Studio Pilates – My Personal Journey

I celebrated a win on Sunday! I did my 20th Studio Pilates class at the Wellington Point Studio. CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON!! Studio Pilates is a total body exercise, developed almost one hundred years ago by Joseph Pilates, to rehabilitate injured WW1 soldiers and later, for strength and conditioning of dancers, pretty cool right?

Studio Pilates is a total-body workout, with powerful cross-training benefits, focusing on strength, mobility, endurance, body alignment and breath control.

I decided after having my third child via a C Section, that I wanted to give reformer pilates a try. I had heard from one of my girl friends how much it had helped her with her postpartum recovery, plus I wanted to re build my body, make it strong and allow it to recover safely before returning to my usual high-intensity workouts that I love and have done for years now. During this process though I feel in love with pilates. I have a Studio Pilates down the road from me, with 3 young children , this was so convenient as I could sneak off early morning when David (my husband) was not working and do a class.

The classes go for a total of 45 minutes, you only have to arrive 5 minutes early and you just need light workout clothes and some grippy socks. Because I’m used to high-intensity workouts or home work outs using weights, I found it took a while to get out of the mindset that you really have to be dripping with sweat to get a workout. NOT TRUE BY THE WAY! Although I do still love to sweat a few days a week at home, these Studio Pilates classes were really something my body was loving. I found it helped to sculpt my body in places I have always struggled with. I mentally felt strong too, as I feel I was also practicing mindfulness in the class. I would concentrate so hard on the movements that my mind would only focus on one thing and that was PILATES!! I would also be so proud of my body and what it could achieve each class.

The class starts with a stretch, while you do that, the instructor comes and personally greats each individual. They also check in on how you are feeling and if you have any injuries. I loved this as I could explain about my scar and how I was feeling that morning after a night of breastfeeding haha. They were really supportive of each client and their individual journey. They also are there to modify the exercise if need be for you if you do have injuries or if you are more experienced. I find it very personalised.

I feel my body is starting to feel stronger, look more sculpted and my T Zone area and Pelvic floor muscles are improving with each class. I love what it is doing for my posture too, I have a natural arch in my back, so I have found that these classes are helping me to switch my abdominal muscles, pull them in and support my body when I am holding my babies or doing simple daily tasks. I look forward to working hard in future classes to continue to improve my strength too. I will be adding in some more cardio and weighted classes in the next month along side my Studio Pilates classes. So I look forward to seeing more progress and how Studio Pilates can compliment that too. I have made some new friends, found a new passion and I love that I am seeing improvement every class. From the moment I finished the orientation class I have been hooked, I will defiantly be continuing. Will keep you updated!