I’ve been thinking about trends a lot because…I really want some new t-shirts and I can’t find non cropped non boxy t-shirts. And with my current body that look isn’t it for me. And yet, I can’t seem to find a regular length, slimish fit t-shirt. I can’t find what I would call a normal t-shirt. A classic, reasonable, wear it every day forever because it works, t-shirt.

But since this is not the trend, it’s not readily available. I can’t find a freaking t-shirt!

That’s the thing with trends. They are shiny and new. There is a whole industry designed to get us to buy these things we don’t have because last year it was something different, but this year it’s now this! THIS is how you want to dress and look. THIS is how you want people to see you.

In the recent Super Bowl, there was a lot of press around the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs included classical Pilates in their training programming.

Taylor Swift did Pilates to prepare for and sustain the Eras Tour.

Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, LeBron, Harry Styles…are all doing Pilates.

A while back my husband sent me this article about how Pilates is having a moment.

TL;RD HIIT is out, Pilates is in.

I LOVE this and I’m also like…ummmmm…duh! When has Pilates NOT been having a moment???

But then I realize, that may be because of where I hang out. Not just because I’m a Pilates instructor and I know a lot of Pilates people, but because…Pilates has ALWAYS been a leading exercise form in my world.

I started Pilates when I was 15. I started Pilates before I was able to drive a car. Before I lost my virginity. Before platform sneakers came into style!

It was a part of the curriculum at the ballet academy I attended. It wasn’t a choice, it was a requirement to be a part of the pre professional RAD ballet program.

And I’ll be honest, because that’s how I roll, I hated Pilates when I started. IT WAS HARD! I wasn’t good at it. I was GOOD at dancing and Pilates made me face my imbalances. I had to address my weaknesses when all I wanted to do was celebrate my strengths.

When I stopped attending that ballet academy in favor of training in NYC at Broadway Dance Center and performing with the local community theaters, I took Pilates before ballet class because this is how professionals train.

I understood the fact that I needed intelligent training to prepare for a long, healthy career.

When I got to college I continued Pilates as part of my dance major. It was offered because – I’ll say it again – this is how professionals train.

So I got certified because I didn’t want to wait tables AND I wanted free access to the equipment.

And in my 20 years of teaching Pilates I have experienced in my own body AND witness in tens of thousands of other bodies that Pilates is an intelligent, sustainable, functional, and most importantly EFFECTIVE workout to make you better at everything.

Want to enhance your performance on the field? Pilates.

Want to enhance your performance on stage? Pilates.

Want to enhance your performance in the bedroom? Pilates.

The boardroom? Pilates?

Parenting? Skiing? Putting your shoes on? Getting on and off the toilet now and in the future? Dance parties? Trampolines? Public speaking? THE LIST GOES ON!

I myself am an elite athlete. I’ve had to sustain a professional career, eight shows a week, performing while injured, the show must go on and Pilates made it all possible.

Especially once I started integrated my pelvic floor 😉

Why is this true? There are many reasons.

Pilates works with your body instead of against it. Your muscles are exactly like loaded springs. If you were to tear your hamstring down by the back of your knee, it would recoil and all bunch up right underneath your butt. When it’s attached, it is a loaded spring ready for action.

Pilates uses to springs because springs and muscles speak the same language. When working with a spring, you can’t disengage from the movement or exercise or stretch. Everything is active, engaged, and communicating the whole time. This results in evenly distributed, fluid, balanced movement.

Everything in the Pilates method relates to your “core.” I use air quotes because usually when I say core, you think abs. But in Pilates we use the term “Powerhouse” which includes all of the muscles that support and stabilize your pelvis and spine: abdominals, multifidi, thoracic diaphragm, pelvic floor, glutes and inner thighs.

When performing activities of daily living, we don’t segment our time into arm time, leg time, front time, back time, core time. Instead we cook breakfast, wipe our butts, go upstairs, do a cartwheel, pick up a kid, sneeze, etc.

This is why Pilates isn’t segmented this way. Because it doesn’t translate to anything. While there are exercises and skills that require isolating certain muscles of systems in your body, that is then always applied to your global movement. Because your body works together and Pilates is an applied method.

It’s almost like…stay with me now…everything is connected.

This is one of the main reasons people come to me for pelvic floor concerns. You know something isn’t working properly or is drastically different and you’ve been told it’s normal. Your OBGYN (who isn’t a musculoskeletal expert btw and I say that as someone who LOVES doctors) has said everything looks fine.

Or maybe you’ve been in PT and done all of the internal work and breathing exercises and have now plateaued.

You are not getting what you need because your pelvic floor is being isolated and not integrated into your global movement patterns.

I see tons of online programs sold that teach you how to properly do a kegel. I love that! We need that! But if that’s where the story ends and you don’t address the systemic imbalances that created this beast or continue to feed it, you’re never going to progress. I hate that!

And I get it. Sticking with something classical, time proven, repetitive like scales on a piano or tendus in the ballet studio doesn’t feel like the sexiest thing in the world.

AND I’m here to tell you that if you want to have the sexiest sex and be stronger than Simone Biles (who said Pilates is too hard), then stick with me kid.

And listen, I’ve tried the “hottest, sexiest new workout” and have even bought class packages at these places! They’re fun! Until they hurt. And then I find myself back on my mat, reformer, and wunda chair in the Pilates studio putting myself back together again.

While Pilates is currently trendy, Pilates isn’t a trend. Pilates is like diamonds.

Trends come and go, but Pilates is forever.

I’ll be back soon with some thoughts on Lagree and the megaformer workouts — which sometimes include the term Pilates in their marketing, but are a different technique.