Do you ever watch Pilates videos and see these beautifully long, lean and flexible dancers doing Pilates? I sure do, they move flawlessly and every movement looks like a well trained dance. It can be intimidating to someone who is tight and inflexible. You may even start to wonder if you are not a dancer should you even be doing Pilates?
Yes, you really should. Pilates is for the body that wants to move better, feel better, and change for the better. Pilates is for everyone and it is a hill I will die on.
My background never involved dance, I swear I have two left feet. I liked to play sports (volleyball was my jam) lumberjack competitions and lift weights at the gym. Being strong was something I always wanted throughout my life. None of these sports built flexibility, so to say the least I have tight muscles. I couldn’t figure out how anyone could touch their feet during a standing roll down, the act itself was impossible for me.
When I started Pilates, the ability to straighten my legs and move with grace was nonexistent, but I have to say I did love it; it was challenging and gave me hope that I could become more flexible. Pilates also challenged my strength, like I stated before I do like to be strong, I found Pilates humbled me in a way that I really couldn’t understand. The spring tension didn’t seem heavy, and the Mat work didn’t seem like too much but when I did it AND KEPT PROPER FORM, it was so darn hard. It made me want to build on my Pilates strength, not just gym weights strength. Personally I do love both!
Flexibility is still a challenge for me, I’m 13 years into my Pilates life and I am so much more flexible than I have ever been, I still struggle with some of the exercises, but I remind myself that Pilates is a Practice, the more I practice the better I become, I do not need to look like a dancer; all I need is to become the best version of myself. The more I do Pilates the more I like my progress and I am proud of what my body can do.
So give Pilates a try, embrace your inflexibility knowing you will become more flexible, balanced and in control of how you move. Pilates is for every body and if you open your mind and embrace its magic, your mind and body will thank your future self for taking care of it.
xx-Nadine