If you know me, you know I am a fan of Dateline. I love listening to the podcast or watching these true crime stories and trying to figure out what happened before it is revealed. I sometimes think in a different life it might have been exciting to be a detective.

The reality though is I am already a detective in my own life and my own career. No one is getting murdered or kidnapped fortunately in my work. So what I am trying to sleuth out? I am watching posture and listening to feedback about aches and pains and limitations. It’s not always cut and dry what a body needs. Sometimes there is some trial and error.. What works for one student to alleviate back pain may not work for another.

I get a thrill noticing a posture or imbalance that I think may be contributing to an issue. It is like a piece of the puzzle that was missing has been found. Whether it is a young mom who hikes her hip to hold a child all day or a senior who could improve their posture - all of these clues work to solve the case.

I’ll use myself as an example. Back in February I tore my right shoulder and had a fracture in my humerus - the very first time I launched the curling stone. I like to think I am in pretty good shape so in my mind I should have been strong enough to try this new sport without injury. That’s where the detective work begins. Since my injury and through my recovery I began to observe my pectoral muscles were tighter and my shoulders had a bit of rounding forward. Both of those items contribute to a limited range of motion setting me up for problems!. I have realized I need more extension in my body and to work on bringing my shoulders back.

Since working on these areas- my posture has improved and so has my range of motion. While I was active before I may have been overdoing some exercisies and not enough of others. I always say the movements we don’t love are the ones we need the most and this was true for me as well!

Pilates is so much more than a fitness class. It is truly therapy for many who need to rehab and also a prevention for those hoping to prevent an injury. I’ll keep doing my detective work and solving body issues as they come in my door!