Pilates changed my life and it can change yours, too. My very personal journey into the world of Pilates & health.
It has always been my passion to help women. To encourage them find their voice and their strength. I just never knew what that would look like. I dreamt of creating a safe space for women come together, remove the masks that we so often wear, get to know each other, form lasting friendships and discover the power of movement to strengthen and heal us.
In March 2016 this dream came to life and that special space was built. That Space was Flex Pilates South Africa. My passion project. My entrepreneurial baby. The studio was everything I hoped for, a reflection of me, my standards and my vision of what I have come to know as a powerful exercise modality and way of life.
Pilates healed me and I wanted to share that healing with as many people as possible.
We all seek out physical fitness in one form or another and it’s safe to say the majority of the women at Flex were very much likeminded, in that they were looking for something to strengthen them. An exercise to help tone them, relieve pain, find balance and stability. I’m not just speaking in the physical sense, either. I’m referring to emotional pain, stress, insecurities, internal struggles, unhappy relationships. You name it, we all have our ups and downs. Having experienced it all myself, means I can spot a woman in need from a mile away.
A little background and my “why”
I turned to Pilates when my life was a mess. I was about 25, in a miserable, toxic marriage. No stability, no self-love (well, enough to know I needed to change), a life I knew was not really meant for me and physical back pain that I could no longer ignore. Knowing what I know now, I understand the physical pain is likely a manifestation of the internal pain I was suffering from, but more on that another time.
My physical pain began shortly after giving birth to my first daughter. I had three bulging discs that were, at times, physically debilitating. I had the scans, the chiro, the doctor appts that suggested cortisone injections, pain meds or surgery…. I was 18. No way was I about to go on pain meds and I certainly wasn’t about to have surgery. So, I left it. I lived in pain for many years. I rarely exercised on my own and private training was out of the question for me, financially.
Fast forward about 7 years and I finally decided to try yoga because so many people told me it would help my back pain. Funny, I went to the private yoga assessment class and literally couldn’t do anything other than child’s pose and cat/cow. I felt deflated. I couldn’t do the thing that was supposed to help me. I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know what. I went to the gym and did some weight training and some elliptical or stair stepper cardio. That’s it. it helped a little but I was still unable to bend over without pain. I had two young kids, I NEEDED to find something to fix my back pain.
Working in the fashion industry, I kept up with trends including trends in fitness. Particularly the ones the models were doing to sculpt their insane bodies. Everyone was raving about Reformer Pilates and how it changed their bodies like nothing else. I had heard about Pilates from a Mari Windsor informercial but never paid much attention. Now I was seeing how it was working for “celebrities” and I had to try it. I found a studio close to home and booked three private sessions. Brigitte, you are the sole reason I am so passionate about this method. Anyway, I went to my first session and walked out wondering how the hell I was going to walk the next day. The next day, I wondered how the hell I was going to sit down, laugh, walk, or sneeze. I hurt, everywhere. Literally, everywhere. I don’t mean I hurt like rush me to hospital pain, but like I worked muscles I never knew I existed. Now, in all fairness, I had an amazing instructor and I am a VERY attentive student. I did allllll the things she told me to, and I focused on my body and breath like a perfect little Pilates student.
I was hooked! From my first reformer class, my life would change in more ways than I could have ever predicted.
Pilates turned out to be the steppingstone to gaining strength and discovering my love for fitness and health. In my body and in my mind. I found relief from my back pain and the emotional pain. I learned ways to manage my stress load through what I later called my “moving mediation” I connected to my body in ways I never knew possible. My breath and movement became so fluid, I didn’t even have to try. I went “Inward” and listened to my body’s needs. I learned where I was strong and where my weaknesses were. In my body and in my character. I found comfort in the quiet moments of moving and breathing. I fell in love with movement. I fell in love with the reformer and with Pilates and I fell in love with the idea of changing the trajectory of my life.
My Pilates practice kept me grounded and helped me find balance in my life. As I moved through my physical pain, I also moved through my emotional pain. I healed trauma from my birth, the one that initially led to my bulging discs, and I also stated to heal trauma from my marriage. I finally found one area of my life that was stable and within my control, and that was movement. Nobody could take it from me. it was my safe place, my therapy (before real therapy) and it was also changing my body like all the models claimed. Haha. win win for sure!
One thing led to another; my practice turned into a passion which turned into a profession. I am not the same person I was the first day I walked into that studio for my introduction class. I have dealt with life’s ups and downs just like everyone else. My toxic relationships are so far behind me, I don’t even recognize the person I used to be. The person I am today would not have been possible without this desire to heal my back pain. It may have been the catalyst but the end result of me desperately trying to find natural pain relief has been invaluable.
I want to encourage everyone to try something new. Anything, even if it’s not Pilates. Movement is LIFE. It heals in more ways that we could ever imagine. That is what motivated me to open a studio. To share this healing with as many people as possible. Without pressure, without expectation but a strong knowing that once a woman gets started, that begins a cascade of healing that may be unrecognizable at first. It is life changing in all the best ways. Pilates for me is strength in body, mind and soul. Pilates defines the beginning and the end of many chapters and seasons of life. It is in addition to, not instead of, everything else I do. Pilates is my safe space and I get emotional just writing that because I didn’t even realize how much it means to me until I started writing about it. Pilates changed and saved my life.
