Pilates Saved My Life

When JoAnn Smith, 65, suffered an unimaginable loss, Pilates provided a lifeline.

- JoAnn Smith

I GREW UP IN PATERSON , NJ, BUT AFTER COLLEGE I MOVED TO OMAHA ,NE , FOR A TEACHING JOB . I’ve been here ever since. I taught special ed, married my husband John, gained two stepchildren and raised our two kids, Brian and Molly. After 15 years of teaching, I decided to switch careers and started working for a large hotel chain, first as a sales rep, and later in its group commmissions department, where I still work.

One constant in my life has been that, in addition to whatever job I’ve had, I’ve always taught fitness. Right out of college, I taught at Elaine Powers. Then it was water aerobics for the Arthritis Foundation, and later I taught folks with muscular dystrophy at the College of St. Mary. Exercise has always been how I centered myself and cleared my mind. I’d go stir-crazy if I couldn’t move.

DISCOVERING PILATES

In 2002, I did something to my back, and it just kept getting worse and worse. I felt enormous pain down the side of my leg. I was finally sent for an MRI, and the doctor told me I had the spine of an 80-yearold—even though I was only 45! I remember he said that some people just age differently and that I may never walk normally again. There was no way I was going to accept that!

Within a week, both my physical therapist and my physician’s assistant recommended Pilates to relieve my back pain. Clearly it was something I had to try. After one mat class at the local Y, I was hooked. I was intrigued by the deliberate movements instead of my usual flailing about trying to burn calories. I started going twice a week, and my back pain improved with every class. Within a year, after taking a weekend certification class, I became a mat teacher at the Y. It was the perfect balance to work and family, and it even helped get me through the empty-nest sadness when the kids headed off to college.