What PILATES means to me. 

My connection with Pilates is deeper than in it's physical sense. I discovered it as an alternative to get me through a life changing event. 

Here is my story...leave yours. by Aspasia P. Simeone

Science has been a passion of mine since I was child, and as I matured fitness became my recreation. The kinesiology behind the fundamental execution of the exercise grew so intriguing that I soon became interested in natural body building. The human body is a machine full of levers and pulleys and I found the biomechanics to be fascinating. For the record, Pilates was a familiar word in the fitness industry during the 1990’s but I had not yet invested much time into exploring its method. However bearing in mind my inherent ambition to understand the facts, reality and any conviction I chose to participate in, did confirmed my pursuit in seeking out a qualifying fitness agency to further my proficiency in the fitness arena. The American Council on Exercise offered all I had deemed absolutely essential in qualifying their fitness professionals. Accordingly I applied and completed 2 of their programs: the first; Personal Training (yr 1999) and the second would follow some years later.

As life can unexpectedly disturb the natural balance and order of our personal life, soon after I became certified as a Personal Trainer and assumed a part-time fitness training business aside from my industry job, I became gravely ill with an aggressive cancer that did exactly that…take me away from all that I loved, as I focused on a treatment to arrest this consuming disease.   

The treatment period although harsh, was promising and I focused my energy into the recovery and rebuilding stage. While my Spirit was strong, I soon realized that my physical being was broken beyond a quick and familiar repair. The pharmaceuticals used in my treatment purposely lingered in the muscles to intensify the effect, causing such atrophy that to reclaim my past healthy muscular physique would require gaining 25 pounds coupled with intense ‘muscle sequencing training’. I just could not summons the mind-set, yet alone the extreme muscle recruitment required, to fulfill this demand. 

It was then, in the year 2000 I started to survey all the other fitness disciplines as a means to help guide my return to physical health. For the first time, I took the time to look closely at the origin of Pilates and where its source of strength derives from. I was amazed, beyond amazed to say the least, to discover how the muscles are not called upon in sequence to achieve a particular task, but instead Pilates combines the muscle effort integrating the breath with the movement to achieve the action collectively. The Core is the Pilates Powerhouse, separated into the upper chest cavity and lower pelvic cavity housing its perspective organs and driven by three indispensable muscles: the diaphragm, the pelvic floor and the bridge between them; the transverse abdominis. My pursuit for the next couple of years was to study Pilates in truth and attempt to completely comprehend how to voluntarily enable these deep core muscles, empowering and controlling them through the breath. Through these means I was able to regain my mental-physical health and reach a level of awareness that surpasses the ordinary objective implied by ‘ones-well-being’, that I believe is obtained only through Pilates. 

Everyone’s journey is personal and different. What is yours?  I would like to know.