People that keep me going. . .

17 Feb 2011 1 Comment

by robinstory in Uncategorized

So in my last post, I said I would be writing more often.  HA.  Hasn’t happened.  But it is my intent.  A good goal to have . . .

So, with that in mind, can I tell you how much I LOVE Pilates and how GREAT it’s been for my recovery?

In 2009 I started having some trouble with my knee.  I started looking around at Pilates studios because I had heard great things about the effectiveness of bringing “balance” to the body and I thought that it could help me with my knee.    After trying a few sessions, I ended up getting a personal session with the owner of the studio, Erin.

She challenged me.  Stretched me.  I was hooked.

I ended up having knee surgery.  She rehabbed me after surgery and I now have total mobility in my knee with no pain 95% of the time.  She is so much more to me than an instructor.  She walks with me through each new challenge and always keeps it fresh and fun every time I go in.  She got a pink stripe in her hair with me when I found out I had cancer and walked with me through my cancer journey – working with me whenever I felt capable.  She kept me in the game – kept me working, helped me feel physically stronger than I was.  (And has since found some NEW instructors that I enjoy as well!)  She has worked with me through the pain of my double mastectomy and the restriction of radiated muscles that just want to tighten up.  She worked with me bald headed, breast-less and now giggles at me with my super huge expander boobs!  I always leave feeling strong and inspired!  She has become a trusted friend and is one of my greatest cheerleaders!

Her studio (Inner Focus Pilates) is a place of relationships and fun – a positive atmosphere where I feel capable of conquering the world!  Or at least MY world . . . she has been an inspiration, a motivation,  and an encouragement to me through this last year, and I KNOW it would have been so much more difficult without Erin keeping my body “in the game”.  Just this week I went in with a lot of pain in my arm from my recent expansion (yes, we’re STILL doing that).  I wasn’t sure how much I would be able to do with my arm/shoulder feeling the way it did.  As always, she knew just what I needed, and while it wasn’t all pleasant, I walked out of there feeling so much better than I did going in.    She always takes the time to really hear what I’m struggling with and knows just how to ‘attack it’ – even with restricted movement.  Our goal right now is to prepare my body to endure the surgery I have coming up to swap out these awful expanders with some nice, soft implants.  I’m grateful that she is willing to take the time to see what my body needs and work around that.  She is amazing at seeing those little imbalances we aren’t even aware we have.  I love that she is always looking for new ways to make working out interesting and challenging – she recently started Xtend Barre classes in her studio.  Xtend Barre is a fusion of ballet and Pilates that is the most current trend in Pilates.  It’s super challenging, tons of fun and gets amazing results AND it’s set to upbeat, current music.  It’s a little bit of a stretch for me because I am limited, but I LOVE IT, and she always knows how to tell me to modify so that it works for me.   She recently moved her studio to Glen Ellyn from Wheaton.  I was sad about this because it’s a little further from me and I didn’t know how realistic it would be for me to continue to go.  But the truth is, I LOVE going!  And the new studio is awesome.  So I make the drive.  And I’m always glad I did.

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