Pilates is For Life
Did you know Penguins mate for life? They don’t give up even when things are hard. I imagine they adapt and adjust. Pilates is something you can do for life too. You may not do it the same at 20 as you would 80 but you can keep up with it for always.
When you start taking Pilates you learn the movement and build the foundation of the movement. Just like you would if you were starting a new relationship. You might be surprised how much you use your brain during Pilates. But it’s a big part of the process. You learn the movement and how it works with your body. Just like learning about another person and how they approach the world. That takes time.
The process of Pilates changes as it changes you. The better you know a person the better you can communicate. The better I know your body and how it works the better I can help you find the right movement for you. I help you find the right version of an exercise for you. Maybe you have a back issue. You would probably start doing the Hundred with your feet on the ground. If becomes easy, then you change it to make it more challenging. Once you can do the basic exercises you add new exercises, building on the knowledge you already have to learn the next thing. You learn how to breathe, you learn how to move, you learn what your body likes and doesn’t like. You learn awareness which is invaluable.
Pilates is not a process toward perfection. There is no finish line because it’s something you can do for your whole life. You keep going forward, learning new things on your journey. Just like you would once you marry someone. You learn more about your spouse as the years go by. You do the work to keep your relationship going. You can (almost) always improve your relationship. Just like you can always improve your Pilates.
Pliates teaches you to let yourself move when it just needs to move and how to challenge it further when you need more from your workout. You learn to be in the moment of the movement and not compare yourself to how you moved two years ago or even two days ago.
When you learn to change your mindset with the movement you learn from the moments where you body doesn’t want to cooperate. You learn to go to class even though you really just want to skip it. Those times when you do it anyway, are the times you learn. This is your growth opportunity. You learn to move in a way that accommodates your body and it’s tiredness or the extra energy you might have. You learn to move with your body rather than against it. You learn to work with your spouse to solve things instead of just giving up.
Pilates is a process. Pilates is for life. Find comfort in the fact that it will never be perfect. Let be what it is and work with what you have. And you will find peace and growth in your movement practice and maybe your relationships too.
