"Feel my stomach," our neighbor instructed Michelle, who poked obligingly. It was rock hard. This woman is older than we are, and had delivered a baby by Cesarian section, yet her middle seemed to be made of iron.
"It's Pilates. You and Kit should try it. It'll be great for his back," she said. Thus began our Pilates experience. We hired a babysitter and signed up for beginning mat together. That was 2 1/2 years ago.
Our neighbor's suggestion came at an opportune time. We were overweight and out of shape after several years of taking care of our children but not ourselves. We were approaching forty, already full of more aches than seemed right. Kit suffered from chronic low back pain, and Michelle could often barely turn her head due to neck stiffness. While we had recently begun walking several mornings a week, we knew we needed more targeted strengthening and toning.
The exercises were particularly hard for Michelle, at first. Lacking the necessary abdominal strength, she tended to strain her neck, and had to put her head down a lot. The day after class, her neck would hurt worse than ever. A friend suggested that maybe Pilates was just not for her, but Michelle felt that if she persisted she would build the strength she needed. She was right. After two or three months, the neck pain disappeared.
Kit wished he could say he went to Pilates and his back problems went away. It hasn't been that miraculous, but his pain is noticeably less. He now has pain-free days where he can work at his deck all day comfortably. And he admits that he might feel even better if he worked out more. Even though Pilates hasn't cured his back problems, he doesn't foresee being 50 and barely able to participate in life.
At first, Kit went to Pilates because Michelle said, "let's do it." If not for the "personality" of the studio, he wouldn't have stuck with it session after session. He likes the space, the staff, the energy of Excel. He appreciates how Kerry works with him to accommodate whereever his back is on a particular day.
We're now in the advanced mat class, grappling with the intricacies of the star, control balance, and hip circles with arms and legs circling in opposite directions. Not to mention the ever-popular teaser into swan dive. Try that with a magic circle (or two)!
Michelle recently began the teacher training program at Excel and is working much more with the apparatus than ever before. From the beginning, she has been drawn to the particular combination of physical and mental challenge that is Pilates. There is always something new to learn, even about the so-called "basic" exercises. There are always new challenges, new discoveries, and new layers to the work. Whenever she feels intimidated, she remembers how far she has come from those first days of struggling to keep her head up during the hundreds. Patience and persistence will surely continue to pay off.
Oh, and oneother thing - we also really like how we look now!
