Not to be flip about addiction, but there really is no other way to say it. It’s the funniest and most gratifying thing I’ve seen since I started teaching Pilates earlier this year. My clients are truly addicted. They get a little panicked when they have to cancel a session and I can’t find another slot for them in my schedule that week. I get desperate e-mails – “what about really early in the morning?!” – or blank stares followed by “okay, I’ll just make it work.”
As a lifelong amateur athlete – I’ve been running since high school, riding horses since I was 10, and skiing since I was old enough to snow plow – I know that all exercise is addictive to some extent. But there’s something about Pilates that, for me and for many of my clients, goes way beyond a runner’s high. It’s the only exercise that I’ve committed to non-stop for 12 years.
For those of you just getting started with Pilates or who’ve always been curious but haven’t yet jumped in, here are the top five reasons I’ve stuck with it for over a decade.
- Pilates is the “thinking person’s exercise.” Pilates challenges your body and your brain. Two of the six principles of the Pilates Method are Concentration and Precision (the others, for the curious, are Centering, Control, Breath, and Flow). Efficiency of movement and quality over quantity are key. You need to be 100% present to get the full benefit of a Pilates workout; and at the more advanced levels, you’re challenged to tap into muscles you didn’t know you had. This makes your workout physical and intellectual, which I love.
- Pilates affects every part of your day, not just your time in the studio. You’ll stand taller waiting for the subway, walk more confidently down the street, effortlessly change that 1000 lb water cooler bottle at the office, and struggle less lugging your grocery bags to the car. Your body will be balanced and your muscles will work more efficiently all the time. Life just feels better.
- Pilates improves your performance in every other athletic pursuit. It just does. Trust me. My running endurance is so much better with Pilates in the mix. My knees hurt less because I’m engaging my core without even realizing it, which takes pressure off of my legs.
- Pilates is simple and efficient and can be done with or without the assistance of exercise “apparatus.” This is a big one for me. I hate being dependent on a gym for my workouts. I love the simplicity of a fitness program comprised of Pilates – using the resistance of my own body on a mat in my living room/hotel room/back yard – and running a few times a week. Just me, my body, and my focus. Apparatus optional.
- Pilates makes you feel (and look!) like a super hero. A little corny perhaps, but when you learn to fold your body in half upside down, put all of your weight on your arms, put your feet on a heavily weighted pedal, and then engage only your abs to lift and lower that pedal in that upside down position (see pic above), tell me if you don’t feel like Superman (or Wonder Woman…your choice). I always do.
Now THAT’S addictive!
