My arms aren’t long enough!!

It never fails, when I’m teaching the transition in between Backstroke and Teaser on the Reformer to drop a spring at least one client tries the exercise and when they can’t quite do it the first or maybe even the 20th time they say,” I have really short arms. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that.  My arms are just not long enough!”

If you have ever said this or something similar in your Pilates class I have some good news for you.  The good news is: Your arms are long enough.  Very rarely does your physical size or shape effect your ability to do a movement, but what does effect it is your mind!  Note: this doesn’t mean your body size and shape doesn’t effect how you do a movement it means it doesn’t generally effect being able to do a version of that movement in your body!  Without even realizing it we put limitations on what we can do based on previous experiences, based on what other people have told us or based on the stories we create in our head!  I want to be the first to tell you there are no limitations on what you can accomplish with movement if you open your mind to the possibilities.

Now, don’t get me wrong- just changing your thought process probably won’t immediately change your ability to do something, but over time I promise it will.  If you whole heartedly believe in yourself and practice that movement adjusted to where your body is right now…eventually you will get there.

I would love to hear from you on this topic!  What does it feel like when you finally do something you’ve been working towards?  What advice would you give others who get frustrated when they can’t seem to do something right away?