Alright, mamas… who’s been noticing the Pilates buzz everywhere lately?
Lately, it feels like everyone is talking about Pilates, from local moms to social media influencers. So many postpartum mamas are loving it as a way to slow down, reconnect with their bodies, and finally put their own fitness goals back on the list. Because let’s be real, it’s so easy to fall down to the bottom.
The benefits of pilates reformers have such a full range. These classes:
- Strengthen the core and pelvic floor
- Ease back and hip pain
- Improve posture and alignment
- Build strength without joint stress through low-impact
- Boost energy and confidence
- Focuses on breathing and mindfulness
Doesn’t that all sound delicious?
I was intrigued… especially when I noticed a new pilates reformer studio—The Core Connection—opening up right in my cozy town of Holden. I squealed, to be honest, when I noticed an ad online. Holden?! YES!!!!
FYI: The Core Connection, which is a feel-good, energetic, and welcoming small woman-owned business, also offers two other locations in the boroughs if you’re more out in that neck of the woods—Westborough and Northborough.
Anyway… movement has always felt good to me. I feel like it adds juice to my bones and gets me out of my head and into my body for a bit. That, and I’ve always enjoyed taking exercise classes IRL. Not only to be around like-minded people, but to carve out necessary solo time with the added bonus of a good sweat.
So, what really happened when I took my first Pilates Reformer class:
1. For one, I did not die. (Cue the laughs) No, but for real, I survived the 50-minute beginners class and actually felt like I did a decent job with the moves! (I know my background in yoga helped, but not having moved in that way for a while now… I was nervous.)
2. I felt like I got the ultimate full-body rinse out. If my body were an elastic band, this class completely stretched and twisted me … in the best way possible. I may have grown an inch? 😅 Each reformer machine has its own carriage, footbar, springs, ropes, and pulleys, so you feel fully supported to move in such a fluid way.
3. I found my edge. This is what I was looking for with a new workout. A movement that would test me, push me, teach me in a fresh way. This class did all of that. Even with the most subtle of movements, I felt challenged. Once I found my groove, I could see why people would get hooked.
4. I was able to find my own rhythm. Literally and figuratively. What I enjoyed about pilates is that it combines familiar movements of dance (I take Zumba weekly), yoga (I’d consider myself a yogi), and that mind-to-body engagement I really enjoy most about my workouts (a dash of mindfulness when you’re breathing through each cue). The instructor really helped me find my groove, and her cues were easy to follow as a beginner.
So what do you think… would you give the Pilates Reformer a try? With a new year ahead, there’s no better time to explore ways to feel stronger, healthier, and more like you again. Maybe this is your sign to jump in and give it a try.
