Joseph Pilates intended to create a workout that helped make people strong and flexible. Besides being sickly all his life, Uncle Joe worked in the infirmary during WWI. He saw that the wounded were just lying in bed. He thought, "Well, they're not going to get any better just lying there." If you look at the apparatus he invented, like The Cadillac and The High Chair and the springs used, you may get an idea of what he was looking at to use in order to help those men. The Cadillac looks like an old hospital bed and The High Chair looks like an old wheelchair without the wheels, in my humble opinion.

I was trained by Romana Kyrzanowska and her daughter, Sari Mejia Santo. Romana was Joseph Pilates' protégé. (I consider Sari more my teacher, than Romana, but I was trained under both master teachers.) They always taught us that it was a workout! Romana would say, "Keep them moving. Weakness shows up in movement." And Sari didn't like when we massaged the clients to much. "Make them work!", she would say.

I always tended to work with the delicate flowers, as Sari would call those people who were either soft spirited or had injuries that debilitated their spirit. It was our focus as an apprentice to specifically watch those who couldn't do the advanced work. The ones who used bands or props, who did only the beginner system. Why? Because on the whole, most people can't do the advanced work. Most of the "everyday" people doing the advanced workouts were lawyers or therapists, or other teachers. The average person isn't doing that work. The McDonald's Pilates people teach the advanced or pretend advanced-like exercises to everyday people. That's why they get hurt. But it's mostly what you see on social media.

Most people have absolutely NO idea what real Pilates is! "It's functional", Julianna from Congruency Physical Therapy said. Most people don't realize there is a specific reason in the body for an exercise within the method. Other "latices", as Sari calls them, just give you something hard to do. There's no function.

Pilates is Healing. Joseph Pilates wanted people to get strong and flexible and have a balance of those two elements live in their bodies. It makes you less prone to injury. Besides, then benefit of consistency with anything makes you stronger inside and out on many levels. As a Healer, this is the area I gravitate to in this method. We all have more than one gift, and those gifts seep into the other things we love doing. I love Pilates! I fell in love with it hard! And my Healing abilities naturally shine through this work.

Pilates helps to rehabilitate the Body. The Mind. The Spirit. In a quote that was given to us while I was an apprentice, "Es ist der Geist, der sich den Korper baut". It translates into, "It is the Mind (Spirit) that rules the Body". "Mind" and "Spirit" are synonymous. 

Isn't that interesting? Why do you think that is?

Earlier, I used "spirit" to describe the emotional and mental space of the delicate flowers. Sari used to call me a delicate flower, too. Little did she know the other half of my personality is a fierce warrior. I just don't look like it on the outside. But I digress. We often pigeonhole ourselves into a space that we don't belong. We often do it mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. We often don't think of all of these bodies when we are thinking of our injuries, aliments, abuses and brokenness.

My Spiritual Healing teacher, Pat Longo would say, "Never own a dis-ease!". "You have to be careful of what you say." We create more of our world than we realize. More than we were taught and lead to believe. More than we'd like to admit. Too often have I worked with someone when you mention an emotional reason why something may be happening in the body, that scoff. 

Why do you think that is?

It's part of our Healing. Our bodies and emotions are tied together. Pilates bridges that gap. The best part about the bridge is, you don't have to believe! If you just do the work, the way Uncle Joe intended, it just happens. It's pure magic! And it's even more amazing when people get to feel that magic. Although, they might not identify it as magic. They just feel better.

Healing is possible. Progress happens. It just requires our continued consistency. As Cynthia Shipley used to say, "Determination". It's an outstanding word.

Would you like to experience Healing in your body? It's 100% possible! I've been teaching for over twenty years. I've seen it countless times.

Now it's your time.

Don't wait.

So much Love, Light, HEALING and Blessings,

Julia xo