Yes, You Can Do Pilates!

When I started practicing Pilates more than 20 years ago, I was getting in shape for my impending wedding. My goal was to maintain my figure to make sure I’d fit in my wedding dress. I had no idea Pilates would prove to provide so much more. My practice started in my parents’ basement with VCR tapes and cable fitness programs. When I branched out of my home practice and went in search of a Pilates studio, I found they were quite homogenous. I didn’t find that the classes included a variety of fitness levels, shapes, races, or even ages. There seemed to be an almost “Stepford”-like quality to the instructors and the practitioners. Everyone was twenty-something and slender, and they looked like dancers or models. And even though I fit in physically, something didn’t feel right about the environment.

I popped around from studio to studio until I settled in with a small studio owned by an older woman who didn’t look like a Pilates magazine cover model. She was fit, a former dancer, and very passionate about inclusivity in her classes. After taking Pilates for just over a year, she suggested I become certified. I knew that when I became an instructor, I wanted to be inclusive and to share Pilates with a wide range of students. I taught in private studios for a few years and then got a job with my local Y to fit with my at-home-mom schedule. That’s where I had the opportunity to teach a wide range of fitness levels, shapes, ages, and sizes. I felt at home and connected with my students.

My mission now—as it was then—is to bring Pilates to as many people as possible because I believe Pilates is truly for everybody. I hope this book helps you find your place in Pilates.

MICKI HAVARD
@mickiphit

DK
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