Being a Pilates instructor is like being a pain detective.  My hand and wrist have been hurting for a couple days.  I tried ignoring it.  Then I tried taking an anti-inflammatory.  When I woke up this morning, the pain was still there.  I started asking myself questions.  When did it start?  What makes it feel worse or better?  What type of pain is it?  After paying attention to the pain, instead of just trying to make it go away, I learned a great deal.  I realized I've been snapping my fingers when my clients are doing the 100.  Snapping my fingers is one of the things I could not do when my repetitive strain injury was acute years ago.  This led to a working theory that I had aggravated the nerve running down my arm to my third and fourth fingers.  I remembered some stretches designed for releasing the muscles of the hand, wrist and forearm.  I did the stretches and got significant relief.  The pain is intermittent now, but I can relieve it with the stretches.  And I won't be snapping my fingers.

Two things I love have something common--with both food and Pilates, quality trumps quantity.  Six to eight carefully executed repetitions of most Pilates mat exercises are enough to build strength over time.  When you add resistance on the apparatus, even fewer repetitions may be necessary.  Pilates isn't a quick fix because you need to practice regularly to get results, but you don't need to devote hours a day to get in shape using the Pilates method.  As you get stronger, you increase the intensity and number of exercises rather than bumping up the repetitions.   As a result you can continue to devote the same amount of time to Pilates and still get a progressively tougher workout.

If you boil Pilates down to its essence, it's all about paying attention to our bodies.  Our hunting and gathering ancestors didn't need Pilates.  But things have changed since we climbed down out of the trees to sit in front of computers all day.  Pilates is a way to reconnect with our physical selves.