Client Stories: Veronica's Second Month in the Cohort

When I first launched the Cohort, I asked my friend and client Veronica if she would be up to taking notes on how she felt and how her understanding of Pilates and her body shifted by taking part in the program. Veronica and I studied art history together in Paris and it wasn’t until the pandemic that she tried out Pilates with me (thanks Zoom!). I knew Veronica would have great insight because she’s a former athlete, having played basketball for over 20 years - but she never found a group class that really worked for her. She went above and beyond and I’m so excited to share her thoughts from month two. These are her real and very honest recaps post-class. Enjoy all the emotions… and be sure to check out her response to month one at the bottom.

Week 5 - Thursday

Alex is like the Sherlock Holmes of Pilates because every time I come to her with a complaint or an ache or something that just feels generally off, she goes into that little mind Palace of hers and pulls out like 5 different exercises, some of which I've never done in my entire life. And I've been around the block a couple times. My hips have been killing me all week long. They've been super tight, one of them actually seized up on me the other day, and she had us doing these exercises that I've never even seen before. After class, I feel great - super limber, I don't have any pains in my hips and I can't wait for the next class. She seems to just work her magic and always put me back together again.

Week 6 - Tuesday

When I started doing Cohort classes about a month ago, my mind was blown by how different Pilates was from anything I had ever done before and the ‘no pain, no gain attitude’ that I had subscribed to for so long. But after today's Cohort class, I should probably clarify that does not mean Pilates isn’t hard. You might just break out in tears in the middle of class because it hurts. But it will hurt so good. That’s the thing about training with Alex; she has such an intricate knowledge of every joint, muscle and tendon in your body that even the smallest instruction, like ‘raised your leg 3 centimeters more’, might make all the difference and engage your core or your hip flexor or something else I probably don't even understand, in a totally different way. That is why I train with her- because she's a boss and she knows her stuff.

Week 6 - Thursday

So, I'm not quite sure what to say about today's Cohort class and I mean this in the best possible way. Today's class - don't get me wrong - was very hard and very difficult, but for some reason it felt easy and effortless in a way that I have never experienced before, at least during any other exercise class. I just felt truly in my body. It's hard to explain but to compare my experience in other classes, I've always compared my body to that of the instructor, to the person next to me, even to my own body and its capabilities at a previous time. I just can't explain how different today's class was and I have a sneaking strong suspicion that it has to do with the fact that I joined the Cohort and have been training with Alex for a couple of months now. In just a short period of time, she's really taught me more than just how to move - but how to be in my own body. Are there things that I still need to learn? Absolutely. Am I doing every single movement correctively? Absolutely not. But I have a feeling that Alex is going to teach me all that and more. Think about that: when's the last time you felt like that in the class?

Week 7 - Tuesday

I just had Cohort class with Alex today and since I already coined the term Real Talk Tuesdays, I’m going to tell you like it is. I did not want to do Pilates today. I was tired and feeling rundown and just generally a little off. I’m not even going to try to pretend that I rocked today’s class. The thing about Alex though is that she always seems to motivate me. I know I’ve already talked about her crazy specific instructions and I still don’t understand how she catches this all through Zoom. But beyond those very important physical instructions, today she said to me, “I know you’re stronger than that” and it wasn’t in a shady way. It really hit the nail on the head. I was feeling really run down mentally but she’s just got me feeling like I can do this. That’s the thing about training with her - she truly understands your capabilities and she knows just the right way to get you there on any given day. I’m so glad I started my Pilates journey with her and I couldn’t be more fortunate.

Do you want to join the Cohort? The next start date is April 6th at 18:30 CET. Sign up here. If you want a taster, drop-in to next week’s group class. These don’t happen often anymore so get on it!

Alex PhillipsMarch 24, 2021Cohort, New to Pilates