignment and lengthening tightened muscles, that are the result of running, jumping, swinging a bat or golf club, swimming, sitting or standing for long periods of time, or whatever it is that you do.

Pilates is challenging, and there is a learning curve.  Patience and perseverance do pay off, and with consistency, your body WILL change quickly.  Never say Never!

“In 10 sessions you’ll feel a difference, in 20 sessions you’ll see a difference, in 30 sessions you’ll have a whole new body” – Joseph H. Pilates 

Thank you for reading.  As for my friend I met in the café, we look forward to seeing you soon!

Cody is the Co-Owner… along with Michelle Haver-Long…and an Instructor at Performance Pilates.

Contact:  getpilates@performance-pilates.com