People always assume Pilates gets easier over time. WRONG. It may get easier in the sense of, it’s easier to understand. Or it’s easier to breathe with movement. Or it’s easier to progress each exercise. BUT. You can always add a challenge. Sometimes we add weights. Sometimes we remove tension. Sometimes we change the plane of motion. Sometimes we change the position of the body. My point is, you never get to a point where you’re like “Ok! I’ve done all of the Pilates! There’s nothing left to do.” That’s not the case. You can never plateau or reach the “pinnacle” of Pilates. There really isn’t one in my opinion.
Sure, maybe you think Teaser or Jackknife is the pinnacle and I understand why. But can you do the cat walk over? Or can you do hanging pull-ups? The cadillac adds a whole other dimension to Pilates. For Christ’s sake, Joseph had people doing HEADSTAND BACK BENDS ON THE REFORMER. So really, the creator of what we now call Pilates had NO limits in regards to what the body could and should be able to do. He really truly believed if you couldn’t do the routine, you should wake up every single day and TRY until you CAN and ARE successful. He was German and allegedly in the military – so that mindset makes sense.
I think some people are unsure about Pilates because it’s sometimes marketed as stretching. Other times as deadly – think megaformer. But it’s never really marketed as something we can do for eternity. Literally until you’re 100 years old. Why? It’s low impact. It can be modified or broken down or progressed depending on each client and their needs. There’s really no reason why you can’t do Pilates today. Tomorrow. Or Ever. If you haven’t started, you should. And if you have, you should never stop.
It’s the fountain of youth. You’ll see what I mean…
Check me out next time.
–Ashley <3