Pilates might seem easy but there is always an opportunity for challenge. Even if you are just working on the breath. Sometimes in Pilates you have to go back to the basics. This might be due to injury, illness or just because your teacher said so. Some people think going back to the basics is working backwards and making things easy. But this is not the case. Working on the basics is important. If you can do a good Roll Up you can probably do an awesome Teaser. And if you can do a good basic Teaser on the mat you can probably do a more challenging Teaser on the reformer. Anything you do in Pilates, whether it is beginner exercise or the most challenging super advanced variation, will help you to do other things in Pilates. There are no throwaway exercises.

Sometimes you have to go back to the basics to realize you can do better than when you started. A good beginner mat workout can be just as challenging as a straight up advanced mat workout. The importance lies in what you put into it. If you give it your all you will get more out of it. You are never going backwards because you are working on the basics.

I learned in math class years ago that there is no such thing as negative distance. I was blown away by this concept. I found it eye opening, as someone that is constantly traveling in the wrong direction. I am known for getting lost even when I know where I’m going. You might not be going in the direction you intended but you are still going somewhere.

Pilates, at any level, is still movement. There is still challenge within the exercises if you put it there. Maybe your teacher helps challenge you with good cues or maybe you challenge yourself within your own body. You have to decide if you are showing up for yourself to do the movement, or if you are just showing up to go through the motions. I’ve seen it both ways. I’ve done it both ways myself. But when I connect myself to the movement, when my clients do it, it doesn’t matter if it’s beginner or advanced. The results are always better when you give it your all.