How I found my approach:
I was stuck in bed, something had happened the day before. I had pain radiating up my left leg. My back felt very unstable. Ever breath I took I was in pain. I had heard this clicking sound a couple of months before but it was nothing compared to this. I knew I was messed up but I needed to know why.
I was deadlifting the day before with relatively light weight. It was my form. My form was off. The books I read taught me that this was primarily a hamstring exercise but I could feel this in my back. Lifting for strength had risks and all the authors detailed this but I thought I knew better.
I was a fool.
I needed help but what kind?
I had been in and out of the hospital all my life and I was tried of going through the traditional health care system. In my early 20’s I had seen a chiropractor as well as spent time with massage therapists but nothing seemed to help. As I laid in bed I thought, I would be a cripple for the rest of my life.
A year and a half earlier, I was coaching at the Olympics. I spent three years previous to that coaching beach volleyball to recreational athletes. I was constantly moving. Even when I had injuries I could still move. Not this time.
As I contemplated my future, my savings, my future family, I knew this was not going to be easy. It was time I took my health into my own hands.
I rolled myself out of bed and headed to the library. The library had been my best friend after I left university and then college. This great place where people could learn about 30 plus years of someone’s life in 200 or so pages. A true blessing to those who couldn’t afford higher learning. I knew that there had to be an answer in those books. Someone must have a solution.
I limped my way there. Staring at the ground as I walked. Everything felt off. Nothing was natural anymore.
The next few months I spent everyday researching.
From one library to the next.
I read on all alternative medicines.
All types of modalities.
The Alexander technique, tai chi, chi gong, all types of yoga, the franklin method, functional training, kettlebells, Pilates you name it I read up on it.
One month lead to one year, one year to two. I tried it all. Different breathing methods, different exercises, nothing helped. They all had similar theories until I picked up a book on Pilates’s by Rael Iscaowitz. His book was different. He had anatomy for each exercise and explained the movement with a muscle focus as well as an objective. He gave the “Why”
When I was younger all I ever did in school was memorize the material. I could regurgitate anything I read six times over. ( I once had a college professor explain that if you read something over six times you could retain 67% of the information). Sure I got good marks but to be honest with you I was as dumb as rocks. Memorizing did nothing but pass a test. Memorizing these exercises was a waste of time. I needed to comprehend.
Know the why.
The why, would help to put humpty dumpy back together again.
I began reading the introduction from many different Pilates books. The exercises meant little without understanding the concepts. Here’s a little tip. If you read the same thing over six times, you’ll probably blank out as you read and fall asleep because it’s the same words and explanations. Which is why you only retain 67% of the information. From my experience if you read the same subject from six different authors, you will retain about 90 percent of the info because you have six different perspectives written from a similar but unique to their own experiences perspective.
An even better tip is to purchase a yellow gel highlighter and highlight anything that sticks out to you. It changes from being a passive reader to an avid researcher, searching for gold.
By the way, Pilates was the way.
This was 2014-2015, just before this big boom where Pilates was still unknown to the masses.
Now everyone and their cat teaches Pilates or some kind of form. Not all Pilates teachers and curriculum are the same. My worry when I started was that I would end up with the wrong teacher, in the wrong studio, with the wrong application and since it’s expensive I had two choices.
Gamble and hope I find the right teacher which would more than likely drain my savings or pay my rent for eight months, live off my savings and become the teacher that I needed to put myself back together again.
I will let you decide which path I took.
The approach I took was very rational and overtime I could see why finding the right organization can make or break your Pilates path.
If you already have a goal in mind, choose wisely which approach you take to fixing your injuries because it could be an expensive one.
Time is money and I decided to invest my time in learning pilates….