Cascadia Pilates & CoreAlign

Before my wife started going to a private Pilates class here I never really gave much thought to Pilates. Being a male from Northern Ireland originally I was only really exposed to yoga and it was pretty fringe activity for a long time over there. But seeing the good results my wife had, she encouraged me to go. These ladies are amazing!! I started taking some private sessions and I have achieved mobility back in my shoulder which I thought I would never have which really has made such a big difference to me. It has also improved my core strength and posture greatly. I honestly did not think I would see that much of an improvement going in but I really enjoy my time spent in the studio and the benefits of the workout after

I use to believe in chiropractic, but lost interest when I got in touch with the reality that it wasn't actually helping me. I had a baby about a year ago now and have had pretty gnarly back pain ever since. My shoulders would hurt from baby wearing. Overall I was just hurty and whiny and tired and I worried there was nothing I could do about it because I had tried it all. I tried diet. I tried supplements. I tried massage, chiropractic, yoga, jogging, other exercise, but I wasn't feeling any better. Carpe Diem Pilates is the best decision I could have made! I have been doing 2 private lessons a week for about 8 weeks. I can definitely say I felt results immediately and other people saw the results enough to comment after maybe the 3rd or 4th lesson. What finally pushed me over the edge in my decision to write this review was that I was getting more and more compliments from people about how straight, and tall, and fit I was looking. Apparently people had been concerned about me being crooked and hunched over and a bit poochy, but never said anything. What makes Pilates great is that it works with the assumption is that your body is strong and capable, there is nothing wrong with you except that some muscles are just stronger than they need to be (over compensating) and that's pulling your body in funny directions. So Pilates isolates and strengthens the lesser used muscles so the ones that are working too strongly can relax. At Carpe Diem they have rooms full of these contraptions that could be mistaken for traction and torture devices if the place wasn't so well lit. Once you get to know the machines it's surprising how something so simple can isolate your muscles so well - and make you work so hard! The staff is friendly and accommodating and mega knowledgeable about anatomy and movement. Basically, Pilates (at least the Pilates that Carpe Diem offers) is about practical, tangible, REAL LIFE results. It's not about feeling better for the moment and then going back to see them again when you hurt again... Pilates is about building your body up. There are no homework assignments except to be conscious of how you hold your body so that you don't fall back into the habits that ended you up in pain in the first place. For the first time I am able to see realistic goals for myself. In the last 2 months of lessons (pricey, but worth it!) I have found awareness of my core. Do you know where your core is? I thought I did... but let me tell you, I most certainly did not. I am now able to realize that my shoulders are way too strong and I need to consciously work on my "Scapular Wrap" which makes me hold my head straight and up right and not forward. My hips tilt the right direction now. I feel the results and the relief that Pilates has given me multiple times a day, every day! I look forward to strengthening my "outer leg line" which will hold my knees and ankles better and keep them from collapsing in on themselves. In my opinion, not many fitness regimes can offer this amount of physical awareness and it is empowering to be able to see the results and actually be able to see where I can get myself to! I can see in the future I won't have to be some conscious of how I hold my body because the "muscle memory" will be there and it just happen without having to think about it. In the interest of managing expectations... Pilates, while it is a physical exercise, works your brain more than your body - especially in the beginning. It's *hard*, mentally hard, to find those muscles because you aren't use to using them. Try it... you'll see what I mean. My body is definitely being worked out, but not so much that I am sore the next day like some workouts. These workouts aren't cardio heavy so you don't get all sweaty and stinky.