3 Misperceptions about Pilates

I met Pilates when I was barely a teenager when I would visit class with my mom at the gym…I fell in love with Pilates during my dance career in college. The quality of the movement, the fluidity and flow of the class, the relationship it had with my love of dance… I loved every part of it! I was made to do Pilates, and I found shortly after that I was made to TEACH Pilates. Throughout my career as a Pilates instructor, I have found ENDLESS misperceptions about Pilates and what it is, and some pretty lame excuses for why people haven’t tried it! My life’s creed is to spread Pilates to everyone I come in contact with so I want to use my platform to clear up the lies!

• Misperception #1: “Pilates is just stretching…isn’t it just yoga?”
  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this! “Oh you teach Pilates? That’s just yoga, right?” Not that I take this as an insult (I love me some yoga, and practice it often!), but you cannot equate the two. These are 2 different practices with 2 very different origins and purposes. While both of these practices do focus on the mind-body connection, yoga places the emphasis on the flexibility and spiritual components of the practice, while Pilates, at its deepest fundamental purpose, focuses on balanced development of the body through core strength, muscular endurance, balance and posture. These 2 practices complement each other perfectly, but are not one and the same!
• Misperception #2: “Pilates is for girls!”
  I laugh so hard when I hear men say this…who can blame them though??! Most pictures or images of Pilates we see are ballerina shaped women moving gracefully, demonstrating ridiculous flexibility…it scares people! Especially men, and novices. Thankfully, we are moving into a time where people are learning (or at least hearing) more about Pilates and its benefits. We now see professional athletes who have discovered the benefits (NFL receivers like Antonio Brown and Martellus Bennett, as well as numerous other NFL, NBA, and MLB players and UFC fighters!) and are proud to post their discovery on social media. I personally have experience woking with college football and baseball players, and the coaches have had conversations with me about how it improved their balance, agility, and even their sprint times. Trust me: Pilates is not just for girls!
• Misperception #3: “I don’t get a good workout doing Pilates.”
  If you are in the fitness industry (or anywhere close to it) you are familiar with the mindset that many of your students have that if they aren’t “feeling the burn” or sweating through their sports bras, that they aren’t getting a good workout. Not only is this so far from the truth, but it is also dangerous! This mindset leads to overtraining, muscle imbalances and injuries. Enter PILATES…this is what the Pilates method was created for. It helps correct imbalances, built strength in areas that are under-trained (or not trained at all!), and, I don’t know about you, but there have been many a Pilates session that I have worked harder and sweat more by training those little bitty stabilizing muscles than any HIIT class! Many times the reason students don’t “feel the burn” or they feel like aren’t “getting much out of the class” because they are doing the exercises incorrectly, so they really aren’t getting the most out of the class! (Side note: A good private session can help fix all of that!)

There are so many lies out there about what Pilates is and many people have had bad experience with inexperienced (or fake) Pilates instructors! Finding a qualified teacher is part of the battle; the rest is just getting out of your comfort zone. Pilates was made for every body, and every body was made for Pilates. It will work your body in ways you never thought possible, creating strength in all new ways!