We can learn a lot about ourselves through our workouts – not only about our bodies and how we connect to them, but also about who we are, our mindset, and how we look at the world. Every experience in our lives can teach us something new, and workout classes are no different. When you step into the studio to try a class, we hope you find a reprieve from your day to day life or a new favorite workout, but we also hope you find some takeaways you can take with you into the other 23 hours of your day. In honor of the introduction of reformer pilates at a select group of our studios, here are five life lessons we invite you to ponder when you attend a reformer pilates class.
SMALL CHANGES CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
How you hold your posture and position your body makes a huge difference in pilates. It can change which muscle you’re strengthening. It can make you go from wondering what an exercise is even working out to finding yourself quivering with the amount of effort you’re putting in. (And we mean this as a good thing -if you’re going to spend the time to go to the studio, don’t you want to make the changes that will make the exercises push you as much as they can?) But similarly, if you have something you’re struggling to overcome in your life, consider whether there’s a small change you can make. It might make all the difference.
YOU AREN’T DEFINED BY YOUR FIRST TRY
We won’t sugar coat it – reformer pilates can be hard. You’re likely going to be strengthening muscles you didn’t even know existed, and you’ll be pushing the muscles you’ve been working out for years in a new and unfamiliar way. You’re also going to be learning how to navigate the reformer itself and at times, balancing on a moving platform while doing all of this. There will be some times when this is just too much. You might not be able to manage every single exercise on your first day, and that’s okay. All we ask is that you put in your 100%. That might mean doing the first step of the exercise. It might mean doing an amended practice. It might mean taking a breather. None of this means you are bad at reformer pilates – it means its you’re learning. Showing up and giving it your all means you are succeeding, and we know that if you keep showing up you’ll get better. Now, is this ringing true for anything else in your life? The first time you tried a sport, your first day on your job, or even the first time you booked a trip for yourself – did everything go perfect? So much of life is just about putting your all into trying and learning. Being comfortable with failing, getting up, and trying again is the thing that allows you to succeed in the end.
CONSISTENCY MATTERS
If you’re wondering when putting in effort will equate to being able to do all the exercises in your pilates classes, the best answer we can give you is keep showing up and see. Consistency is what allows you to build these skills, strengthen those muscles, and conquer your goals. If you think about it, the goal of showing up to workout probably isn’t being the perfect pilates student anyways. You want to become stronger and healthier for your day to day life. Consistently showing up and doing your best is a way of succeeding in this goal. And, this consistent effort is what will allow you to build your skills. In other areas of your life, you’ll likely also find that if you keep putting in the work, whether that’s every day, every week, or every month, you can get better at anything in time.
WE ALL NEED A LITTLE SUPPORT
Hidden beneath reformer pilates machines are chords which we use to add different levels of pressure to our machines. Adjusting these chords allows us to control the difficulty of our exercises, but they aren’t only for adding weight to our repetitions. Having weight on the reformers also allows us to help balance ourselves and stay solid through out workouts, the weight counteracting our own weight as we work through our exercises. When we add weight to our chords, we’re giving ourselves the support we need to get through our exercises.
Likewise, in life, the challenges we take on and the people we meet that push us to become stronger also help support us in day to day life. We need people, support systems, and loved ones to help us get through challenges, and you also might find that different people are best at supporting you in different situations in your life, much like different strength chords are best for different exercises in the studio.
PRESSURE CAN HELP US GROW
In reformer pilates, you’re going to push yourself. You’re going to be challenged in new ways. Also, literally speaking, you’ll be adding and removing pressure from your reformer throughout class. The reason we put ourselves through all this – the pressure gives us a better workout. It helps us strengthen our muscles or push our stretches deeper. Next time you’re feeling under pressure, consider whether the pressure might be a good thing. And if the pressure is too much, like you can remove some weight from your reformer to better accommodate your body, look for a way to remove some pressure in your day to day life too.
Next time you’re headed to a reformer pilates class, why not take some time to think through how each of these aspects of class affects you – both your workout and your life. We’ll look forward to seeing you in class soon.