My Pilates Journey

Hi!  My name is Jan and I began taking Pilates classes when I was pregnant with my first son, who has just recently turned 18.  I wanted to keep exercising and stay fit while I was pregnant and found it kept me fit and strong, but I did not stick with it because I did not think it was a "real workout".  After my pregnancy, I returned to what I knew as a "real workout" and that involved boot camp workouts, long distance running, and weight training.  All those workouts were great but took a ton of time at the gym or on the pavement.  As a new mom, I did not have disposable time nor the energy for 2-hour workouts. The new mom season started to take its toll and I just wanted to get some sleep in between chronic diaper changing and laundry.  I stopped working out for a time and started to have chronic back pain and a strange tingling sensation in my fingers.  Unsure what this meant, I started going to a chiropractor and did so for many years to help me with my low back aches and pains.  Then one day, my chiropractor suggested that I try Pilates because it did not take up a lot of time and it would not be hard on my body.  

Little by little, I started to get the hang of Pilates and realized that it was a "real workout" and very hard!  I was very impressed at how fast my body changed.  From weak to strong, from flabby to fit.  Pilates, the exercise that I passed as not being a "real workout" was really working out for me!  So much so, that I decided to learn about the exercise by studying anatomy, kinesiology, biomechanics, applied neurology, and of course the entire Pilates exercise system.  I had no idea how much there was to know and learn.  This was not just an exercise of stretching and moving your arms hither and thither.  Pilates was about control.  Control of your alignment, your breath, your balance, your center, and your core.  Pilates, I believe, is all about your body's position and precision in executing each exercise.  This is why it is such a difficult exercise to practice and to teach.

I am so thankful that I embarked on practicing and learning all that I could learn about the Pilates Method.  And I continue to learn because I am passionate about helping individuals do life better through this low impact, high intensity, full body, transformative exercise known as Pilates!