Earlier this year my Dad came for a visit and he stayed with me about eight days. My usual routine is to workout in the morning before going to the studio. The first morning my Dad was with me I was on the reformer in my office while my Dad was making his coffee and checking emails. He began making cracks about the ‘heavy breathing’ (my Pilates breath) coming from the office. My Dad is a jokester!

After I finished my workout I said, “Okay your turn!” I did not expect him to take me up on it but he did! We did a bit of footwork, single leg work, some lats and abs and a few things on the tower. His workout was no more than 30 minutes but it was fun for me to figure out what to do with him! My Dad has two bad shoulders - one from a bike accident when I was a child and the other from a ski accident years later. This really limits his ability to lift his arms … but with Pilates there is always a way.

The next day I had to go to work earlier and my Dad asked if he could use the reformer again! I am not sure what all he did but he got moving and that is the key. After this I brought home some grippy socks for him from the studio. During his stay he continued to use my reformer and by the end of the visit expressed interest in buying a reformer! No one was more surprised by this than me!

It was clear to me the small workouts he was doing were making him feel better. I have no doubt with a regular practice he would see even greater improvement and maybe a bit of increased range of motion, too.

Pilates does not have to be ‘killer’ to be effective. And even bodies with issues can really benefit. I always say, “Pilates meets you where you are.”

I have thought for some time my Dad would benefit from Pilates. He’s had back surgery and could use the core strength. I just did not expect he’d give it a try but I sure am glad he did. He’ll be visiting again later this Summer and you can bet I’ll have him doing Pilates again!