The zen experience of reformer Pilates, from someone who hates exercise
Posted on
There’s a running joke in my household about exactly how much I do not like exercise.
The last time I paid money to be in a gym was in the ’90s and I feel it scarred me for life—bad music thumping out of the loudspeakers, and quick rotations on clanging metal gym equipment wedged between other sweaty bodies. Ewwww.
I occasionally do yoga but to be honest I find it a bit boring.
I also used to jog. A bit. But it seems so, I don’t know, frantic. What am I running from? Who am I running towards? Why am I puffing so much?
Mainly I run around the house—with a Dyson stick vac in hand—or up and down the stairs with heavy piles of laundry. I do love to walk and do so regularly, but I see that as mental health time rather than exercise.
So, imagine my family’s surprise when I announced a few months ago that I was, indeed, a reformer Pilates convert.
My son rolled his eyes so hard it must have hurt. My daughter snorted loudly. My husband turned his face away so I was not privy to his thoughts on the matter*. But the thing is, I AM!
It happened quite suddenly, I know. One day I was interviewing Canberra’s new pilates queen Allana Frisken on her business coaching start-up, and during our meeting she showed me around her latest Muse studio in Dickson. It looked so foreign to me. I have never before done Pilates, reformer or otherwise. My eyes bulged at the equipment. How on earth does one fit one’s body around those machines? Moreover, once you’re on, how does one orchestrate a dismount without losing a limb?
The whole scenario looked like it would demand more coordination than I possess.
Allana laughed at my protestations and insisted I came back for an introductory session with one of her instructors—on the house. She wanted me to take things nice and slowly and have someone explain it to me so I wasn’t intimidated (or in mortal danger).
I feel good, like I knew that I would.
So I met up with Christine, whose lithe and toned body, clear skin and bouncing hair was every inch an advertisement for the reformer Pilates way of living.
She explained how to use the springs, footrests, box, ball and took me through a session (to a very chilled soundtrack I appreciated in the background). There was no frenetic movement, no injuries, no freaking out on my behalf.
The last part is important because my friend and HerCanberra founder Amanda Whitley has forced me into several Zumba classes where I have stumbled around the studio like a demented giraffe on ice skates and no it was not fun in the slightest except if you were sitting on the sidelines watching me.
Reformer Pilates is about using resistance to stretch and strengthen with a particular focus on activating your core. You go completely at your own pace and while there is no doubt that you feel the burn, there is no crazy jumping around or out-of-control sweating, (or going in completely the wrong direction to Amanda and crashing into the person next to me…).
Thankfully, I’d say that reformer Pilates is the exact opposite of Zumba. Everyone is safely confined to their own comfortable space and machine, using a smooth rolling carriage to challenge the body without straining any joints. The springs provide resistance which in turn encourages you to stretch, and to hold the position using specific muscle groups. You are working out, to be sure, but in a calm, measured—and dare I say it—elegant way. And that’s how I like to exercise.
I walked away from my first session feeling somehow taller. I had activated a whole stack of muscles I wasn’t aware I had. I didn’t look like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards and I felt energised and relaxed all at the same time.
I’ve since been back to the Dickson studio on a number of occasions and have taken a friend. That’s another thing I enjoyed about it—small classes of lovely women at all stages of their fitness journey united in calm and measured movement. No yelling, no competition, just focus.
The Dickson studio is beautifully decorated in signature Muse style—Scandi blond wood and florals and floaty curtains to block out the chaos of Woolley Street. Afterward, there is the promise of Canberra’s best matcha latte downstairs at Moo & Chick. It’s right near my house. There is no excuse not to use the online app and book.
It’s a workout in the nicest possible way. I get how it can become a way of life. I look forward to my next class. Who even am I anymore?
*Pretty sure my husband was trying not to laugh out loud.
FYI: This is not a sponsored post and Emma pays for her reformer Pilates classes just like everybody else.
