The Pilates Journey

I am so thrilled to be a part of Balance the Curve!  You can read more about my background HERE.  If you’d like to get to know me or hop on a reformer, I’m your gal.  I’ll be honest, as a mover, I was very skeptical about Pilates.  I was a dancer, not professionally, but in my bedroom rocking out to NSYNC or taking on the part as Janet Jackson’s backup dancer.  I, like many of you, made an attempt to stay very active; it’s in my DNA.  It makes me feel good, improves my outlook on life & helps me have a clear mind.  My path started as a personal trainer. I taught high intensity strength and conditioning classes.  I taught all of the “fun” classes that are pushed to make us “healthier”.  There is no doubt they have a benefit.  We know cardio conditions your heart and prevents heart disease.  Muscular strength and endurance support bone growth and development in addition to managing diabetes and prevent osteoporosis.  Flexibility and mobility are important for range of motion and reducing stress and tension.  You MUST consistently train your body to remain fit and strong, because let’s face it…we are only getting older.

But there was something missing in my workout routine.  I couldn’t figure it out until I started doing Pilates.  I thought that Pilates was only for the classical ballerina, not me.  I thought that Pilates was full of tricks and things that only bendy people can do.  I thought that if I did Pilates, wore lululemon and drank Starbucks (which I’ll confess that I do, lol) I’d be labeled and heaven forbid that I let anyone define me.  It turns out that simply wasn’t the case.  After taking my first mat class, I was hooked!!  This was something different!  Something I could do and have room to grow.  Something that taught principles of movement that connected my mind and body.  Pilates also taught me that this practice was a journey and I could do it the rest of my life.  When I came to the realization that Pilates was sustainable, I knew that I had to jump in and make this my next chapter.  And it was! After completing Balanced Body’s full comprehensive training on the mat, reformer, chair, barrels and cadillac, I knew this was an avenue that I could use in conjunction with my kinesiology background to truly help people move.  Not JUST exercise, but to effectively train people to move their bodies has been groundbreaking.  

This was a pivotal moment in my fitness career.  Man, I wish I had known about the Pilates Principles earlier in life:  Breath, Control, Precision, Concentration, Centering, Whole body movement, Rhythm and flow.  I was familiar with them in a way but I didn’t know that learning how to move my body through the Pilates Method and using these principles in tandem could create such balance.  I know, I know, a lot of words and ideas, but what does Pilates look like?

Imagine, gaining strength, not just gaining huge muscles, although some may love that!  Imagine creating strength in the center of your body, your POWERHOUSE as Mr. Pilates would say.  That strength provides a support system to allow your arms and legs to move freely without feeling stress or misalignment.  Wow, we just went super deep here!  (Literally and figuratively)   In Pilates we focus on the muscles deep within the body that need to wake up.  Once they awake, we gain power and ultimately learn how to activate muscles to support our skeletal system.  That’s what Pilates is!  Originally when Joseph Pilates designed his plan, he called it Contrology…we are learning how to control the body.  Simple!  So Pilates is great for everyone and it can be super versatile. So I encourage you to join us, take a chance, it may be the best thing you ever do 🙂

Whitney NCPT, Pilates Instructor