After the birth of my friends second child, she felt pain in my lower back especially in the evenings after a long day at work and tending to the family. A friend suggested she try Pilates for relief. At first, she scoffed at that. “What could Pilates do for me?" she was sure she needed back surgery, the most expensive mattress she could purchase for back support, and maybe even run through her cash fast by buying all those promise-to-cure back pain treatments that provided warmth all day long, even if they were uncomfortable. Well folks,she was wrong.

Pilates helped her back pain the very first week she began. In the beginning, she think’s she was most skeptical because Pilates was something famous celebrities did and made money off advertising how it helped them. What she learned was that after her second child was born, she began to experience poor posture and her back muscles became weak and stiff from non-use and lifting poorly.

If over 25 million people are using Pilates, there must be something to it right? Beyond her back pain, with her baby weight to lose, she also found that Pilates was a good way to become toned and slimmer all while helping her back pain. Through Pilates, she was taught to target her core muscles deep in her abdomen. By learning to focus on her core muscles and with the Pilates idea that if her muscles are used regularly, her flexibility will improve, her back pain began to decrease. The first thing she noticed was that dull ache was gone—something she thought would never go away.

The stretching techniques and very controlled positions of Pilates concentrated on the weaknesses in her body and helped her mind understand how to be more aware and in tune with her body. Listening to her body and acting upon those calls of “oh my back," increased her need for more knowledge about Pilates. Perhaps it’s because she became sort of settled in with her body after her children were born? Or maybe she just became lazy. Whatever the reason, she knew she wasn’t treating or focusing on how to treat her back which is such an important part of her core muscles!

She always tries to eat a healthy diet and will take a hike with friends and thought that was enough, but her back pain continued. She found through Pilates that she needed to focus more on the muscles, joints, ligaments, and bones in her back and how stretching and exercising these important areas would not only make her more limber, but increase her back strength, thus ridding her of back pain.

Through friends she met online and in her Pilates class, she found that beyond increasing her back strength, She was also helping muscles in her buttocks, spine, and shoulders as well. All of these things connect right? Keeping that in mind, She learned about good stretching techniques versus bad ones. She learned the reason why each Pilates movement is controlled and held for a short period of time—to strengthen and improve flexibility. The best part was the body toning that was an additional bonus of practicing Pilates.

For people who simply say, “I don’t have time to exercise," think Pilates! It helped her back pain and can help yours too along with strengthening your abs, hips, leg, and arm muscles. Enjoy Pilates!