Kelly Roberts, 40, discovers that her decades-long Pilates practice may have kept her out of a wheelchair.
GROWING UP IN SALISBURY, M ARYL AND, MY MOM RAN HER OWN GYM FOR WOMEN, AND MY DAD WAS A CHEF. So we were a healthy, active household. I was always racing off to sports practice: basketball, field hockey, softball and the swim team. After high school, I started playing basketball for Salisbury University, but a previous knee injury required surgery and that was the end of being on the team. But I always stayed active—I’m terrible at sitting still. I went to the gym five days a week, did weight lifting, aerobics and a lot of stationary bike work and trail running.
A HARD HIT
Fast-forward to 2003, when I was 25. It was dusk, and another car was stopped in the fast lane, making an illegal left hand turn. I came up over the bridge and rear-ended him going 65 mph.
My car was totaled and the whiplash left me with a degenerative disc disease in my neck. The pain became so bad that I would have to hold my head up to get out of bed. My doctor said I was going to need surgery, but when my mother heard that, she urged me to do everything I could before having an operation. “Why don't you just try some Pilates and see how you feel?” she urged.
My mother knew what she was talking about. She had opened her own Pilates studio in Salisbury when I was in college. I had done rehab work with her after my knee surgery, but I’d never had a full Pilates session.
PREEMPTING SURGERY
I was living in Annapolis by now, working as a food broker. I started going to a local Pilates studio twice a week and almost immediately I felt like a totally different person. Any movement that opened up my chest and pulled my head back felt wonderful. I did a lot of back extension work, to help with my spine alignment.
Over time my degenerative disc disease reversed itself, thanks to the Pilates. I knew then that I wanted to become a Pilates instructor.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2019-utgaven av Pilates Style.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2019-utgaven av Pilates Style.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Finding New Momentum
Overcoming obstacles caused by the pandemic, the virtual version of this popular festival still achieved its goals.
Carola Trier's Extraordinary Journey
In his authoritative biography of the first woman to open a studio, Reiner Grootenhuis delved into her personal papers to tell the harrowing story of her time in a prison camp during World War II.
Racism in the Pilates Industry
Incidents of police brutality and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests have shed a bright light on systemic racism in the U.S., including in the Pilates industry. Here, Black instructors share their experiences.
For Self-defense
Moves of the Month
Comfort Food Made Healthy
This fall, cozy up to tantalizing comfort food that’s also healthy. A new cookbook from Kristin Cavallari shows you how.
Pilates Postcard
A Pilates teacher shares how the method is making waves abroad.
The Ultimate Gift
One year ago, Kahley Schiller’s life was completely upended by an extreme health crisis. But thanks to her 20-year Pilates practice, the 40-year-old was able to recover quickly.
Revelations
For Sarita Allen, a star of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and a protégée of Kathleen Stanford Grant, Pilates was key to her decades-long career.
Meaning WITHIN THE Movement
The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine help you go deeper into your practice, promising plenty of play along the way.
PILATES IN THE HOOD
Though she’s trained many top stars, Kim Carruthers says she’s most proud of her work as the founder and director of a nonprofit bringing the method to underserved communities.
