How my Pilates practice taught me to love Yoga!

I’ve have to admit that before I started doing Pilates I “tried” Yoga and didn’t really love it.  And by try I mean I took a couple of classes and decided it wasn’t for me.  15 years later I love Yoga and I owe it all to my Pilates practice!

When I found Pilates I immediately knew it was a good fit for me.  It was something that I enjoyed, I felt like it was something I could do fairly well (unlike Yoga where I felt pretty incompetent because I was soo tight and inflexible that many poses seemed impossible for me), and I had instructors who were amazing and inspired me to keep at it.  I am forever grateful that all these pieces fell together, as teaching Pilates and movement has become a lifelong passion and love for me.

Last night after taking a Yoga class I was reflecting on:  1. How much I really enjoy Yoga now and 2. How this love really came from me learning about my body and how to move it through Pilates.

After practicing Pilates for 10 years on a regular basis I tried Yoga again and found that I really enjoyed it!  I was able to use the knowledge of my body that I learned in Pilates to do new different movements that challenged my body in different ways. Since then I have tried to incorporate Yoga and other mind-body movements and exercises into my life along with my Pilates practice so that I can continue to grow and learn!

I’m telling you this story today to inspire you to try different mind-body exercises and find one that gels with you.  Not everyone instantly loves Pilates, Yoga, Thai Chi or any other mind-body movement program.  Unfortunately many people try a class once or twice and decide it’s not for them and never try anything else ever.  They have one experience that they didn’t love and then they group all that stuff (Yoga, Pilates,etc.) together and never explore it’s possibilities again.

Different teachers and different styles of the same discipline have different things to offer students and you may be surprised to find that when you find a teacher and style of movement you connect with you may also find a movement practice perfect for your body!

At Rivercity Pilates we encourage clients to try lots of different instructors and classes and find those that connect with you.  Learn more about all the different movement classes and sessions we offer by clicking here!