Session 3

For today’s session of Pilates, I participated in a group mat class. It was a small group, only six of us. This was a good size because I think it allowed our instructor, Holly, to watch all of us and give us individual attention as needed. One of the first things I noticed about the group this morning is that I was one of the youngest participants. I would venture a guess that a few of ladies were 50+. I mention this because it is a reminder that this program is all ages and abilities.

In Pilates mat work, I still did a lot of the same exercises that I have done on the reformer and cadillac the difference is I don’t have the springs to use as resistance, just my own body. For today’s session we also used the toning ring, which helped me engage my muscles.

I think when you do any kind of group fitness activity is easy to get caught up in the notion of, “am I keeping up with everyone else.” Holly reminded us to listen to our bodies, if we are not keeping our pelvis down or hips stable, etc. then our movements might be “too big.” Holly referenced one of Joseph Pilates philosophies when she said, “Sometimes the smallest movements or a few slow controlled movements can be more effective than many repetitions of sloppy ones.”

After three sessions I feel like I have already noticed some changes in my body. Sometimes my job requires me to sit at my computer for most of the day. I think that puts a real strain on my back and often times I find that my lower back is aching by the end of the day. On Friday and suddenly I realized that my back was not aching and it hadn’t been for a couple of days. My body also tends to feel very stiff and sore when I first get out of bed in the morning. This morning, to my delight, I noticed that I felt much better, and I know this with only improve with more sessions.

A few days ago a friend of mine told me about her experience with a personal trainer at a gym. The trainer berated and chastised my friend and told her she would probably fail if she did not hire him and use his program. All he cared about was making money and not helping my friend achieve her goals. This really struck me because right before my friend and I talked I had been thinking about how grateful I am for the encouragement I have received from Kelly during our sessions and from Julie as I write this blog. On this journey to be a healthier individual it is not just my physical being that I want to improve, but my mental being as well. Knowing I have people who want to see me succeed as much as I do is makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.