Boomer-Living.com...enhancing the lives of Active Baby Boomers.

• It looks too hard
• I do yoga
• I think it will hurt my wrists
• I’m not that disciplined
• It’s for dancers
• My gym doesn’t have the equipment
• I can’t follow those video tapes
• It’s too expensive
• I am too fat for it

These are all statements that have been said to me when someone meets me for the first time after hearing I have a studio.

Since 2000, Pilates has increased 450% and is the fastest growing activity in the country. So, after a strong 10 years in the marketplace I am somewhat surprised that people still say this.

Here are some of the “and” statements I have heard too:

• I hear you can lose weight from it
• I love stretching and long muscles
• Is it like Yoga?
• All the stars do it, it must be great
• I have a Pilates machine from QVC that I don’t use

I just shake my head and listen. No need to reply. It just goes to show how much information is out there around what Pilates is, who it’s for, and what people think about it.

The IDEA Fitness Journal, which is the professional voice of the fitness and wellness industry and keeps very good pace with the evolution of fitness, recently had a fantastic article about the Pilates Phenomenon (July-August 2010). One of the questions that many experts are asking is “do Pilates and fitness go together?” In my opinion, yes, they absolutely do without a doubt. Great news resounding from the article is that there is much less polarization than there once was in the Pilates community; people are becoming more comfortable with the diversity that exists. Right on and a big ‘yeah’ from this girl.

In 2006, I began to integrate a buffet of movements into the Pilates studio and bodies began to love it. These movements were outside of the Pilates regiment, a downright diversion of any traditional lesson. Simple, sensible, and practical applications of ‘other’ fitness wiggled its way in. The safest way to infuse this was to use it in existing classes and with folks that already had a history in the studio. These were the open minded bodies that trusted the leap that we were about to make; removing the stigma attached to what people have heard about Pilates and inserting it as fitness into the studio.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) ranked Pilates in its top 10 trends for 2010, along with two close cousins, core training and functional fitness. How close do these kissing cousins need to get? Pilates is core and it mostly responsible for the buzz about it. For many teachers tying functional fitness in with Pilates could be a creative challenge, but the trends are showing that more and more folks want to get moving without limitations.

Pilates is an idea remember, it too was created by someone. It’s an adaptable form of movement that has become tangled in the web of an elitist mind -body exercise that not everyone can do. This is what prompted the changes in my studio years ago- the desire to bring fitness and Pilates together. Even Joseph Pilates was said to “teach for the body that is in front of him”. That’s innovation and adaptability.  Think of Pilates as a piece of the pie, not the whole pie. Use it in its pure form or as a cross training tool to complement the other activities in your life.  Learning and using the principles of Pilates such as control, centering, flowing motion and breath will certainly enhance your fitness routine as well as your activities of daily living. Pilates is definitely of the mind body connection and you’ll miss that if you try to go on autopilot. But, don’t be afraid of Pilates either. Good quality instruction will guide you to embody it and feel everything.  

How do you mix up you workouts and routines?  Do you include variety? It’s the spice of life after all. Pilates is highly individual and once you lay that foundation you can allow your creativity to flourish. And it seems in this market, that idea is being accepted.

Make the movement that you do your own. Remember the embodying part. That is key. Simply imitating or following a routine is a good start, but the changes come when your body absorbs what it doing in that movement. As you develop the synergy, it becomes more about that relationship with your movement that matters the most.

If you have never done Pilates and want to try it I made a short blended video of 5 exercises that I believe are useful for a beginner.  Heck, even a seasoned practitioner may adopt a move or two as well. And since my studio is a blend of Pilates and fitness, I think you might find some good simple takeaways!

You may reply to Lisa in the “Leave a Comment” section below or email her at lbyrne@boomer-living.com and visit her website at www.MoveMoreToday.com. 

Tags: diversity, evolution, fitness and wellness, pilates studio, video tapes

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•