What Decades of Pilates Does for You

Most people come to Pilates because of pain. They have a maladaptive pattern that eventually is so bothersome that the conscious mind becomes aware of it and signals pain. That motivates them to seek out help. Pilates improves their alignment and biomechanics, the pain subsides, but then what happens?

The majority of people are done. Pain is gone, back to life as usual. But a rare few decide they like the movement, it makes them feel good, it allows them to live life more fully without injury, it prevents problems before they can even start. They commit. Then what happens?

This past weekend, I traveled to New York to attend an advanced Pilates continuing education workshop (Go Big with Movement Science Made Simple). Most of the teachers there had been doing Pilates for 10-40 years. More interesting to me than the exercises we broke down was watching a body that has done Pilates for that long move. It was incredible! People’s bodies and movement looked decades younger than their chronological age. Women who were 60 moved like they were 25. They maintained the strength and flexibility of their youth. They were energetic and motivated. They carried themselves with confidence and had beautiful posture. What an inspiration.

I returned to hear this story from a regular client. He’s in his late 60s and came to Pilates for pain. He stuck it out and for 7.5 years, has taken weekly lessons with me. In eight days, he built a 12x12 treehouse for his grandkids, 14 feet off the ground. All the neighbors kept asking his age and remarking on how fit and capable he was compared to their own parents of a similar age. He walked up and down the stairs to the treehouse dozens of times carrying heavy things with no issue. He especially noticed how good his balance was.

It’s certainly not easy to commit to a method of fitness for decades, but if you do, the results are remarkable. And it makes aging a joy because its not coupled with so much loss of function. Keep it up friends. Only time will tell if its worth it, but I’m betting on definitely yes!