After 20 years in the military, I thought I knew everything there was to know about physical fitness. I had grown up surfing, trained with the Navy SEALS and the U.S. Marine Corps, and had been running competitively for many years. Following retirement, while most of my peers got jobs in the defense contracting industry, I entered the fitness field, beginning as a personal trainer.
I first heard of Pilates when a weekend workshop was offered at the gym where I was working. I was skeptical, but colleagues told me that it was popular, and a good way to get new clients, so I signed up. I was curious about Pilates, though I didn't expect to be challenged or inspired. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
The first thing our instructor did was put us through a basic routine on the Reformer. The sensation was refreshing, uplifting, cleansing and eye-opening. I got off the machine feeling taller and smarter about my posture, as though I had reawakened muscles that had been dormant, compressed and strained for years. The movements were graceful and elegant, and I could really feel them working. It was like a simultaneous workout, massage and stretch.
I learned, to my surprise, that Joseph Pilates was someone I could identify with: a boxer who had studied yoga and martial arts and taught hand-to-hand combat. I studied more on my own, attended more workshops and read his book. I was hooked. For me, Pilates was the comic-strip light bulb over my head, confirming what my intuition had been telling me about the body for years. I was so excited to find an exercise program that brings together, in a comprehensive and intellectual way, the natural movement patterns of the human body, and more importantly, teaches how to correct the muscular imbalances that eventually befall all of us.
Not long ago, a mat class student of mine invited me to go surfing. As we paddled into the waves, I realized it had been nearly 10 years since I had last surfed. I hoped I wouldn't embarrass myself. But as I took off on my first wave, I realized that all my Pilates training and exercises were coming into play. As I carved into my first turn, I couldn't help but grin and think of each maneuver as a series of Pilates movements (and about how relieved I was that I had been strengthening my core).
It's amazing how complementary the two activities are. Paddling on a surfboard closely mimics the Pilates Swimming exercise. Catching a wave and transitioning from lying to standing on the board require a lot of abdominal strength, sometimes used asymmetrically, which I developed by doing Single Leg Stretches and Double Straight Leg Stretches. Like Pilates, surfing maneuvers require strength from oft-neglected muscle groups deep in the shoulders, back and abs. Without intense focus and coordinated movements, both activities are near impossible.
After our surfing session, I remarked to my student that Pilates really helped our surfing. She smiled and said, "You've got it backwards. Surfing helps our Pilates!"
