I had my last Pilates class today. You may remember that I started with it in February of this year, on the recommendation of my physiotherapist who praised the Reformer Pilates classes a lot. He said it was a very good way to improve my flexibility, strengthen my muscles and thus prevent the neck pain that caused me to go to him. It seems he was right because I noticed a difference. I feel that after every Pilates class, I come out, although tired, with greater elasticity. Fatigue and sore muscles slowly stopped because the muscle tissue had already gotten used to it and kept in shape.
What I didn't know is that these workouts would also help me prevent joint injuries, and that is also very important as our years go by. We cannot deny that. We may feel young, although the body dictates its own pace that is maybe not aligned with the mind. Even if we don't pay attention to age, some professions require us to be in good physical shape. Exercise and workouts can be the answer, apart from choosing to consume healthy food.
Speaking about food and eating habits... since I started going to Pilates I feel that I eat more. Of course, I blame the workout that I am always hungry, and I have that excuse to have extra snacks because I think I need them. Well, our home digital body weight scale has not been my best friend recently. I don't like the numbers it shows on its display! 😂 I am joking, it is not that bad as my weight is more or less the same as always. And I didn't start going to Pilates to lose weight - for that I should do other type of workout. At the same time, I stopped being anxious about my body weight and not having a perfect appearance. Ok, it is far from perfect but as I said, going to this kind of exercise had a completely different goal.
During these six months, I learned a few more things that were not written in the "Pilates contract". Let's mention for example... how important breathing is. It directly accompanies the exercises; maybe it is better to say that breathing is an inseparable part of our lives. You don't breathe - you don't live, that is very obvious. But even when you work out, you help with your breathing making the effort, making the impulse or calming down your body and mind. It depends on how you use it in different situations.
The next important lesson it taught me is that we don't have to do the exercise perfectly as maybe we still need to train our muscles, however, we do have to have the right intention and visualization of the movement and activation of a certain, exact area of our body that has to be trained. If I have to lift my leg, it is not always the same muscle that has to do it, and it is not always the same way how it should be done. We always have to think and have the orientation of our body in space. Also, the body needs to be in balance and be able to do different tasks - my shoulders should not be tensed while I have to activate the area of my body that the instructor asks for, for example, lifting the pelvis and pushing the bar with one leg, the other leg at 90% angle or straight, breathing correctly plus having relaxed arms. Or the arms doing some weight lifting. I can't really explain better but in short: there is an infinite number of variations that an exercise can have... I had the feeling that it was always different, each time.
All in all, attending Reformer Pilates classes was a great and helpful experience for both my body and mind. Now I will have to take a little break as we will be traveling quite a distance to visit our families and then when we are back here I will see what I can do. There are many question marks that Mister Future holds in his hands and waves at me. One is certain - I am sure that the lessons learned in this gym can be applied to every circumstance.
