Last month, Mandy, Debra, and I spent an afternoon at Holland’s Pride festival, which was a lot of fun. It’s just such an upbeat atmosphere with lots of love spread around. In fact, the only negativity I heard was from a few people who stopped at our table and then said, “Oh, I can’t do Pilates” as they walked away. And sure, some people just didn’t want to stop for information. I get it.
But some people meant it. And we were like, look at our shirts! We really mean EVERY BODY BELONGS!
So let me break it down for you.
We have clients who are pregnant, recovering from hip/shoulder/knee surgery, in wheelchairs, with Alzheimer’s, MS, Parkinson’s osteoporosis, cancer, prosthetics, and cerebral palsy. Are they all doing group classes on a reformer? Some, but not all. But regardless of a private or group class format, they come every week and do workouts that are appropriate for them.
Take Bev, for example. Bev is proudly 90 and has been a PIH client for 10 years. She even did twice-a-week privates online during Covid! She now comes to the studio in her wheelchair and works on her core, arm strength, and brain agility. She’s also one of our biggest supporters, proselytizing to everyone in her senior center about the benefits of Pilates.
One client comes to the studio on a scooter from the Max bus. She is working to strengthen her core and lower limbs due to cerebral palsy. She heard about Pilates in a different context and thought it might be helpful for her. In her first session, Mandy focused on brain work, especially cerebellum work, and she was amazed by the increase in her core connection.
We’ve had many pregnant clients over the years. Cynthia’s goals were to remain strong, active, and mobile during the entirety of her pregnancy. She wanted a strong core and to prevent (if possible) diastasis recti— a separation of the rectus abdominis, a common occurrence in pregnancy. Debra slowly modified exercises for Cynthia as her belly grew and she didn’t lay flat on her belly or back. As her center of gravity changed, Cynthia did a lot of standing, Bodhi, and balance work. As she progressed Cynthia did fewer reps, slowed the workout, and they were careful not to overstretch (especially the ligaments in the hips and pelvis area), but always worked abs, arms, legs, and glutes.
Darlene, who lives with Parkinson’s, became a client to work on her cognition and body strength/awareness. At her recent neurologist follow-up, the doctor was impressed at how she has maintained over the past year when most patients would see declines!
These are just a few examples. Their experiences may not look like the Pilates advertisements you see on social media, but they ARE doing Pilates and seeing significant benefits in their daily lives. Don’t limit yourself to what you think Pilates is supposed to look like. There are really limitless possibilities when it comes to what it can look like for you.
We love how these clients advocate for themselves. It’s not easy to make yourself vulnerable and ask for extra modifications, but that’s our jam! You may think you have limitations, but that’s not how we see it. The PIH teachers love to be creative and find a way to make Pilates work for you. Because Pilates at Pilates in Holland really is for EVERY BODY.
