Why Pilates?

I gravitate to Pilates, kind of like when you meet that one friend in middle school, that you just know is going to be your best friend forever. I don’t tire or get bored of Pilates, and I know it works. It has worked for me not only as a means of staying fit and toned, but it has help me to develop my intuition, become a more mindful mother and citizen of the world, heal physically from various accidents, as well as heal emotionally from trauma. In times that have felt disjointed, Pilates helped to create harmony.

There is a Navajo concept called Hozhö, that also speaks of harmony.  It is a way of living, a choice to create beauty and balance with our actions as we move through life. The modernized and industrialized world we live in has created a lifestyle that is out of balance. We live unsustainably, well beyond the ecological context of our bodies and the environment. This imbalance weighs on my mind perpetually, and as I try to think of ways to address it, I am reminded to Walk the Beauty Way. 

Walking with Hozhö, or the Beauty Way, necessitates embracing natural systems, it requires respect for our biome and ecological structures. Hozhö has become my most favorite word. It is the focal point for the way I choose to live, and Pilates fits here. Pilates helps me to be a warrior of Hozhö in the world. It facilitates alignment, and harmony with the natural structures of my body. It works the muscles of my legs from all sides, like cylinders, keeps my vertical bones vertical, the horizontals horizontal. It strengthens my muscles to hug my bones properly, despite the fact that I am no longer scaling trees or climbing rock faces to hunt for my dinner.

Pilates works my muscles at the deepest layers, where the muscles connect to the bone. This enhances proprioception, helping me to better process my environment, and my brains awareness of my body in space. In this cultivation of awareness, and attuning to my environment, I develop intimacy with structure of my body and the land. My practice of Pilates brings me back into context, where I find home within my body and a greater sense of home within the world.