#1 Requirement for feeling good in 2024

Consider this possibility…

How you feel right now does not have to be permanent. You could have more strength, balance, flexibility, and energy than you did in your 20s. Mhmm! Or as Joseph Pilates said, you can “be in control of your body instead of at its mercy”. 

Let me ask you this: 

• Do you find it harder to roll out of bed, stand up from your desk or go up stairs?
• Do you always complain about a stiff neck, pain in your lower back or achy knees?
• Do you miss being an athlete but feel too old or too out of shape to try?
• Do you feel so much wear and tear in your joints that it’s hard to do the things you love?
• Do you want maintain your mobility as you can get older so you don’t lose your independence?

I want you to forget about your age, weight, size, shape, current fitness level, and even your busy schedule and trust this: Your body is highly resilient! And you’ll start to realize just how good your body can feel when you prioritize doing what it is designed to do… MOVE! But life’s responsibilities and, let’s face it, excuses make exercise easy to neglect. However, the physical, mental and emotional benefits that come from exercise are well worth fighting your resistance to it.

Inspiration from a fitness OG

Something that inspires me is Joseph Pilates’ philosophy about fitness. He believed that “physical fitness is the first requisite to happiness”. Yes, happiness! And he designed his exercise system of Contrology, aka The Pilates Method, for the “complete coordination of body, mind and spirit”. What a contrast to the fitness industry that wants you to believe that the goal of exercise is limited to weight loss or trying to look like the “hottest” celebrities and fitness influencers. I prefer Joseph Pilates’ holistic approach to fitness because it’s far easier to make exercise a lifestyle habit when your primary goal is to feel good so that you can live your life to the fullest! 

Joseph Pilates was proof of concept for Contrology. He practiced it religiously until 1967 when died at 84 years old. In that year, the life expectancy for men in the US was 67 years old. Not bad for a man that allegedly loved brown liquor and cigars! While I won’t be an octogenarian for almost another 30yrs, I can certainly testify to Joe’s claims that “Contrology develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit” because…

I’m not just a Pilates teacher, I’m (still) a Pilates student

Way back in the mid-90s, The Pilates Method made me realize that “how” I trained my body was important for injury prevention, recovery, success and longevity in my professional dance career. And ultimately for my happiness because; living with chronic pain, stiffness, and discomfort in your body feels absolutely disempowering. While dancing for the NY Knicks I herniated L5-S1 so badly that I couldn’t bend my spine backwards. It moved in other directions, but tenuously. I thought my fledgling dance career was over. I’d always considered my hyper-mobile spine a “gift”; the kind of thing I’d show off at auditions to stand out and get the gig. Well, overusing that “gift” landed me at Performing Arts Physical Therapy in order to, not just regain the mobility of my spine, but to balance its flexibility with some foundational strength. When my lower back was stable and strong enough, my physical therapist sent me across the hall to The New York Pilates Studio where I started taking private Pilates lessons; each workout tailored around the specific needs of my body as a professional dancer who was recovering from a debilitating injury.  The crazy thing was that, because I was a twenty-something, lean-protein eating, carb-depriving, 2hrs a day at the gym type of chick, I looked really fit. Pilates proved that I was not. But the cool thing is that, I felt myself getting significantly stronger as my teachers progressively and systematically guided me through exercises on the Reformer, Mat, Cadillac, Chairs, and Barrels.  I started to notice the difference between adrenaline-fueled movement versus controlled strength and mobility. And in a way I’d never experienced before, I felt deeply connected to my body and how it was designed to move.

Thanks to my consistent Pilates practice, my days became filled with dance classes, rehearsals, and performing again. And no overuse injuries! I felt like an invincible badass, until I got cocky and stopped practicing Pilates. Ah, youth! And that’s when I tore the lateral meniscus in my left knee while performing in Off-Broadway’s “De La Guarda: Villa-Villa”. That injury required surgery plus more physical therapy which ultimately landed me back at The New York Pilates Studio. That was the humbling moment when I realized that, if I wanted to feel good and maintain my career, Pilates had to become a non-negotiable in my life. And it did.

My final gig was a four year run in one of the most physically demanding shows I’d ever performed in, “Fuerza Bruta: Look Up”. I was 42 years old. Thanks, Pilates! Ten years later, without physical artistic expression in my life anymore, I became unrecognizable to myself. “Dancer/aerial artist” had been my identity for as long as I could remember so, at 52 years old, this retired performer felt incomplete. And so I confidently started taking Aerial Hoop classes. But I only felt “confident” because I’d never stopped practicing Pilates. For over six years, I’ve committed to two private Pilates lessons per week and supplementing those with group classes and my own personal practice. And what my Pilates practice has shown me is that, no matter how old I am or how much my body inevitably changes with age, I am Pilates strong. And when you’re Pilates strong, your body, mind and spirit will support you in living to your absolute fullest. And that feels more than just good. It feels amazing!