Why Romana's Pilates?

After practicing the Pilates method for over a decade, I truly believe that Pilates is for everybody! Pilates offers something for everyone, no matter what your personal goals are!

Are you working long hours and seem to spend more time hunched over, gazing at your computer than you'd care to admit? Pilates holds no judgment and is available to help you de-stress through exercises focused on bringing movement, flow, and breath back into your life. It's also great for improving posture ;)

If you're an athlete, Pilates is the perfect complement to your training. Pilates focuses on rebalancing the body through stretch, strength, and learning control of your body to improve your performance and level up your training. The method also reduces injuries and improves recovery time because Pilates focuses on strengthening and protecting our joints while increasing our range of motion.

Or maybe you took a break from working out entirely, and you don't know where to begin. Pilates is an excellent start to getting back into a fitness routine because it is a method that is tailored to all levels of fitness! As a beginner, you are not expected to perform advanced exercises! We will start slow to ensure you build a solid foundation before adding new exercises to your routine. But don't get discouraged! Through progressive repetition and consistency, you will receive all the benefits the Pilates method offers, even on the first lesson!

I have personally experienced feeling disconnected from my body, being in physical pain, and feeling overwhelmed by life's to-dos. I can confidently say that consistently practicing Pilates changed my life. I am no longer in physical pain caused by chronic sciatica, and I feel more connected to my authentic self because I have found joy in moving my body again and learned to love it for all its capabilities and imperfections.

While all forms of Pilates have significant benefits, I noticed the most change in my body when I found Romana's Pilates, and you too will feel the difference immediately!

So Why Romana's?

1. The original Pilates method, as Joseph Pilates intended

From the Romana's Pilates International website:

 Contrology or Pilates may be just words to many people, but at Romana's Pilates, it's the exercises and philosophies of Joseph and Clara Pilates that we teach, as handed down to their world-renowned protégé Romana Kryzanowska and her daughter Sari Mejia Santo. Through Romana's Pilates, you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body. Then, through proper repetition of its exercises, you gradually and progressively achieve that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your mental and subconscious activities. Romana's Pilates is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace, and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in how you walk, play, and work. You will develop muscular power with corresponding endurance, the ability to perform arduous duties, to play strenuous games, to walk, run or travel for long distances without undue body fatigue or mental strain.

2. Rigorous instructor training apprenticeship

Romana's Pilates instructors go through rigorous training to teach the Pilates method. Before being accepted into the Romana's Pilates apprenticeship, it is required for a potential apprentice to demonstrate an understanding of the intermediate system exercises on the reformer, mat, Cadillac, and chairs and be able to perform each exercise.

 Romana's Pilates apprentices must spend a minimum of 15-20 hours per week in a training studio guided by a leveled instructor. Upon completion, every Romana's Pilates instructor will have completed around 1040 hours of hands-on training and observation. For reference, the Peak Pilates method only requires apprentices to complete 500 hours for certification and Stott, just 310 hours.

3. Systems approach

Each exercise in the Pilates method is CONNECTED and builds off one another! When you work with a Romana's Pilates instructor, you will experience the maximum benefit of each exercise because you will first have built a solid foundation to perform each exercise with precision and flow. By following the true Pilates system, you will exercise every muscle in your body without over-developing certain muscle groups.

4. No high repetitions

Have you ever been to a fitness or Pilates class where you do 10-50 reps of an exercise at a time? After the 10th rep, you become more fatigued, and your form is sacrificed, leaving you at risk for a potential injury. Romana's Pilates upholds the integrity of Joe's work by only performing the maximum repetitions he intended for each exercise. Instead, most Pilates exercises do not exceed 5 repetitions because we are meant to stretch more and more and reach farther and farther, forgoing the need to do multiple reps.

5. A completely personalized experience

As Pilates has become more mainstream over the last 5-10 years, the integrity of the method has somewhat become lost. Many popular Pilates studios today offer very large class sizes, often exceeding 10+ students per class, leaving little personalization and excluding people of all fitness levels.

 While large classes can be a fun and energizing way to enjoy the benefits of Pilates, Romana's Pilates classes typically do not exceed 3 students per class. This allows the instructor to pay close attention to your body and make modifications while still enjoying the benefits of a class setting. If you prefer a more individualized experience, I recommend working with a Romana's Pilates instructor 1:1 at least once a week to reap the maximum benefits of your Pilates practice at a quicker pace.

Overall, there is no wrong way to enjoy the benefits Pilates has to offer. Romana used to say, "even bad Pilates is better than no Pilates!" But, if you want to see your entire demeanor change right before your eyes and work with an instructor who knows this system through and through, consider working with a certified Romana's Pilates instructor today!