It will be a new year in a week, the classic “Resolution” starting point that is quickly forgotten by February.

This new year is a special one for me, as it marks my 10-year-anniversary of the Resolution that changed my life. I vowed to get fit, expected to fail, and surpassed my hopes by not only achieving my goal, but becoming a Pilates instructor!

On January 1st, 2009, I posted this brutal photo of my puffy and weak self, really sick of how I felt and looked. Just seeing this photo again for the first time in years makes me remember the trauma I survived being in and out of the hospital. I had little energy, was extremely depressed, and I felt like a prisoner in an alien body.

I started out so ill and unhappy, that I could have never dreamed I would fall in love with Pilates. It was a sustainable path to feeling better about myself and I didn’t even realize I had hit upon the one thing that would truly change my life.

I have heard that catch phrase so many times, and it was always too good to be true. Pilates gently brought me back to life, and before I knew it, I was lifting heavy things and was able to endure manual labor without needing constant breaks.

I didn’t notice for the longest time how much I had changed. But the first time I did a before and after comparison, I was blown away. People started commenting on how I looked, and people stopped asking me when my baby was due (which is so rude).

I was strong!

Nowadays, I can’t imagine ever going back to being that person from 10 years ago.

I don’t know who that person is.

Today, I’m a person who knows my body.

I have better skin even with the breakouts from my allergy to dust, wearing make-up, stress, etc. I have lower anxiety, my clothes fit better, my insomnia has diminished, and I make better food choices.

And those are just the obvious changes.

There are hundreds of smaller changes that would take a long time to list, but suffice it to say, I never want to go back.

So why do you care about me getting better through Pilates?

Because if you are where I was 10 years ago, and you feel like exercise is a gimmick, I’m here to put it into perspective. I am an average human being.

I’ve had pitfalls. I lost, then regained over 30-pounds during the 10 years, due to medication changes, and had to find a reliable way to lose it and keep it off.

I have gotten lazy and not exercised for months at a time. But I always come back.

I’ve even injured myself and spent lots of time in physical therapy.

But the key is, I don’t give up. I see what my future could be, and I want to live as long and actively as possible.

What do you have to lose?

So this New Year’s, in honor of my decade of change, I wanted to offer my help back to the community. I will be having three donation-only Pilates classes. On top of that, I will be offering Tuesday evening donation classes for the foreseeable future.

I believe that everyone should do Pilates, because everyone CAN do Pilates. Even me from ten years ago.

Happy New Year!

Heather