Putting It In Reverse

It was the slippery slope of aging

with a bleak future of

knee replacements

a crippling scoliosis

incontinence

stiffening joints

an out-of-touch body.

Everything was tight except what was supposed to be tight.

ENOUGH!!!!!

When I walked into the PilateSpa studio on March 17, 2005 , this Irish Lass said:

ENOUGH!!!!!

That day I began

PUTTING IT IN REVERSE.

With Kathleen and Bree as my guides, I began and I continue week after week. The infrastructure was and is as instrumental to my progress as the motivation to feel and look different. My budget was reworked so the cost of the sessions was built in for the “long haul”. The sessions became as vital as groceries and trips to the Opera. The drive from the West side to the East of Madison became a part of my routine without grumbling about construction on University Avenue or the football crowds that made me late for Saturday stretch class.

The two beautiful dancers that became my teachers allowed me to fantasize and reminisce about the years of my youth as a dancer. That helped me believe I could Put It In Reverse. My trust in their patience, kind suggestions, demanding perfection, and in-depth understanding of movement and the body, carried me on a wave of belief in myself and propelled me forward each week.

As I write this I am submerged in the fourth year of a Pilates practice that honors my body. The day I tossed the mini-pads away, I giggled. The days I bike and have no knee pain knowing I did it without surgery, I smile. Each day my spine feels straight without the aching fatigue of the past.

I stand straighter and prouder of how I am keeping it in reverse and loving it.

Julia O’Reilly, A 73 year old believer.