Does this scare you?

I opened up my Facebook to find this picture and I just had to laugh.  I’m guessing if you have back pain and are lacking flexibility and strength in your body you are not going to look at this picture and say, “Wow I want to try wrapping myself up like a pretzel in those straps and hang upside down! I bet that will get rid of my back pain!”

In fact just the thought of trying to get yourself into one of those positions might scare you (and it probably should!!) I’m a Pilates instructor who loves to move, play and try new things…but the thought of just trying to put myself into these positions at home just makes me laugh as I can envision myself falling on my head or getting hurt trying to get there!!

Teaching movement for many years has taught me so many lessons and today I want to share one of my favorites!

Effective movement and exercise that gives you results such as more strength, more flexibility, more balance in your body and less pain does not have to be complicated or scary. In fact, the simpler the better.

Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to get to a place where you can do movements like those in the above picture, but it is not at all necessary.  I find that most people just want to feel good in their body and be  able to live their lives with ease and without pain.  They want to have energy to experience life and all the movement that is built into our lives.

One of the reasons I believe the Pilates method of exercise is so effective as a movement program for so many people is because instructors are taught to teach bodies how to move correctly starting with the simplest, most basic forms of movement.  Teaching people basic concepts like how to engage their core muscles, how to stabilize their hips and shoulders, how to breathe more efficiently and how to use the mind to control their body’s movements. These are skills that make your workout or exercise time more effective whatever type of workout you are doing and these skills are translated into our everyday movements throughout our life.  Learning these basic skills and then practicing them is where the Pilates magic happens!

By taking some basic movement principles and incorporating them into your movement life you will start to see and feel changes in your body.  AND the good news is learning these skills does not involve bending yourself like a pretzel, hanging upside down, doing the splits or any other movement or position that seems scary and completely undoable in your body.  When you are learning Pilates we’ll be using movements you probably do all the time in your day to day life and we’ll show you how you can apply the Pilates principles to those movements to move better.

If you’re interested in learning how to move better, create a balanced body that is strong, flexible and moves with ease…schedule a complimentary session where we’ll introduce you to some simple movement concepts that can create big changes in your life!