Something very unusual happened to me last week. During one of my sessions there were four people working out in the studio and they were all men! Why is it unusual for four men to be doing pilates at the same time? Joseph Pilates the creator of the method was a man. He was a boxer and a gymnast. He originally intended his work to be for men. So once again why was it weird to have four men in the studio working out at the same time? Well it's simple really because right now more women practice Pilates than men.
Pilates is booming. People have heard of it, studios are everywhere, it's even making it into dialog in movies and tv shows. Yet, somehow in the brilliant marketing of recent pilates studios and teachers Pilates has become known as exercise for women...what? First of all, I've always wondered why someone would think that one kind of exercise is for women and another is for men. Whether it's hockey, volleyball, running, swimming, or Pilates. Luckily, we now live in a world where any man or woman can do any activity they want...but still there is this social stigma about men and Pilates. (ok the word stigma seems a little strong, but there I said it.)
In my practice most of the men I see were brought to Pilates by their partners or wives. We even have a running joke that it takes about four years for a client to convince her husband to come to the studio. Why? Well, it is not because Pilates is easy. Pilates is hard work. People who do Pilates correctly are strong and that's that! People who practice Pilates also gain flexibility and increase range of motion. People who practice Pilates are better at the sports they want to play.
As I was thinking about this post, I was surfing the internet and I found this interview of Rael Isacowitz:
He is a world renowned master teacher. He was asked a question about Pilates and men, and his answer was wonderfully eloquent. He spoke about the history. That Joseph Pilates originally intended his work to be exercise for men but then when he moved to New York most of his students were women. He spoke about the different energies that men and women bring to pilates, and how those different energies need to be acknowledged and honored. This made me think back to the session that I taught last week, it certainly had different energy. It was new for me, but so exciting!
I was talking to another friend last night and he told me that Rob Bradford on WEEI was talking about Josh Beckett the Red Sox pitcher, who is starting out what is going to be a phenomenal season. He did Pilates in the off season to rehabilitate injuries that kept him out for nine weeks last season.
I think the tide is turning...Which brings me to the title of this post. To all of the men out there who ignored the media and came to Pilates before Josh Beckett, thank you for changing the face of an evolving system of exercise. And to my four dear clients that inspired this post, thank you for a fun hour, and thank you for informing me about the NFL strike that is looming.
Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E
Pilates Instructor
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