Pilates - The Music of Movement

“If movement was music, then Pilates is my favourite kind”

Sarah Hilton

If movement was music, then Pilates is my favourite kind - the music of my soul, the sort of playlist that resonates with me that I could listen to over and over again without getting bored. It brightens my World on those grey days, it calms me when I need to reflect and heal and it lifts my spirits when I’m feeling blue - in fact my love affair with the Reformer is not dissimilar to a certain Phil Collins song!!!

And me, my body, I’m all the instruments in the band. My heart beating like drums creating the rhythm, always there underlying - ga-gung, ga-gung, Patrick Swayze stylie. Then my core, the guitar - coming across my centre and wrapping around my back, the foundation for a great song - I mean imagine Fleetwood Mac without any guitars, they would definitely have fallen apart! Next is the piano, coordinating hands to feet, arms to legs and finally of course the Voice - which for me, in Pilates, is your breath. It links everything together, your favourite song played instrumentally just isn’t the same, right? ....The same way Pilates isn’t Pilates without correct breath control.

All these instruments take time to learn, and practice is always the key, in exactly the same way Pilates is a discipline that cannot be picked up and put down.

“You need to commit to the method and practice, practice, practice to reap the rewards. ”

Now your body does not mind which genre you choose, (it’s not your gran listening to it), so be it classical or contemporary, rock or pop, just pick what suits your soul and what makes you feel good. Find a damn good teacher to guide you, and enjoy. And remember sometimes your favourite band might break up on you, just like our bodies sometimes do, but this does not mean we can’t get back together, this is where Pilates really comes into its own as the very best comeback!

Once you have mastered the basics and learnt to love your instruments you cannot walk past a piano without having a little tinkle, pick up a guitar without strumming a few chords or listen to your favourite song without singing along. The benefits of practicing and harmonising all the instruments to create that beautiful song will pay off in royalties. Your body will thank you. 

On my playlist right now - ‘Come Alive’ from The Greatest Showman. What’s on yours?

by Sarah Hilton