“For those of you who haven’t been to a Pilates session before, I’ll tell you a few things. It will help your posture, and work core muscles in the abdomen. You will use up to 350 calories in an hour without breaking sweat. Pilates is good for avoiding lower back pain, and will leave you with a general sense of well-being.”
I felt particularly like I was “being well” when I went to help a physiotherapist with her research today after my second bout of Pilates. How nice and helpful I am, I thought, to volunteer my time to provide data for this worthwhile research. What an asset to society such selfless individuals as my well-being self are, I mused as I was encouraged to pretend I really need to pee while squeezing odd muscles as an old man counted to ten.
Since Pilates, I haven’t wanted to indulge in any meaningless roadrage. I am like the ant in heavy traffic. Rather than act unpredictably and carve other road users up in the jams brought about by a local fair, I patiently move forward – the humble ant thinking of the common good rather than my own progress. I didn’t curse the pikies who had set up the stinking fair responsible for the traffic snarl up. I’m serenely out of character.
While I was volunteering and being noble, my fellow Pilateer was meanwhile in a pub drinking Stella (such was the level of his wellbeing). Strangely jealous, I have resolved to catch up tonight. “Pilates and lager”. Could be the new “beer and fags”. A natural synergy between pretending you want to pee in Pilates, and lager, which brings fulfillment to the having to pee urge.