My Pilates Story

One of the questions I'm asked the most is "why Pilates?"

Ok, real talk, the first question is usually "what's Pilates?" or something along the lines of, "oh Pilates, that's fancy Yoga right?".

First, I explain that Pilates is a form of calisthenics that focuses on strengthening and lengthening the body with an emphasis on core strength. Then, I talk about how Pilates is similar to Yoga in that sometimes we focus on posture, balance, and flexibility. That said, you definitely don't have to be a stretchy bendy Yogi to participate in and experience the benefits of Pilates. Lastly, if they are still standing there, begging for more insight and information, with nothing better to do... I give them my backstory on why I love Pilates so much.

So, since you have nothing better to do and those big beady eyes are starving for more, here's my Pilates story:

I grew up dancing ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. I spent years in dance, as well as gymnastics and surprisingly enough, Taekwondo. These accounted for pretty much all physical activity in my youth. I transitioned from those very choreographed and fluid physical practices to high school sports like basketball, tennis, and boys lol (as in...boy-crazy...crushes on boys I'd never spoken to. I was WAY too shy).

I had just started high school when I discovered through a routine physical that I had scoliosis (aka a sideways curvature of the spine that may start mild but will likely worsen over time causing a painful and potentially disabling lifestyle). This diagnosis understandably left my parents and I "shook", and we decided as a family to take all steps necessary to treat my spaghetti spine with anything short of painful, invasive surgery (we're talking metal rods in my back kind of surgery, no thank you), and that's just what we did. I wore a back brace for two years of high school *hellllooooo popularity* #not, I did physical therapy, saw numerous chiropractors, followed daily stretches, the whole deal.

These practices helped to keep things from getting worse, but there was no "cure" to make my spine stand up straight.

Sure it was nice that I could easily pass through a metal detector, however, these efforts never really made any of the dull pain associated with scoliosis go away. I could run and play and pretty much do any physical activity, but would pay for it later with a soreness that was unlike anything else. Even sleeping wrong was a death sentence for the next day.

If you read "Welcome to My Blog", I talk about being introduced to Pilates in college. If you read my "About Me", you'll know how much time I had on my hands in college. I took an elective Pilates class from an amazing instructor who was writing a book about the benefits of Pilates and weightlifting. At the time, I had no idea that Pilates was one of the most popular fitness activities for dancers and former dancers as it supported the same muscle groups and agility necessary during your dancing years. All I knew was that it was fun, and I felt like a million fucking bucks after each session. It strengthened my entire core like nothing had before, and I was hooked from my first little drop of sweat on my $7 mat from Walmart.

Everything about the movement and challenge of Pilates excites and inspires me. I found that through pure body weight efforts I could increase my muscle tone and strength. As I experienced improvements in my core strength, balance, and coordination I also began to experience the rehabilitation and injury-prevention benefits of Pilates. Overall, it strengthened my postural muscles, breathing muscles, and core, freeing me of the pain caused by my wonky spine. My scoliosis is still here, a part of my day-to-day life. The curve is pretty intense (25° and 45° for those who have personal experience with this kind of thing) and it's definitely visible when you see me walking away in a bikini. However, thanks to my Pilates practice, my spine can always be curved AND not bother me or hinder my life in any extensive way.

I dove into Pilates headfirst and learned as much about it as I could as I was preparing to attend school and get my instructor certification back in 2016, and I'd love to answer any questions you ever have about it.

I'd love to hear about your favorite kind of workout and what it does for your body and mind.

xoxo,

Trishae