I am getting ready to celebrate a “landmark” birthday.  I’ll turn 60 in December.  When people ask how I plan to mark the occasion, I typically describe two trips I have planned.  But I find I am thinking less about the 60th anniversary of my birth than the 30 or so years I may have left beyond that day.  I often joke with my clients that “it’s all maintenance from here on out.”  But sustainability has become a major theme as I think both about my own aging and how I teach Pilates.

My appreciation for the power of Pilates has only grown over the years.  First, I experienced my own body change and improve.  I went from chronic pain to mostly pain free, increased my strength and endurance, and toned every muscle.  When I became an instructor I witnessed my clients achieving similar benefits.  Now I am beginning to understand and emphasize three qualities that make Pilates a particularly valuable tool as we age. 

Pilates promotes fitness both in the studio and outside of it.  A well-rounded Pilates practice can help older adults keep doing the things they love and even take on new physical challenges.  One client, age 58, reported she was able to hike farther while carrying a heavy backpack during her vacation this summer.  She attributes this change to practicing Pilates for the past year.

Pilates adapts to fit every body.  Pilates trains us to use all of our muscles, distributing effort and avoiding the wear-and-tear caused by recruiting the wrong muscle for the job.  Older bodies—which are often slower to recover from intense physical activity—benefit from working smarter, not necessarily harder.

Pilates encourages independence.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to see my clients when they come in for their workouts.  But many are now free from work and parenting roles and they like to travel.  Once they know how to do them correctly, Pilates practitioners can perform many mat exercises in a minimum of space with little more than a mat or towel.  This means they can maintain hard-earned strength and flexibility even when away from home.

As a child I got the message that poor posture is a sign of poor character. No one ever said it in so many words, but the implication was clear from the severe tone of voice and punitive context whenever I was ordered to "Sit up straight, young lady!”  or “Stop slouching!" Later I came to understand "She has such lovely posture" to be the highest of compliments--conveying much more than the mere observation of an erect spine.

I started ballet lessons at age 5. Although I enjoyed learning all the positions and leaping across the room with my leotard-clad classmates, I knew why I was there--to overcome clumsiness. I was "tall for my age" and prone to tripping over my own limbs--or at least that is what I recall overhearing. My only memory of actually feeling awkward in my body was years later when I sprouted hips overnight and kept bruising them on desks and tabletops.

I'm sure my mother was both pleased and vindicated when I eventually earned praise for my posture. She believed this to be a triumph over one of femininity's greatest challenges to tall women. She wanted me to be willowy--simultaneously long and elegant, but still supple enough not to seem intimidating. She had two seemingly contradictory fears--that I would not stand up straight enough to be attractive and that I would stand up for myself and repel men by appearing to lack the essential quality of submission.

Her friend Sally, 5' 10" and slender, was deemed tall enough to wear big hats--an asset.  But she ruined it all by standing with a distinct forward bend of the upper back. I have to admit Sally looked a little like a question mark from the side.  But I have her to thank for knowing I was among the lucky ones who could manage a wide brim if I wanted to. Otherwise, as far as my mother was concerned, my height was just a source of worry.

I, on the other hand, had a great time being tall. As far as I knew, my posture was just fine. Then, in my early 50's I started getting really serious about Pilates. It is not for nothing Pilates instructors are sometimes known as the "posture police". My Pilates teacher placed a foam roller against my back as I stood and pointed out that my head was nowhere near its correct position. Instead of floating comfortably over my tailbone, my head was out in front of my sternum causing all sorts of problems for my neck and upper back muscles. Thus began my quest for better posture.

To be continued….

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seasonal influenza causes an average of 36,000 deaths in the United States each year. The new strain of flu, known as H1N1 or swine flu, could mean an even higher toll this flu season. So when President Obama recently urged Americans to help prevent the spread of the flu, I took it as a challenge that could benefit both my clients and my business. I’ve always been hygiene conscious in my practice—I have a master’s degree in public health, after all—but I consciously recommitted myself to a set of practices designed to reduce the spread of viruses in my Pilates studio.

I got a flu shot at my first opportunity. I wash my hands or use hand sanitizer and wipe down the equipment after every client. I try always to cough or sneeze into my sleeve, and if I forget and sneeze into my hands, I immediately wash them. In addition to my regular cleaning routine, I disinfect the studio door handles each morning.

I have explained these measures to my clients and asked them to do their part by either washing their hands or using hand sanitizer when they arrive for their sessions. Although I was initially nervous about making this request, everyone has responded favorably. As with most prevention tactics, I’ll never know if these steps actually avert any serious illness. But I’ve already succeeded in building goodwill among my clients, and if I avoid catching just one cold, it’s more than worth the modest efforts.

* http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.ht