Finding Calm: Pilates, Presence, and a Hard Week
Putting the car keys on a table, I walked toward the couch to put my bags down. I wasn’t as tired as I expected to be. I had just spent 5 hours back at the hospital after long nights and a tough week at home prior. Earlier, in the hospital car park, my sister asked how I was feeling, and I said I felt calm and relaxed. Not as emotional as I had during the week and not as tired.
“It’s a good thing we had our special Pilates class earlier,” she said.
Our lovely Pilates teacher had gifted us a special class for our birthdays, and since our birthdays, nearly 5 months ago, we have been struggling to find a date that fit into everyone’s schedules. Finally, we agreed upon today at midday.
When my sister and I got to class, the teacher asked how I was and I responded,
“I’m okay.”
A very different answer from my normal and enthusiastic. “Good!” or sometimes, “Tired, but good.”
The weeks prior, especially with the hospital visit last weekend, have been tough. That same morning, she wasn’t responsive when I spoke to her nor when I went in to tell her I was leaving for the Pilates class. She was also not eating her breakfast. I got into the car to head to Pilates with a slightly heavy feeling. So, with that being said, I think “okay” was the best response.
The Pilates class we did was a tower class, which I was excited about as I normally do the reformer classes. This was my first time doing a Tower class, which does various exercises using a stationary vertical frame that has springs and bars and loops for your hands or feet. The exercises were different and challenging, and it was such a great stretch as well as strength building.
Halfway through the class, I was on my side staring at the glass of one of the doors. There are butterfly stickers that I usually find myself enjoying whenever the exercises make me face that direction. And then my attention usually transitions through the glass onto the garden below, observing the pops of green and the huge tree that towers above that area.
“Are you okay? You seem quiet,” the teacher asked.
My mind, which was simultaneously marking my inhale and exhale in time with the exercise and absorbing the view, snapped back into the room and answered:
“Yes.”
Back in the hospital car park, my sister said, “I thought you were going to cry when she asked that in class earlier.”
“No actually. What I should have said was that I felt fine. I actually felt very calm and relaxed. I felt so peaceful,” I replied.
“After all that back and forth with trying to find a good day for the class, with everything going on, it turned out to be the perfect day to do it,” my sister responded.
I agreed wholeheartedly. Now that I was finally home, I was sure doing that class was why I felt so much better after the day’s events.
It helped to further reinforce what I know to do in times of stress or when a lot is happening. Move my body and meditate – tools I reach for every day and love encouraging others to use as well.
Dropping my bag on the couch, I headed straight to get my yoga mat. I rolled it out and put on a yoga routine to do right away! I know the Pilates helped my well-being today. To make sure I have a good night’s sleep and to really decompress, I got straight into a routine. I also plan to meditate before bed.
This is the routine I did:
Do you have a special movement or meditation routine you reach for in these situations? Here’s to making these balancing practices more regular in our lives.
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