It’s 2023, and one has an abundance of choice in selecting a Pilates studio. Are you interested in a studio’s staffing, their mission, their vibe? It’s best to be as clear as possible about what you are looking for. Is an affordable price point the most important thing? Convenience? Or maybe you are feeling the need for specialized instruction. Are you training for an athletic event and need every advantage to get yourself in peak shape? In an urban area such as the East Bay, these options are probably available to you.
While there will always be good fits, better fits and not-so-great fits, remember that your Pilates is a practice – it will be done over time as part of your lifestyle, so things will change; you will change and your requirements may be fluid. I can share with you the experiences of two of my students who were weighing the benefits between private Pilates and group Pilates at important junctions in their lives.
Daphne, a fundamentally strong student whose favorite Pilates exercises were the inversions (Short Spine and Long Spine on the Reformer; and Parakeet and Tower on the Cadillac) also had years of Vinyasa yoga practice. She was a group class gal. Then came the car accident. Its aftermath came with nerve damage such that there was a lack of communication between her brain and her right leg, similar to what happens with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). To her dismay, trying to keep up with her class of six intermediate students was no longer enjoyable or stress-free. The action of some of her limbs betrayed her. They lost their orientation in space. The class of six that she had been a part of for four years would be there for her later, with its supportive energy and fast-paced ethos. But now she needed a different kind of support. Without directed assistance her right foot couldn’t get to the foot bar to push it. Without help, her right leg didn’t track underneath her whether it was lying down or standing up. Though the neural pathways would eventually reassert themselves, for the time being she needed a lot of special help with proprioception.
When we – all of us – through aging or through injury – lose the capacity to do something we were once able to do – there is grief and maybe even self-judgment, aversion, and shame. If you value self-care, the last thing you want to do is throw yourself into a lion’s den of competitive swagger. It is wise to choose the environment where healing and support are foremost.
A parallel to Daphne’s story is the trajectory of Jack, who had relied on private classes for the stated reason that his work schedule was erratic and also because he was a self-avowed die-hard introvert. He was a fierce guardian of his Core Cat “me-time.” But when his job sent him to Oahu (poor guy) for six months, he wasn’t able to find private instruction. So he summoned his courage and walked into a group reformer class offered at a fitness club. Jack was pleased (and surprised) to find that he loved it! His knowledge of his own Pilates work was so second nature that his private flow was in no way sacrificed. A curious side note for him, he also realized that he craved a different kind of connection with people. He learned that he needed “mindfulness buddies” – a community. Now Jack floats among mat class, yoga class, small group Reformer class, and mixed apparatus privates, depending on what he’s up for and what town he is in. It is all his me-time. Things change. We change. Let’s open ourselves up to new opportunities and respect our “limitations.” Let’s be wise in our choosing.
Core Cat Pilates 