There are so many populations of people who can benefit from Pilates, but those with hypermobile joints are right up the top of the list. Should you be stretching if you’re already super flexible? With Pilates, the answer is yes: and I’ll tell you why.
Read more5 reasons why your back hurts DURING Pilates.
If you’ve ever had a sore back and have sought treatment for it, then no doubt you’ve heard something along the lines of:
“You need more core strength to reduce your ‘back pain’, you should go do Pilates”.
Yep every Physio and Osteo and Allied Health professional out there will likely say some version of this.
And it’s true.
Your spine is surrounded by what we call in Pilates, your Powerhouse, ie, the house or the area where all the power should be drawn from. You can think of it a bit like a cylinder around your trunk/middle, 360 degrees, front to back, side to side, top to bottom, each part or muscle plays a role in supporting the spine. When you can access and use each component equally and effectively (I have a whole other blog on the muscles that make up the powerhouse and how and what it means to use them equally and effectively), this then creates and improves stability, which allows you to generate power to build strength and improve mobility without pain or injury.
If your powerhouse is not stable, then back pain can occur (among other things).
Ok ok, you get it, you’ll go do the Pilates. BUT you’ve tried Pilates a few times and actually, in some things, your back pain is worse?!
WTF is up with that?
So you give up.
Pilates has left a bad taste in your mouth and you just end up ‘putting up’ with back pain.
Does not sound like much fun really.
This is a story I hear from time to time and it’s not ok.
Here are some common things that might be going on:
1.You go to a group class.
When really you should be doing privates or semi-privates (at least initially anyway). You hear Pilates is great, your health professional tells you you need to do it, you know there’s a place down the road that Joe Blow goes to, so you think, ‘yep that’ll do, I’ll try that one too’. It’s got bright lights, loud music, seems fun with 20 reformers, but there’s no personal instruction, no modifications or amendments made for you and chances are instructor got their certificate over one weekend.
Yes it’s more expensive, yes it may have to mean you budget for it or have to figure out a way to afford it. Eg, maybe you only go out for dinner once a weekend instead of twice. But this is your health and wellbeing and longevity we’re talking about.
If this is you, and you think Pilates is too expensive, then read this blog on Why Pilates Is Expensive.
2. You're doing too much.
You’re taking the optional progressions in group classes but you shouldn’t be (again, maybe you shouldn’t be in a group class in the first place). Remember Pilates is good for you, but only if you are working within your means and doing what YOU can do on that day and not trying to force yourself to do something you’re not ready for.
The grace we give ourselves when we are working out, is practice for the grace we give ourselves when we are doing life, business, family, friends, kids, husbands, wives and all the other things that can be hard but also rewarding.
3) You’re doing too little.
You expect that you can just go to your class, switch off from the world, mull over the problems you’re having at work and ponder what you’re going to cook for dinner while getting a workout done. So you go on autopilot mode, going through the motions and then wonder why you’re not making any progress or seeing any improvements.
A central theme of Pilates is Concentration. You need to be focused in Pilates. You need to be present and in the moment. When you can focus your attention to the exercise at hand or what the teacher is trying to get you to do, you have a better chance at being successful in the movement.
When we are concentrating and focusing our attention towards getting the right muscle engagement, then you learn to feel the muscles, you learn what it feels like when a muscle (or a group of muscles) is engaged. Therefore your body awareness will increase and you can translate that into more mindful movement in every day life, like how you sit at your desk all day long. And how that does or does not contribute to the back pain you’re experiencing and then you can draw on what you learnt in class when you were paying attention to rectify it!
4) You’re not doing your homework.
Does your teacher advise you to get up from time to time from your desk and roll your shoulders out, or to bend or to twist? They’re not telling you that to fill up space in a conversation. They’re telling you that because your body needs it. Maybe they tell you to work on some rolling of the feet on a spikey ball because you get foot pain, which impacts the hip alignment and therefore your back.
What ever the extra curricula activity they are asking you to do between classes, try and do it. It will make your life easier and your time in class more rewarding as you will be able to move though more exercises that help build your strength and increase your mobility.
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5) It’s not actually your back that is the source of the real problem.
Ever heard of referred pain? Sometimes, we feel the pain somewhere (eg your back), but that pain is actually referred from somewhere else in the body.
It’s because of our nervous system and the mixed messages of the wiring to and from the brain about the source of the pain.
Sometimes back pain can actually be caused by the pancreas, kidneys or colon. If you’ve tried Pilates, Physio, Acupuncture and all the things, it could be time to go and see your GP.
So there you have it. 5 common reasons why you might still be experiencing that annoying back pain even though you have started a Pilates class.
Personally, I am a huge advocate for Pilates and back pain. It’s something I live with every day. Or I should say, I manage it everyday. I have a spinal condition called Spondylolisthesis, which is a minor disc slippage in the lower vertebrae. Most likely caused from all those years of gymnastics as a child when my spine was developing. I’ve written a blog on it, you can read it here (PS I give away free Pilates exercises in this blog too!). Pilates is literally the magical glue that keeps me together, so I will forever continue to sing its praises.
Own Your Pilates Game and Own Your Life!
Pilates is a practice of accountability.
The definition of being accountable, is-
‘required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible'.
Doesn’t it feel good when you decide to do something hard and then you do the hard thing and then you can bask in that feeling of accomplishing that hard thing?
Hard things for you may (or may not be):
Climbing up a slide the wrong way to play tag with your child
Pitching to a group of colleagues and clients about your latest game changing idea
Saying no to that family member who constantly asks to much of you
Swimming at the beach in your swimsuit for the first time in 20 years
Training for and completing that half marathon
The list could go on and on…
What got you to the point where you could do that hard thing?
Practice, positive self talk, commitment, embracing and owning the fear and then moving past it, changing your mindset.
Maybe you externalise the motivation? Doing it for your kids, doing it for the greater good of the family, doing it so I can fit into that dress next month.
Maybe it’s an activity you want to be a habit? So you do it even when the motivation isn’t there. You push past the lethargy, and feelings of sluggishness because you know the habit will serve you well.
It’s a bit like a Pilates practice.
It can be scary at first. Trying new things. Going outside of your comfort zone. Pushing the boundaries.
But, the more you show up for yourself, the more you will be winning at life.
The more good habits in your life, the less chance there is for bad ones to take over.
That’s why I always hold my clients accountable. Accountable for showing up. Accountable for giving it go. Accountable to the practice. Because when you practice hard things and commit to them, you are essentially practicing life.
When your kid’s parent-teacher interview is cancelled, you reschedule.
When a court case is adjourned you plan for when it recommences.
When a lockdown in a pandemic steals your birthday plans, you reschedule them.
When wet weather derails your outdoor wedding plans, you move the wedding inside, it’s called a ‘back up ‘plan aka plan B.
When you can’t make your normal Pilates session you reschedule it so that your body doesn’t miss out/lose the benefits/gains you’ve made so far. It might not be your ideal time for that week, but it’s your plan B.
Something I hear a lot from my clients is ‘jeez whiz, you can really feel it when you miss a class’.
Yep you can.
Your body has worked hard to feel good, it needs that consistent input of instruction and movement to continue to develop new muscle memory and pathways. Once you start Pilates, and you start to feel and notice the benefits, so does your body. It knows what it’s like to feel good. It will crave space and length and freedom in movement, it will appreciate being challenged in news ways, it will make you feel strong and connected. When you start missing classes, it feels a bit like taking one step forward and then two steps back.
So how much do you want to achieve that goal?
To run faster.
To have less back pain.
To be able to keep up with the grandkids.
To be able to lift heavier weights.
To return to golf with out knee pain.
To be in control of your body and not your body in control of you.
To be able to sit at your work desk without neck pain.
Now it’s up to you not to miss your Pilates class, so you can reach your goal sooner.
When you reach that goal, then you gotta work to sustain and maintain it. Make it a habit so that on those sluggish days, you don’t have to rely on motivation, make it a habit that is so hard to break, that on those one off occasions you have to miss a session, you schedule in two classes the next week, to get yourself right where you left off. Showing up for your Pilates is showing up for yourself, it’s like your own little personal cheer squad cheering you on, rooting for you and high fiving you when you score!
I know how it feels when I miss a session, not good, not good at all. And I will do whatever I can for my clients to not experience that too. That’s a part of my job that I take seriously.
So the next time you cancel your class and your Pilates teacher says sure thing, can we reschedule? Know that it is coming from a place of wanting to see you win, win at achieving those goals, win at sustaining those goals and winning at life. Your teacher is in your corner, cheering you on, rooting for you, high fiving your achievements (maybe not outwardly- hello, social distancing- but definitely on the inside) along the way!
Pilates through the Ages: Why Pilates for Menopause Works
In my 10 years of experience, there is something I have come to realise, Pilates is adaptive. It evolves WITH a person’s needs and FOR a person’s needs.
When I started my own practice, I was all about the Control Balance Handstand off the side of the Reformer. And not gone lie, I still love to give these a whirl every now and then. But there was a long while there, that my needs were so far from this and I just physically couldn’t do it, nor did I have any interest.
When was this strange time that you didn’t want to flip off reformers you ask?
Pregnancy and postpartum x 2.
The hormones that fluctuate to create and sustain life in a human body are immense. Not only is it an emotional, moody, ball-your-eyes-out-at-the-drop-of-a-hat rollercoaster but physically the experience and change to you body, is next level. A woman will produce more estrogen during one pregnancy than throughout her entire life when not pregnant. Progesterone levels also are extraordinarily high during pregnancy. It’s these changes in progesterone, that cause a laxity or loosening of ligaments and joints throughout the body. Loosening ligaments and Advanced Pilates exercises are not always the best of friends. As I found out the painful way. See-ya-Later Control Balance!
I needed to scale things back, focus on my ever changing body’s needs, a little less upside down work, a little more hip strengthening and low back stretching. Pilates can do this. It can challenge you at your fittest and strongest, it can calm, centre and restore you at times when you need the most support. It’s pretty amazing.
Pregnancy is a stage where women experience massive amounts of estrogen and progesterone, at the other end of the spectrum, menopause is a stage where there is a rapid decline in these hormones. Just like we scale and modify to meet our changing needs in pregnancy, we need to change and modify to meet our changing needs in menopause.
Menopause is sometimes called 'the change of life' as it marks the end of a woman's reproductive life. At menopause, ovulation no longer occurs and production of oestrogen and progesterone ceases. The word “menopause” refers to the last or final menstrual period a woman experiences. (menopause.org.au).
Although many women might find relief in saying good bye to periods, tampons, sanitary pads and wearing those hideous period undies, for most women the rapid decrease in hormones, will mean experiencing some or all of the following symptoms: night sweats, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, weight gain, forgetfulness, insomnia, anxiety, and headaches.
Menopausal women also experience changes such as, loss of muscle strength, loss of flexibility and joint pain. These impacts can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoporosis.
Pilates can significantly reduce the impact of menopause because it helps to build strength and increase flexibility and mobility which decreases joint pain. Pilates is low-impact, there’s no lifting heavy weights in the gym, so it’s considered a safe option. Pilates works on core control which helps with dynamic postural balance, as we age, balance and proprioception tend to suffer the most.
Pilates focuses on how we use the breath to get the most out of the movement. when you can use the Pilates breath to it’s full potential during exercises, breath has the ability to calm your nervous system down, this in turn is a powerful tool in helping reduce anxiety. Simultaneously, with a calm nervous system you can reduce your cortisol levels and thus making it easier to lose weight (Catriona Harvey-Jenner) and improve the quality of sleep.
I have been teaching women between the ages of 40-70 for many years now. And these women often describe Pilates as gentle on their body but fierce in its benefits. Knee problems? Back problems? Shoulder problems? No worries, Pilates can accomodate, and in most circumstances improve the muscle imbalances causing these problems.
Here’s what one client, aged 60 had to say about her Pilates practice:
“I started with Kirsti Pilates To You 5 years ago, aged 55. I was feeling unfit, stiff, lethargic and tired all the time, classic post-menapausal symptoms. My diet was relatively healthy, but I was putting on weight and too tired to try and get rid of it. I started doing a mat class with Kirsti once a week, and within a few weeks noticed a difference - it was easier to get up off the floor or from kneeling down and my energy was returning. Whilst I didn't lose any weight, I stopped gaining weight and that was a big plus. I was feeling happier and more relaxed. I have noticed when I go away on holidays that it doesn't take long to lose the fitness I work hard to gain, and the feelings of tiredness and lethargy return. I really look forward to my class each week. During the lockdown in Melbourne, I started doing two classes a week via Zoom, instead of one and quickly noticed the improvement that brought - particularly to my mental health and motivation. I wouldn't miss my Pilates classes for anything! Kirsti's enthusiasm is contagious and makes each class a lot of fun”.
Lastly don’t forget your nutrition has to change with your changing body. You can’t expect to eat like you did in your 30’s when you’re 60 and still see the same results, but what should you eat?! It all comes down to what will fuel you for energy, work with your slowing digestion system and address hormonal imbalances to limit sleeplessness, aches and pains and headaches. Recently, I wrote a blog on moving and eating where my nutritionist friend, Emma Lynas was my guest blogger on this topic. You can check it out here .
If you are reading this thinking, yes, yes, yes this is me. Then Emma and I’s upcoming ‘Embrace the Change’ program is for you.
It’s all about encouraging you to embrace the changes in your body by teaching you how to move & eat for strength & vitality on your menopause journey.
This program aims to:
-improve your strength & posture
-move more freely and with less pain
-help you understand how to manage your weight & energy levels
-enhance your sleep & energy with nutrition
It commences on February 15th for 5 weeks.
Each week includes:
2 live, virtual 45minute Pilates classes (replay available)
1 x nutrition lecture with discussion in private FaceBook group
Maybe you’re not 50 and/or don’t think this relates to you, but what about your Mum, what about your Aunty, your friendly neighbour? Check in with them. Sadly, menopause is not a topic that is shared so freely, but a friendly ear to someone who might be struggling with weight gain/sleeplessness/pain, could actually be just what they need. So please mention this program, you don’t know who might be missing out.
Any questions about this or the ‘Embrace the Change Program’, please get in touch here.
There's a First Time for Everything, Including Pilates.
Me reflecting back to my first class back in 2010. Thanks Neeta @neetaphotography for this shot back in 2017.
I’ll always remember my first Pilates class. Just like my first kiss, it was awkward, weird, I didn’t know what to do with my hands, I held my breath a lot and I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards.
I almost didn’t go back after my first class. I mean I loved it yes, but man, the teacher was telling me so much stuff… like, how to squeeze my butt (‘don’t you just clench the living daylight out the top of your legs’!!), pull my stomach in, relax my shoulders (‘it’s not my shoulders that need relaxing lady, it’s my brain that’s fried from all these things I have to think about’), do something with my ribs that I just didn’t quite comprehend how I’m going to move a body part that is made out of bone and then also now she’s trying to tell me how to breathe?! Whoa.
But, never one to walk away from a challenge, plus the promise of 6 pack abs (the friend from my old work who swore to me that Pilates was the only thing she’d ever done that got her visible abs), I knew I’d be back to conquer this ‘Pilates thing’.
This is most definitely not the first time i did the Stomach Series. But you get the jist of the buuuuurn! Thanks Gemma @hudlow.photography for this shot last year.
The first time I did the Stomach Series, or the Series Of 5, I knew I was on to a good thing. How can five movements bring about so much delightful torture? I remember thinking, what a waste of years and years, trying to do 300 crunches a night on my bedroom floor as a teenager, thinking that that was the answer to some ‘bikini body’. It’s all about precision of movement. Do it right and quality will trump quantity every. single. time.
Thanks to @wellness_by_norah for this. Nailed it.
The first time I farted in class doing the Rolling Like A Ball exercise I wanted the world to swallow me up, I was so embarrassed. Thankfully my gorgeous teacher didn’t notice, or else she was so used to it and just ignored it. I’m sure it was the latter. Now that I’ve been around Pilates for 10 years, I know that if any exercise is going to make you fart, it’s that one. I’ve lost count of the amount of farts from clients in class I’ve had to ignore myself. Joseph Pilates himself talked about his exercises being like a massage of the internal organs. It meant you were truly working from the inside out. And it’s the inside or the deep stabilisers of our centre that we are particularly concerned with working in Pilates. Now I just tell those clients, ‘hey, no stress, you’re doing it right when a fart escapes’ ;-)
The first time I really connected to my powerhouse (centre/core whatever you want to call it). It was like an Ah Ha moment. The pennie dropped. ‘Oooohhh so this is what it feels like’. How to describe it… like I was zipped up. Supported. Like someone was inside me hugging my organs and muscles. I especially remember, after babies, how much I appreciated the skill of being able to feel like I could physically put back the pieces of the puzzle that were my insides. Childbirth made my insides feel like they were floating around inside me looking for a place to call their home, not connected to anything, just floating aimlessly inside my skin. So weird. Thank F for Pilates with that ol’ chestnut. Who knows where my intestines might have ended up without it.
The first time I felt the effects of missing a class. I thought Pilates was just a way of keeping fit. When I would miss a week here or miss a couple of classes there, sometimes I would just make up for missing it by going for an extra run or do an extra class at the gym that week. Then I realised, actually, this Pilates thing is keeping me together. When I miss a Pilates class it was making running harder, and I wasn’t recovering from the gym as quick. Hmmmm interesting.
The first time I realised Pilates was making me a better human. I think this didn’t really occur until after kids. Of course I have known for ages how good exercise makes you feel, the endorphins, the reduction of stress on the brain, mental alertness and all that great stuff. But once you are in the fiery pits of sleep deprivation like you’ve never experienced before, and you would do anything to have 30 minutes of time to yourself without little gritty, grubby hands all over you and 16 cups of coffee is probably bordering on too much, holy hell, do you learn the benefits of moving the body and focusing the mind, it’s all in the mind to muscle baby… centred, purposeful movement is life changing. It reminds you that you can use your mind and body for great things. (
Love these cheeky monkeys. Pic @hudlow.photography
Image from Vivemasblog
The first time I realised that Pilates never actually gets any easier. About 6 months after starting Pilates, I thought, why does this not feel any easier? Am I doing it wrong? Well firstly, we are our own worst enemy, nothing like a bit of competition with yourself. Secondly, it’s human nature to look for the negatives, once upon a time it would have saved our skins to be on the lookout for the danger/the negative/ the baddies. Hello, Wooly Mammoth, you can’t catch me, I’m outta here. Fast forward to now and we still hold a negativity bias, basically, humans tend to focus on the negatives over the positives. Back to Pilates, my teacher was always really good at highlighting how far I had come. ‘Remember when you couldn’t roll up off the ground?, remember when you could only do this on the yellow springs and now you’re on the purple springs?, remember when you had to rest between every rep?’…..hmmm yeah, ok , good point, thanks. The trick with Pilates is that as you learn more (eg, see paragraph above about connection to powerhouse, hello AHA moment), you learn how to use the right muscles, sometimes these muscles aren’t used to working so hard, they are now working in conjunction with those more dominant muscles and voila you now have more muscles working, more precision and concentration needed to control said muscles and you will most likely feel that effort in spades! I love @carrie_pages_pilates take on this……”I always compare Pilates to dance and music. With dance and music after a certain point in your training, you're no longer learning new movements or notes but you refining your performance of them. You begin to put the movements or notes together in ways that make them more challenging. You may learn to execute more turns or hold notes longer but the fundamentals remain the same, therefore the process doesn’t get easier you just get better. For me, Pilates is like a dance or symphony that flows from one movement to the next and I love to experience how each workout feels different. I try to perform the movements with more precision and control concentrating on how I can move more effortlessly and focused. I never get bored. If anything I find myself falling more in love with Pilates year after year”. Well said Carrie, well said!
So there you have it, my firsts with Pilates. I know a lot of my clients have had some of these same thoughts/experiences… perhaps you have? Can you relate? Maybe there was a key ‘first’ for you that I’m missing? I’d love for you to share your experience with Pilates firsts. Maybe, you’re keen to get amongst some classes and start some firsts of your own? I’m currently taking on new clients, virtually for now, because of Rona, beauty of this is, it’s harder to hear you fart through Zoom, so what happens in your lounge room, stays in your lounge room! #winning
DM me on the Gram @kirsti_pilates_plus or shoot me an email kirsti@kirstipilatestoyou.com.au.