A regular long-term client who started as a complete beginner and is now confidently executing more advanced repertoire always ends her session with a little bow and a declaration of how much she loves Pilates (which I adore!) After her most recent session the following topic came up.
She mentioned how she worried about not being able to ‘do’ Pilates for some reason. ‘I
worry I may get injured or sick, or maybe when I get too old to be able to ‘do’ it” she pondered.
Well, those are the exact reasons why I love Pilates and chose to teach it!
We talked about how those scenarios don’t need to stop us ‘doing’ Pilates. Yes, you will certainly have to adapt things, maybe avoid certain exercises or movement patterns but there will ALWAYS be something you CAN do regardless of injury, age etc.
If you are breathing, you can do Pilates!
Centre, concentration, control, breath, precision and flow can still be achieved.
If you were only able to focus on your breath, you would still be following Pilates and its principles in some way.
For example, if you had a broken leg, yes, it would be hard to do a Pilates session, but not impossible! With a skilled and creative instructor there are still plenty of things you could do, especially within a private session.
Even in a leg cast, your arms would benefit from a workout and stretch, I’m sure. And maybe standing movements would have to avoided, but with so many seated or supine exercises you could enjoy doing, there would still be a way to enjoy a great comprehensive session.
Flexibility isn’t just a physical thing- being able to ‘stretch’ and change mentally is equally important. We can look for alternatives and it can be a positive thing if we allow ourselves to yield a little (or sometimes a lot!)
Pilates is more than doing, it is a way of thinking, of problem solving, of approaching each session (or client) with intention, to harness your potential in the moment, by being accepting and present!
So, we might have to accept that a certain exercise or piece of equipment is beyond our capability. And that might be just for a while or on a more permanent basis.
No matter! Being so ADAPTIVE, Pilates offers a wealth of ways to achieve movement patterns and outcomes and allows us to focus on what we CAN do.
With the range of modifications and/or fabulous equipment Pilates can be performed on, there will always be an option to suit each individual and that is a beautiful thing!
And if you can focus and be flexible in a Pilates session then imagine taking that approach into other scenarios in your life…. where might that take YOU I wonder?!
Until next time
CC x
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