Lifting weights is suddenly all rage. Goodbye baby weights hello skull crushers!

In episode 119 of the podcast, Trisha Druhman and I discussed how each exercise or movement discipline, modality, style, etc, claims to be the only thing you need. 

Yogis think yoga is all you need.

Personal trainers think weights and cardio are all you need.

Classical Pilates instructors think Pilates is all you need.

Please note: Of course there are exceptions. These are generalizations AND we live in a world where everything we read in the media (social or otherwise) IS polarizing. We’ve lost basically all nuance. 

We are all familiar with the headlines that read…

This is the ONE exercise you need…

Eat this ONE thing for longevity…

Every woman over 40 should do this ONE thing…

I am here as a classically trained Pilates instructor telling you that true, real life, functional, healthy (not influencer healthy, like….real healthy) bodies are made through an interdisciplinary movement practice. 

I’m a dancer and dance is not ALL you need. I’m a yogi and yoga is not ALL you need. I lift weights and it is not ALL you need. I will be the first to tell you that Pilates is not ALL you need. 

I know, I’m saying super radical things. 

Dance doesn’t give you the cardiovascular benefits you need to build endurance. Weight lifting does not address smaller, stabilizing muscles that help you create smooth, graceful movement. Yoga doesn’t stress your joints and bones enough to get you the densest bones you need. 

Pilates isn’t cardio and in classical Pilates, you don’t lift heavy, AND a consistent, intelligent Pilates practice makes you better at EVERYTHING else. 

So when you do cardio you do so without added unnecessary stress to your joints. When you lift weights you move from your powerhouse (center/core) with proper alignment and form to build muscle and strength efficiently and avoid injury. So that when you dance you have ultimate presence and control to tell your story. 

The way I view variations in your workout programming is a lot like how I look at relationships.

Some people say that your spouse is also your best friend and the only person you need. I’m obsessed with my husband, he is ONE of my best friends, and I would not make it through this life without my best friends. My NOT MY HUSBAND best friends.

One person cannot be everything to you. ← Same goes for workouts 💁🏼‍♀️

I mean that.

I’m saying this as I’m days out from going on a trip with my college dancer friends. Hi Dancers! This relationship started in 2003 and here we are. All moms now. All married. With different stories, but so many of the same experiences. 

It was easy to drift apart and then someone suggested we start using the app Marco Polo to be in touch more. Well, we now know EVERYTHING about each other.  We laugh. We cry. We have new inside jokes. 

We see each other’s partners and children. 

We show up however we are and are supported while supporting. ALL of this to say, these friendships. These emotionally intimate relationships are not only sacred, they are indispensable.

I’m obsessed with my husband. He is one of my best friends. He is my lover. He is my love and soulmate and partner and teammate and he’s everything I ever could have dreamed of. 

AND…he cannot replace my Dancers. 

My best friend of 40+ years (our moms were pregnant with us at the same time when they became friends) is the most intimate relationship in my life. She and I know each other better than anyone else. I recently suggested to her that we are telepathic and she agrees. 

Again, my husband is incredible and emotionally intelligent and listens and supports me and everything else, but my relationship with Sarah transcends words. I don’t HAVE to say anything, she knows. And we have such a rich shared history that she not only knows what I’m going to say or what I can’t get myself to say because she knows WHY and HOW I’m feeling whatever I’m experiencing. 

These three relationships, my husband, my Dancers, and Sarah are the reason I survived navigating the cognitive decline of my mother and the decisions that we made as a family to keep her safe and well cared for. 

It takes a village, right? A village to support us, a village to support our children, and you know what I’m going to say next, right?

It also takes a village to support, care for, and nurture your body. 

One workout modality will not give you everything you need. One friendship or relationship will not give you everything. There is no one perfect food (expect potatoes). And there straight up isn’t ONE exercise, stretch, move, or modality that will give you access to your fullest potential. 

The shock! The horror! Why is she saying this?

Why AM I saying this? Isn’t this bad for business?

Maybe, but MY goal when I work with people 1:1, when I lead workshops for companies, when I teach a group, in my online programming, is always to teach you the tools you need to learn about, inhabit, manage, take care of, and LIVE in your body.

I really don’t care if you ever do a perfect teaser. I care that you work on coordinating your breath and your body to move when and how you want and need it to. And that you initiate your movement from YOUR center. 

My priority isn’t that you memorize the order of the exercises (though you will, I will make sure of it) my priority is that you understand how you are moving your body and why we are choosing THESE priorities. 

I don’t care if you have six pack abs, I care that you feel and are strong inside your body.

I don’t care if you EVER do balance control off the reformer, I care that you move through your life with balance and control.

I care that you decide to start lifting weights, or taking yoga, or going to dance class and start this new endeavor knowing how to care for, challenge, and ENJOY your body. 

I care that you stop blowing past your boundaries and hurting yourself and start including your body’s wisdom in the conversation.

I care that when the world outside of your body is out of control and dangerous, you know you are safe INSIDE your body.

I talked about this a LOT at the recent free Pilates Party I hosted in Montclair AND on Zoom – if you want to know about future events, get on my email list!

And if you’re looking for the best way to start building safety and strength inside YOUR body, contact me! I LOVE hearing from you!

As always, I’ve got your back. I’ve got your front. And I’ve got your undercarriage.