I did Pilates everyday for 30 days, here’s what happened:

I became enlightened! … haha, well- not exactly- but I felt AMAZING and some very magical things DID occur.

First of all, let’s clarify what I mean by, “doing Pilates.” Most days this meant putting my body through a variety Pilates exercises (duh) on Pilates equipment (double duh). A few days though, “doing Pilates” simply meant exercising/moving my body with the intentions of centering, concentration, control, precision, breath and flow.

OK! now that we’re on the same page about what I think doing Pilates is… here’s the magical stuff:

I started waking up before my alarm. Say what!?
Without changing any of my other habits like nutrition or bedtime, somehow by committing myself to a daily Pilates practice I started to feel more naturally energized. Before starting this 30 day challenge my alarm would jolt me out of sweet slumber with an aggressive slap across the face, ugh. Now my eyes flutter open just before the scheduled face slapping - a bold power move by my body- and I’ve decided to credit this to Pilates.

I can’t find my knee pain. Not mad about it!
I was delighted to discover that by increasing the frequency of my Pilates practice, I didn’t have to sacrifice any of my other favorite exercise modalities (running, biking, and yoga). In fact, after months of severe knee pain while running, I’m finally able to slowly ramp up my mileage again! With the added focus on hip mobility and adductor/abductor, glut/quad strengthening through Pilates, my running was more supported than it had been previous to this 30 day challenge.

I made new friends. Who knew!?
Just before the start of the month I discovered a few other Pilates instructors and enthusiasts on Instagram who had also made the social media declaration of a 30 day daily practice. I challenged myself to reach out to them, and through our connection I felt an important layer of accountability and community. As a raging introvert who prefers to stubbornly do my work solo, stretching myself in this way was an important and humbling reminder on how much more successful we can be when we support and share with others.

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