Pilates progress report

November 25, 2010

I’ve completed half of my Body Harmonics Pilates ambassadorship so far, and was wondering how to measure my progress so I checked in with studio director Margot McKinnon. She outlined three areas to pay attention to:

Appearance  “Many people start to see their shape change. It is gradual, of course, but there if you look. Check midriff, hip and thigh and shoulders. Often, people notice a positive change in their posture.” How’s Health & Swellness’s Appearance? No change in my appearance–and that’s even with walking in my TrueBalance shoes. But I do find myself noticing more often when I’m slouching (pretty much all the time!), so that’s a start at least.

Strength/Flexibility “These gains are individual and depend on body composition, previous levels of activity and any injuries or conditions that someone is living with. However, most people comment on feeling stronger within a few weeks. This is often noticed around the midriff and in the legs–the supports for the pelvis and spine.” How’s Health & Swellness’s Strength/Flexibility? My overall level of activity has taken a nosedive as I haven’t been running as regularly. But I feel confident the reformer workouts are strengthening my legs–if I can feel the burn during a class, I’ve gotta be getting stronger!

Overall Comfort “As most of us can attest, we feel aches and creaks in the lower back, neck and shoulders, knees and hips. It is sort of the cost of daily living and poor postural habits that we all face. The approach to movement that we advocate at Body Harmonics is one that emphasizes correct recruitment patterns for muscles to move bones. When we create better movement patterns, muscle tension and joint discomfort virtually disappear. It is simple as a concept but can take a while to unravel because we all have compensatory patterns that we have lived with, for decades in some cases. And it takes the neuromuscular system some time to break the bad patterns in order to lay down more efficient, strain-free ones.” How’s Health & Swellness’s Overall Comfort? I haven’t woken up with a stiff achey neck in awhile, and I definitely feel like I’m moving more fluidly on days when I’ve gone to class in the a.m.

So I’m not quite at the level of the lady in the  pic above, but I am noticing subtle positive changes. I think that means I get an A+! Although I suppose I’m not exactly an unbiased evaluator…

Filed under: Fitness Swellness,Healthy Swellness