"I trust in the process of life".....Louise Hay
It is often difficult to believe that "good always comes from bad", especially when something devastatingly horrible happens but I am most fortunate to be able to tell this tale.
It was late September 1995 and I set out early, as I did every morning, to run my daily 3 mile trek in the mountains. A typical Santa Fe autumn day with the sun coming up over the mountains, the air was crisp, filled with the scent of piñon and I was feeling blessed.
As I approached the second mile hill that I normally dreaded I noticed my untied shoe lace and stepped over off the dirt road into the bushes. I noticed the beautiful sunrise as I bent bent down to retie my shoe when I suddenly felt an enormous bang and heard shattering glass.
I awoke in the middle of the road, could hear a woman screaming and crying but could feel nothing. I lay quietly, struggling to beg her to call an ambulance.
The months following were overwhelmingly scary; consumed with various doctors visits and total dedication to healing my broken femur and damaged lower body. In November my orthopedic surgeon gave the green light and recommended the local Pilates studio for rehabilitation.
There I met the brilliant Joan Breibart, who would forever change my life. Years before Joan founded the Institute for the Pilates Method together with Eve Gentry and her protégée, Michelle Larsson.
Despite being an avid fitness and wellness student I had never heard of the Pilates method. Michelle took me under her wing and I attended classes 3 times a week. After diagnosing the imbalances in my body that had developed from the accident she put me on the reformer where we quickly designed a program that slowly began to reorganize my muscles and reestablish balance, coordination and strength. I was hooked. I was inspired. I was beyond invigorated. I knew I had to do whatever it took to make Pilates available to the world.
The rest is history. It became very evident to me early on that Pilates was not just a fad, nor a system of movement only for injured dancers and rich celebrities. Together with a team of marketing geniuses and Stamina Products we developed the first home reformer with an easy and effective wellness program.
Today over a million lucky users can benefit from an affordable system of movement, in their own home, that will reform the way you move, transform the way you look and exhilarate the way you feel.
written by Marjolein Brugman
Marjolein Brugman is the founder of lighterliving and Aeropilates. “lighterliving is a movement and lifestyle choice we can all make. Let’s make it simple – make one decision a day to be better and watch the small steps lead to big changes. Eat smart, stay active, and you’ll live to feel a lighter life."