Even our grandmothers told us, “You have to suffer for beauty, lady.” What kind of beauty do you think they meant? Even today, in a world of constant exercise, demands for body beauty and the desire for eternal youth and attractiveness – it is impossible not to ask this question.
Many of us have ultimately realized that the beauty of man is not only the beauty of the physical body, but also of what is invisible to the human eye, as it says in Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”. But I do not want to write about this hidden thing.
I probably belong to the group of those who have already understood that they do not want to hear, “You have to work on yourself!” They don’t want to be told: “You can do it, you have to stick it out”, “Grit your teeth and get over it!” No. No more willpower and exaggerated demands so I can feel good about my performance, about the results, about competing… Enough of demanding results at any and all costs. Often at the cost of injury, discomfort and one-sided burden. I find that the beauty and performance apparent at first glance are sometimes the result of unhealthy motivations and continuing them is not indicative of the right direction, especially in the long run.
We can also perceive the beauty of the human body not only in its static form, fragmentarily captured in stylized photographs, but also comprehensively in space-time, in development, in movement. Sometimes notice people on the street, how they walk, how they move, how they react.
Pilates is a method that has captivated me precisely because its primary focus is not on having one’s physique sculpted into desired forms, but one of its main goals is functionality, learning to master meaningful movement. Thus, in the best case, its integration into everyday life. In Pilates we focus on the deep stabilization system, we work mainly with the deep skeletal muscles, which are not visible, but our posture, that is, our posture, can be seen by their condition, and our movements tell us how balanced our muscles are.
It is also good to know that we should not work “hard” against any particular problem, imbalance in our body, concentrate only on it, try to improve it by constantly correcting it. To surrender to the flow of life and movement, to work with what we have been given in our blood, namely by way of adjusting the coordination of our movements and then changing our overall body coordination is a much more acceptable solution. What we have unknowingly distorted for years, unhealthy habits and changing structural imbalances take quite a bit of time to correct. Preferably by practicing daily, not only in the studio with a trainer who is there precisely to ensure and supervise the consolidation of the correct habits, but by learning to integrate them into routine movements.
At the beginning, however, is your decision – to want to embark on unlocking the secrets of your own body using the Pilates method. To maintain a regular exercise routine not out of compulsion, but because you feel it helps you. And the reward will be not only a harmoniously strengthened and relaxed body, better posture, less susceptibility to injury, and what’s more, a good feeling and joy of movement, a calmed mind and mental well-being. And maybe, who knows, even that six of pack will be…
written by Hana Lebriez