See you in September

BY KERI O’MEARA

Anxiety is real and a lot of us struggle with it these days. My own personal version of that is a feeling of being unmoored. Which often will lead me into an existential crisis, which will lead me into believing I am not making most of this life, which will lead me into believing I am not good enough, which will ultimately lead me into a depression. It's not something I usually talk about openly as my job (which I love) requires me to show up for others and hold space for them. And, I don’t bring my darkness into the spaces where I am trying to help others find light. But, the truth is folks, part of my Pilates story is that it keeps my head above water. This mindful movement practice gets me in my body which changes my perspective, both immediately and long term.

Besides the effects I feel in my body, the heart and soul shift is what keeps me coming back.

It's funny how you can know something, you can preach something and yet still it surprises you how easy it is. Every time I feel myself losing ground, my head turning into a little tasmanian devil of ‘shoulds’ and ‘to do’s’ and ‘what am I doings’ and, and, and… there's a little voice that beats out all the noise and says, “Girl, get on the mat or machine now.”

And, I do and OH LOOK, there she is. But, once is not enough. Y’all know the physical benefits of a Pilates practice: mobility, flexibility, stability, strength and all around feeling damn good. But, did you know about the neuroplastic benefits of a regular Pilates practice? That’s right your brain can be molded like plastic.

By practicing Pilates, you are helping to change neural pathways - not just changing the signals to get your muscles to work differently but to get your head to shift perspective. Does anyone else have goosebumps! Three times a week will literally rearrange your brain and help you see the world differently and this will travel with you off the mat and the machine and affect how you move through this life. It's not magic. It's science and we love some science that feels like magic around here.

Change is constant and we need it.

Seasons change, mad things rearrange (free class for whoever got that music reference) for a reason. Summer comes along and we need to let loose. We need to be more spontaneous, chase the sun and the fun. Which is fab, but I don't know about you, but by the end of August I'm exhausted from all that fun. I used to get a long ass case of the Sunday Scaries around this time of year, but now my body sighs with relief.

I know that September will still be beautiful and I will get my head out of the clouds and my feet on the ground by building a routine again. The beginning of the fall is busy. It takes a lot of work to re-establish habits, patterns and systems. You know what helps? You got it - Pilates.

Prioritizing your movement practice before integrating any other regularity will help everything fall into place. I know this because I've lived it over and over and over, because I've seen it in my clients, over and over and over, and because it's something both science and mystics and perhaps even cynics can agree upon.

You don't need to dive into massive goals right away. Start by committing to one class a week to dip your toes back in the Pilates pool. See what shifts for you. Take it from there. We are here to support you and help you see (and know) that you got this.

We look forward to seeing you back in class and hearing all about what you did this summer.