My Pilates story starts in December of 2019,
when I retired due to a complicated illness that made it difficult to function efficiently on a daily basis, and haven’t regretted it so far. I am happily married and blessed with two wonderful children and three grandchildren. Developing Sensorineural Hearing Loss placed a damper on my life, and in September of 2020, I had a left hip replacement surgery done which limited my physical activities.
After six months of physical therapy finally came to an end for a left hip replacement,
I wanted to continue with some type of exercise program that will strengthen and stabilize my body, primarily focusing on improving my posture, flexibility, and mobility.
I was not interested in joining a gym because exercises are done independently unless you have a personal trainer to guide you.
In the past, I have done Zumba, Kick boxing, Yoga and general physical fitness programs but never Pilates because I always thought Pilates was somehow similar to Yoga. After viewing an AD, which featured women on the Reformer with their legs elevated in straps, that definitely changed my mind set about Pilates.
While browsing for various exercise program to meet my needs, I came across an advertisement on FB and was curious about Pilates. My personal journey with Pilates commenced in June 2021.
After attending the free introductory class, I knew in my heart I was going to love Pilates.
I enrolled in the Flow 1 class once a week the first month, twice a week the 2nd month -- and that was not good enough for me. I wanted more, so finally, I changed to unlimited classes. I absolutely love the Reformer and its components which encompasses hundreds of exercises and variations, this has helped me tremendously.
It’s difficult to distinguish class or favorite because I enjoy all of the classes. I have selected instructors whose classes I attend because they are loud enough for me to hear. My biggest challenge is being able to hear well to perform the best I possibly can, and most times, I tend to get angry with myself for not being able to hear well enough to perform without making mistakes.
I have seen improvement in a graceful way. During this past week, my husband and I were reorganizing our garage and I was so proud of myself that I was able to lift heavy stuff without losing control, and that was huge for me.
I could not lift my left leg, now I can confidently lift it to tabletop with minimal pain but of course, it’s still a work in progress. That’s huge for me.
Overall, my arms and legs feel so much stronger, and my entire body feels great. The best decision I have made, is to join Pilates and have made a personal commitment to continue this journey while working hard and hoping to move forward into the higher level of classes in the future.
Fitness might appear expensive but on the flip side, it's rewarding, and a great investment towards oneself and definitely much cheaper than hospital or doctors’ bills for sure.
Give it a shot and you will like it – I promise. If I can do it, so can you!
It's advantageous to all members that we have qualified instructors who ensure we perform our exercises the correct way, otherwise we do more harm than good to our bodies.
I have other medical problems that I deal with on a daily basis and my instructors are always willing and on board to assist me whenever the need arise.
All of our instructors are knowledgeable in their craft, and they make the exercises fun in each class, there is absolutely no pressure. Actually, before a class commences, our instructors ask if there are any types of health risk/injury/pains so that they can make the necessary adjustment to assist that member. That’s so cool!
Not to mention, the Club is immaculately clean, and the best part is there are wipes available to clean every piece of equipment after usage. This is so important during this pandemic.
Our staff at the Wiregrass Club headed by Melisa are unbelievably wonderful, Marlana, the Lead Instructor and her staff are all amazing too, these folks are like family to me.
I am so grateful to the management and staff for their continued support, always greetings us with smiles and making each one of us feel welcome and safe. I hope that I can improve in my daily workout sessions and attempt to join higher level of classes when the time is right.
- Leila, CP Member
