You just never know how that first Pilates class you take could change your life…

Hearing how people found Pilates is one of my favorite things!  Everybody’s journey is different and everybody has their own reasons for why Pilates has become important in their life.  Brenda is just finishing up our Pilates Mat Teacher Training Program and I just loved her story of how she accidentally found it when her girlfriends convinced her to take a class!  

How did you find Pilates?  

Pilates came into my life over 18 years ago.  It started as my girlfriend group said we needed to get out and do something.  The group didn’t exercise past walking.   We found a Pilates class at the YMCA.  Really we went to the class as a joke.  We laughed the entire way through class.  You want us to use our core?  You want us to be a Seal?  The veteran Pilates classmates didn’t enjoy us very much.    We never went back but strangely after my twins were born I remembered that class and how good it felt on my muscles and my stress.  I bought the Windsor Pilates DVD series and started doing Pilates at home.    Every time I practiced my muscles felt like they were uncoiling.  My job is fairly stressful.  At this point I still laughed at myself doing the Seal. 

Fast forward to 2009 with stress at an all time high and I was struggling in my career.   My company got me a business coach.  The first meeting with the business coach he asked me what 3 things I do for stress relief.    I laughed….. just get to the point and tell me what I needed to be a better leader at work.  After much prodding I told him – Pilates.  I had stopped doing Pilates for a couple years as I was too busy.  I committed to doing Pilates 2 times per week.  Once again my muscles started to uncoil, my stress level went down and I was handling things better at work.     My career since then continues to grow.    At work I am a much better employee when I am doing Pilates consistently and I feel so much better.  When I go to Pilates class I don’t think like I am going to an exercise class. When I go to class it isn’t about how fast I can go to beat my neighbor.   My thought process is I am going to reduce stress, treat my muscles well and stay limber as I age.   In the past I suffered from terrible headaches on an almost daily basis and when I do Pilates (and no scrunching shoulders) the headaches are gone.

Last year I jumped into Pilates teacher training.  Pilates has given me so much for stress management and I want to share what it has meant to me.   I have twin 17 year olds and they will graduate this spring so Pilates teaching is in my future to fill the “free” time.