Heads Up on Your Body

Learning From Your Injuries

If you’re an active person, it can be extremely upsetting when an injury prevents you from continuing to exercise.

Desperation, anxiety, disappointment, sense of failure, sadness, self-blame, anger, heartbreak, and a sense of being out of control are all normal feelings when suffering from an injury.

If you do suffer and injury and need to take time to heal, you might as well embrace the moment and look for the positive sign of things. This can be very hard, but believe it or not, pilates can help you find your positive outlook.

Private pilates sessions are perfect for people healing from injuries- they are talored for your unique body. With over 600 exercises to chose from, your instructor and help you regain strength and keep your body active in ways that are non-impact and non-stressful.

Pilates requires that you focus on what your whole body is doing. With the help of your teacher, you might discover bodily patterns that you sub-consciously do everyday that may have lead to your injury.

Think about this- if you have a poor biomechanical habit, such as turning your foot out when you walk, you do it all day, every day, without noticing. If you then go running with your foot landing and pounding in that position over and over again- you will eventually suffer from an ankle, knee, or hip injury.

Many times, students say that pilates has helped them recover because they now know how to move the right way, and with strength from their core, so the injury doesn’t reoccur.

If you have hurt your knee, for example, and begin attending private pilates sessions, you might discover that your knee hurts during certain movements. Of course, you should never feel pain in pilates. To stop feeling pain, you’re instructor will help you find proper alignment and make sure that you initiate each movement from your core, not from you knee. Of course, you should never exercise when in the stages of an acute injury, and you should always get your doctor’s permission before starting a new exercise program.

With a little practice, you’ll find that when you move in the right way, you aren’t in pain anymore. In this sense, the new way of moving is easier, because it doesn’t cause pain. At the same time, you’re whole body is working in an effort to stay in alignment… which is really hard!

This is pilates! Challenging, but somehow easier than the old way of moving.

Another great thing about going to a pilates studio every week as you recover is the network of support you’ll have around you. People at pilates studios are generally caring, supportive, friendly people. Pilates is a Mind-Body-Spirit method! And if you’re feeling any of those emotions I listed at the beginning of the post, your mind and spirit probably needs tending to as well.

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