Healing mentally, physically and emotionally through pilates
This story is one of resilience, inner strength and courage
Over my 20 years of teaching pilates, I have been fortunate to have a career that nurtures both my mind and my body. But mostly, I feel especially grateful to meet inspiring clients who challenge me to think outside the box and who amaze me with their resilience, determination, focus and hard work.
One of those inspiring clients is Marie-Christine, a strong, funny, bold, and straightforward woman whom I met in 2017 when she was pregnant with her second child, Jacob. Marie-Christine’s vibrant energy lit up the room, making each session dynamic and engaging. She felt even the subtlest sensations and always applied my cues to improve and feel more connected.
PILATES FOR WHOLE BODY WELL-BEING DURING PREGNANCY AND POSTNATAL
Marie-Christine has always been an active person, regularly engaging in strength and cardio training. During her pregnancy, it was crucial for her to keep moving for her physical and mental well-being, as well as her unborn child’s health. She wanted to do something different and focus on her pelvic floor’s health, so she joined my prenatal pilates classes.
The classes helped her enormously during her pregnancy, and so she decided to continue post-natal once her baby boy, Jacob, was born. She knew it was essential to keep her pelvic floor and entire body strong and mobile to meet the demands of being a mom to two small children. I loved meeting the little boy I saw grow in her belly, and once he was born, I was lucky to hold him while his mommy took care of her mind and body. Again, she inspired me with her focus and dedication to her practice.
But like most new moms, Marie-Christine returned to work and her baby started daycare, so our schedules no longer aligned.
Marie-Christine and Jacob in her pilates class
TRAGEDY STRIKES
Then, in 2023, a tragic event brought our worlds together once again.
On February 8, 2023, a bus violently crashed into a daycare, injuring many and claiming the lives of two children, including Marie-Christine’s son, Jacob 😟 He was only 4 years old.
This heartbreaking event shook the entire province and country. I remember another client coming in that morning and telling me, “Did you hear? A bus crashed into a daycare this morning.” My heart froze, thinking of my own children and how it could happen to anyone. What a horrible nightmare!
Later, while watching the news about the event, I received a message from another client who had been in the same mommy-baby class as Marie-Christine. She sadly informed me that Jacob was the little boy who had been killed. I couldn’t believe it! I had been so touched by Marie-Christine’s energy that I knew I had to attend the funeral to show my support.
When I arrived at the somber space, waiting in line to give my condolences, I held my breath, my heart heavy with sorrow, unsure of how to comfort her in such a devastating moment. But in true Marie-Christine style, as soon as she saw me, she smiled and cracked a joke: “My pelvic floor did not withstand the shock of the news!” We both laughed and cried as we hugged. She had brilliantly broken the ice, and all I had to do was hug her, and she knew I was there for her.
STARTING TO HEAL THROUGH PILATES
When I left, I wondered how Marie-Christine would handle this devastating news and how she and her husband and young daughter would keep going on. To my great surprise, I heard from her a few weeks later! She wanted to start private pilates sessions with me again. She needed to move because she was used to working out every day, often with Jacob by her side. But she needed to get out of the house because it made her sad to workout without Jacob next to her.
And so, on March 13th, a little over a month after losing her little boy, Marie-Christine walked into my home studio. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I had to bring her back to her body, back to her breath. During our sessions, I always gave her the space to cry, to be angry, to express whatever she needed.
ONE BREATH AT A TIME, ONE DAY AT A TIME
As pilates instructors, we know the importance of breathing. For those looking to start pilates it might feel intimidating or complicated based on what they see online. But that’s not where it begins. At first, Marie-Christine wondered why we weren’t starting right away with the hard stuff and why we were always breathing for a few minutes at the beginning. She slowly started to understand how beneficial breathwork was and how it could be applied to everyday life. She even started teaching it to her daughter, who felt more relaxed during those long smooth breaths.
The exercises she experienced were like a dance between breath, control, and letting go. I think that the pilates saying “as little as possible, as much as necessary” is exactly what pilates stands for. We want to be efficient in our movements to use just enough energy to perform the exercises with control, ease, and precision.
PILATES FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
Recently, a 2023 systemic review and meta-analysis found that pilates exercises improved symptoms of depression and anxiety in women. As a psychology graduate and someone who has worked in the mind/body industry for over 20 years, I have seen how pilates can improve mood and emotional well-being. I have seen young girls come out of their shell with confidence, I have seen frail fragile people feel stronger and I’ve seen people’s eyes become more hopeful.
Physical well-being affects mental well-being. Pilates can positively affect one’s wellness through it’s focus on breathing, mindful movement and alignment. Breathing helps to calm your nervous system and release tensions and good alignment and mindful movement can improve circulation and energy flow to help you stand better, move better and improve the quality of your life.
As I worked with Marie-Christine, I noticed how day by day she was getting stronger inside and out. She would have this hilarious expression for those sneaky hard exercises that I’d give her – she called them the “deceiving exercises”. They are the ones that seem simple at first glance but when done with a focus on the breath, the control and the letting go all at the same time, they are so intense!. That’s the beauty of pilates, any exercise can be powerful if you work intelligently and mindfully.
PILATES : MORE THAN JUST A STRONG BODY
When I asked her what pilates with me did to help her, she said that I brought her more than just pilates. I gave her the space to go at her rhythm, to live her sadness, her anger, her joy, all without judgment. It made me realize even more that the benefits of pilates go well beyond the physical. She also mentioned that my reassuring presence made it so that she could let go. As a pilates instructor, it’s important to be present to your client’s needs – it changes from person to person. Her sessions with me brought her more than some of her sessions with her grief therapists.
Her pilates classes were like a beacon of hope, guiding her through the darkest times.
I thought upon what she told me and I think that pilates, compared to talk therapy, really brings you into your body and into the present moment. It brings you back to yourself. By moving, you are shifting your energy, you are unblocking tensions and trauma that would normally stay stuck inside. By bringing more circulation and movement in your body, your breath and your energy can flow better and you begin to feel stronger and stronger every day. You’re not just strengthening your muscles, you’re strengthening your mind and balancing your emotions.
A SURPRISING GIFT
Marie-Christine thought that our life journeys collided once again for a reason. She might not know this, but she too brought so much to my life. Her courage to keep going one step at a time, her motivation to keep her physical and mental well-being a priority, despite this unimaginable loss, was such an inspiration. Besides this, she helped me find the courage to embark on a 2.5 month travelling journey with my children and husband across SE Asia and Australia! This idea had been simmering inside me for 20 years. While living in Asia for 2.5 years in my 20s, I met families with young children backpacking across SE Asia. I knew what a gift they were offering their children, and I wanted to do that for my children one day.
20 years later it finally happened, with a much needed nudge from Marie-Christine! And for that I’m grateful .
Despite the unimaginable loss, Marie-Christine’s determination to continue her pilates practice was a testament to her strength and resilience. Right now, she is walking solo across the Compostela in France in order to continue to keep rebuilding herself, to define herself as more than a Mom and to prove to herself how strong and brave she truly is and that there are still moments of joy to be had.
If you’d like to know a little more about how pilates can help you physically, mentally and emotionally, please reach out. There’s no time like the present.
Breathe, grow and let go,
Brigitte x
