The Pilates bug...

Well I think I can say I finally know what all the hype is about!

I went to my first ever Pilates class last night and I LOVED it. I was so nervous beforehand, I didn't know what to expect at all but I made the early class and when I got there my class leader Rachel was really friendly. The other ladies and gents in the group were all quite a bit older than me but they all looked friendly enough and said hello.

I was pleased when Rachel said the new mat I bought was fine, and even more pleased when she said we didn't have to take our socks off (I have a dislike for bare feet, especially my own chubby toes). She said that newcomers weren't allowed to hide at the back of the class, so I placed my mat out in a place I thought was sufficient but obviously not as Rachel straight away dragged it to the front of the class so that she could keep an eye on me!

We got started and I found it quite easy to slip into, but I found quite quickly that I wasn't very good at sitting up straight and wasn't too confident on what it meant to relax your spine. My leader was really encouraging but I found it funny that every time she looked at me, she reminded the class to remember to breathe - perhaps I looked as though I was about to burst!

Rachel also helped me during an exercise by moving my legs down to where they should be. She included me in all of the chitchat throughout and I don't even know what I was worried about to begin with because no one looks at what you're doing, they just get on with their own exercises.

I found myself struggling on the long reps for some of the core exercises, my body was shaking like a leaf! But I can honestly say that I enjoyed every move. During each exercise Rachel showed us how we could push ourselves further but I stuck to the basic moves so I could get the hang of what I was doing.

I had a nice walk home in the cold afterwards and felt really pleased with myself for taking the step to get to a class. I've woken up this morning with my stomach and thighs aching terribly so I must have been doing something right!

I think I've even encouraged DC to come with me next week