Redemption...

I wake up for Pilates and immediately want to go right back to bed. I hate Pilates, I hate waking up, and I hate everyone. That's a lot of hate for one morning. Begrudgingly I roll out of bed and stumble down the hall to my shower. Why doesn't showering burn a million calories? And why doesn't sleeping, for that matter?

I head out the door with my yoga mat in it's new straps and get to the gym. I wave at Skinny Matt and head down to change and then back up to the studio. I am put through the torture of watching the end of CXWorks, which is a class that Justin suggested I go to. I absolutely do not want to do that, after watching the end of this class.

I enter the studio and pick a spot against the wall. Great, another new instructor. Hopefully I don't hate this one. But Megan assures me that Kiki is awesome. So I stretch out and prepare for the worst. We start in a seated position and do a whole series of roll down, sit up types of move and I am encouraged to discover that I can actually perform a sit up without assistance. But that encouragement is short lived, because eventually I have to lift my legs and attempt to do things that I know I will not be able to do. Like swoop my legs around in a circle. Nope, not going to happen.

But, refreshingly, Kiki is great at motivation and provides modifications without me having to ask her. The other thing, and it's really small but makes a huge difference, is she starts with the lowest difficulty and provides ways to make it more difficult if you feel strong enough. So I don't feel like some weak person who has to downgrade my moves. I feel like a person who has a goal that I may be able to get to, someday.

At one point, we're sitting with our legs outstretched and we're supposed to be sitting straight and tall. She comes around to make sure people are in good form and comes over to me. I'm prepared to receive a compliment, but all she does is say "More straight" and puts her hand on my back to show me where I should be lengthening my spine. Suddenly, it becomes difficult to sit up. As in, hard to sit... on the ground... not lifting weights. I'm literally working muscles BY SITTING.

At the end of class, I'm not nearly as sweaty as I usually am, but I definitely feel like I worked my muscles more than I ever have in Pilates. Take note, Pilates teachers: if you are a more interactive teacher, I get more out of your workouts. Don't make me give you a bad grade.