almapilatesyoga

Why Pilates became my obsession

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 03:47:00 GMT

My clients would call this, my villain origin story ��

New Paragraph

When I found Pilates, I was in college while working as a professional belly dancer. At this point I had dipped my toes into commercial dance, but the financial stability I found, came from performing at restaurants, weddings, and private events. My life revolved around nightlife entertainment, and honestly, for someone in her early twenties, it felt exciting, unique, and a little chaotic in the best way.

If I wasn't performing, I was training. If I wasn't training, I was working out. If I wasn't working out, I was sewing costumes, packing for shows, answering client emails, or trying to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before doing it all over again.

It was one of the most exciting seasons of my life.

But underneath all of that was something I'd been carrying for years that only got heavier as time went on. It was the feeling that I was never quite enough. If I'm honest this started when I started dancing in my early teens. While this is common in the dance world, it really stemmed from the way I was trained and the way my coach/manager spoke to me and it unfortunately stuck into my adulthood.

No matter how much I trained, how many shows I booked, or how much I improved, there always seemed to be another level to reach. Another dancer who had better lines, had a better look , more experienced, more bubbly, or willing to charge less.

Comparison became the language of the industry in my eyes, and eventually, it became a normal outlook for me navigating this world. If you've never worked in the dance industry, it's hard to explain just how easy it is to lose yourself in it.

In dance companies, you're taught to blend in. Your job is to move as one, match the dancers around you, and become part of the group. Change yourself to match the group. On the other hand, as an independent performer, you're asking yourself how you can be more valuable, more entertaining, and how you can improve your appearance. And when your job requires you to perform in a glitter-covered two-piece costume, it's almost impossible not to compare yourself to other dancers booking the same gigs you are. Behind the scenes, there was always someone who seemed "better." Maybe she was younger. Maybe she looked different. Maybe she had a bigger following or charged less. Because the industry wasn't regulated, anyone could undercut your rates or take the next gig with ZERO experience and zero knowledge of the culturally rich dance I learned to represent.

I constantly felt like I had to prove why I deserved to be there.

To justify my prices, experience, and talent.

Looking back, I realize I wasn't just competing with other dancers.

I was constantly trying to prove that I was enough.

I loved dancing more than anything, so I kept going. But mentally, it was exhausting.

The emotional weight eventually became just as heavy as the physical one.

My body was tired, too.

Pilates is common among dancers now, but when I was training in the early 2010s, cross-training wasn't something anyone really talked about. Outside of dance, everything was cardio. I ran...a lot...and practiced yoga.

I couldn't afford yoga studio memberships, so I remember doing the same Jillian Michaels Yoga DVD every other day in my living room. Later, when I could finally afford studio classes, I completely fell in love with yoga.

The studio also offered Pilates.

I tried it.

And honestly...I didn't love it.

Not because Pilates was bad, but because I wasn't immediately good at it .

As a trained dancer, I was used to making movement look right. My Pilates instructor kept asking me to focus on how something felt instead of how it looked. They talked about initiating movement from deep inside the body instead of simply achieving the perfect shape.

I couldn't fake my way through movement.

So naturally, being the Type A perfectionist that I am, I decided Pilates just wasn't for me.

At least, not yet.

As the years went on, I kept dancing, performing, working nights, going to school, sleeping very little, and pushing through more pain than I wanted to admit.

Eventually, enough dancers I respected kept telling me to take my Pilates practice seriously. They swore by the rehabilitative effects of the practice

So I enrolled in a Mat Pilates course at MiraCosta College and it changed my life forever.

Instead of teaching me how to perform the exercises, I learned why the method worked. For the first time, I stopped chasing the perfect shape and started paying attention to what my body was actually telling me.

Something clicked.

My back pain became manageable, my dance technique improved and I felt stronger than I ever had.

And something happened that I didn't fully understand until years later.

Pilates was the first place where I wasn't trying to be better than anyone else.

I wasn't wondering if I looked like the person next to me.

I wasn't trying to earn my place.

I wasn't trying to prove my worth.

For one hour, my body wasn't something to judge.

It was something to understand.

Looking back, I think that's why Pilates changed my life.

My dance career had taught me to constantly ask, "How do I look?"

Pilates taught me to ask, "How do I feel?"

That shift changed everything.

In sharing this, I hope you understand and see parallels between my story and the way I approach teaching. Why I tell you to focus on your body, giving multiple options in case you need something specific to your body, but also, What if we do xyz.

I want you to leave feeling that perfection isn't the goal rather understanding how to connect and move your body in a way that makes us feel stronger and more confident, even if improvement happens little by little.

Want to know more about my road to becoming an instructor? Stay tuned ��

xo, Marisol

Pilates isn't trademarked, and it shows. Let's talk about it.

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 05:09:16 GMT

Pilates is not trademarked, and it shows.

Let's talk about it.

First, let me start by saying that If Jospeh Pilates were alive all these years, the chances are high that his method, equipment, and exercises would have evolved and might have looked slightly different than they did for the many years he was alive. But have you ever walked into a studio and found yourself doing a million lunges, using equipment you've never seen in a pilates studio before, with zero attention to breath or modifications, and it feels more like a nightclub with never-ending pulses? Yeah, me too.

"But the studio name has the word Pilates in it!"

That's because the word Pilates is not trademarked, which means ANYONE can use it in a class name or studio name, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. A great example of this is CrossFit. CrossFit requires gym owners to have a license agreement if they call themselves a CrossFit gym . It's an annual cost they must pay. I believe that unless Joe and Clara Pilates decided to trademark it in some way, then no one else should have the trademark. It allows Private Instructors like me to have home studios and use the name Pilates.

Now this part gets crazy. Have you ever seen this piece of equipment in a "pilates" studio? yup, that's a mega former.

The Megaformer was inspired by the Pilates reformer. The mega former is part of the Lagree Method, invented in the 2000s, and operates under a licensing model. So any studio that calls its equipment a megaformer or says it is a large studio has to pay a licensing fee.

A Great Loop hole is to use the word Pilates. Why? Not only has the word Pilates skyrocketed since Lori Harvey's red Carpet interview in 2023, but why not take advantage of the Trend without having to pay to use the word Pilates?

The method shares similarities with the Pilates method, inspired by it, but it focuses on high-intensity training with minimal rest.

You want to know what else isn't regulated? Certifications.

Pilates certifications aren't like real estate certification or esthetician certification, where you go to a school and then take a regulated exam. Even though Pilates certifications are the MOST expensive fitness certification you can get or take years to complete in comparison to a personal trainer, these certifications, unfortunately, aren't regulated. So anyone can go online and take a pilates course that may or may not be pilates and then call themselves a pilates instructor.

Let's keep in mind that the Pilates method has been used to rehabilitate and cross-train high-performance athletes and injured athletes, and is often used in Physical therapy offices as a supplement for clients with all sorts of needs. Imagine not going through the proper training (600-hour certification) and working with clients like this. Worst, imagine you are a client who needs a low-impact workout that is both rehabilitative and effective, and can accommodate your condition, only to find yourself in front of a "Pilates instructor" with zero training in the method.

Don't get me started on the stories I've heard about studios using ChatGPT to write their certs.

Ok, so what should you do if you're not sure what to look for in a studio? What I always tell my clients, family, and friends is to look at the studio's website and find an about us section. Read where the owner or instructor is certified, and look it up.

The other thing to look for is the equipment. Make sure it's a Pilates Reformer. I'm showing you the original Ptent that Joseph Pilates filed for his reformer design. This is the first iteration of his design , but this is what would later become the reformer. Isn't that cool?

And lastly, look at the class size. If you want a more intimate experience, make sure to look for smaller class sizes, less than 10, 4-6 is what I like. These types of classes will give you attention and correction, which is key when you are doing Pilates.

However, if you like group classes (more than 10), go in knowing that you might not get corrected on everything, and that's okay as long as you know it going in. It's just not possible for the instructor to correct every move and every angle in a class that size, but it might not be necessary. Sometimes, when you are doing a move for the first time , it might take your body some time to figure out weight distribution and proprioception. But if you have something you need to be mindful of, I recommend smaller class sizes.

Let's Circle Back,

I'm sure Joseph Pilates would have evolved his method if he would have lived to be over 100 years old and I'm a firm believer that as science evolves, so should our approach to the method , and I am NOT a Pilates Purist, but I do find myself explaining to clients why they went to a class that said Pilates and was on completely different equipment or felt totally lost.

I hope this helps bring a little insight into some of the factors behind the confusion around pilates. I'd love to hear what you think! Let me know below!