Ever hear a story about celebrities doing Pilates or maybe even someone you know and wondered to yourself about whether it would really provide a benefit to you? Well, Liz did. She is in her late 50s and had been suffering from some residual lower back pain, possibly from the many hours spent sitting and working at a computer. Liz was looking for a low-impact exercise program that would allow her to safely gain strength and balance while offering her the resistance needed to build bone density. She decided to commit to 10 private Pilates sessions and requested that we take a ‘before’ picture to mark a baseline. Here she is on day one looking a bit nervous.
Halfway through the sessions, I received the following email:
“Hi Traci, I had to tell you this story. This morning as I was bending over to put on my yoga leggings, I was leaning over, full weight on my right leg while I put my left leg into my pants when I realized I was completely balanced. Nothing was shaking/unstable and I did not feel like I was going to fall over – so I extended my left leg completely straight out in front of me while still just standing on my right and bent over, just to see if I would lose my balance. I did not and still no shaking!Now – why is this important? Two years ago with my lumbar compression fracture, I could hardly walk upright due to pain, no way could I stand on one leg. With two years of inactivity leading to weight gain, it had been a very long time since I had been able to bend over standing up and put my pants on one leg at a time. I have had to be sitting down or leaning against something for support for a long time.
In 5 sessions with you (sessions that fly by because they are fun) – you have given me back the ability to do that. Yes I have shown up and done the work but you have compassionately shown me how to do it and encouraged me to do it. I did not realize until this morning just how important, what might seem like a very “small thing”, is truly “huge gain” for someone like me. This demonstrates how much Pilates can do for someone such as myself who is older, lacking agility, overweight and more than a little nervous about stepping inside the gym she hadn’t been to in ages. So thank you – you are a wonderful instructor! – Liz”
Liz continues to practice Pilates and continues to see improvement in how she looks, feels and performs daily. The below picture was taken about 6-months into her training and in my opinion Liz’s smile and post-workout glow of confidence is the most obvious and important change. So, can Pilates help you too? Well, you’ll never know unless you try.
