Love your body.

What do you think of when I say “Pilates body?” Skinny, tone, flexible.

Yes, those are all attributes that Pilates can help improve, but let me be the first to tell you not every Pilates practitioner is a walking billboard for all three. Pilates is a method for all types of people with all types of bodies.

Unfortunately, we tend to criticize ourselves by comparing our abilities to those of others. It’s not healthy, nor realistic to compare your capabilities to those of the person next to you. Every BODY is very different in its anatomical makeup. One person’s strengths may be another person’s weaknesses. Lack of mobility and/or strength in an area is not always due to neglect of a certain exercise or stretch however, that can certainly enhance it.

Let’s use back extension as an example. Swan, backbend, wheel etc. Some people have extreme flexibility in their back and are very mobile in the thoracic and lumbar spine which makes exercises such as swan attainable. Yes, this could be due to years of yoga, dance and/or gymnastics. Or it could be because of the anatomical makeup of their spine and the way their bones are shaped.

The shape of your bones is directly related to your range of motion. Let’s use shoulder mobility for our next example. Some clients are able to reach their arms above their while keeping their scapula stable, others have to destabilize the shoulder blades to reach their arms as high. Why is this? Client A has a very different range of motion from client B due to a unique anatomical makeup. Assuming Client B has no past injuries in the shoulder, they can only lift the humerus to a point before it compresses with the Acromion process. Client A might have a smaller Acromion process allowing them to lift the humerus to a higher angle. Bone on bone compression is what stops Client B from having a larger range of motion, not in-flexibility.

Our studio is filled with all kinds of beautiful people that are finding inner strength at a level that best suits them. Strength does not look the same on everyone. EVERY body is different and EVERY body is a Pilates body. Yes, we are all different, but embrace that we are all strong in different ways. No matter the case, you can find strength and confidence through a little movement.