Client Spotlight - Belinda's 15 Year Pilates Anniversary

Last month my client Belinda celebrated a milestone - 15 years of consistent Pilates training with me.
Belinda's inspirational story was featured in my second-ever blog post way back in September 2018 - From Back Pain Towards Black Belt and also in my book "Move Free From Pain"  Let's look at her remarkable Pilates journey since then and the new challenges she has faced and see why she has stayed committed to her Pilates training with no plans to stop anytime soon! 

Belinda's Uncertain Pilates Beginnings

Back in June 2009, at just 33 years of age, Belinda had excruciating back pain due to a gardening injury which resulted in a lumbar disc bulge. The pain was severe and it was common for her to be bedridden and unable to work for weeks on end. She relied on a walking stick for support, when she could walk. At times, she had pain radiating down her leg due to nerve compression from the bulging disc. Suffering each day in crippling pain left Belinda understandably despondent and unable to visualise any type of future for herself. However, Belinda is incredibly determined and while at first, she was a little skeptical if Pilates was going to be the solution she was looking for, she applied herself diligently and saw amazing results. Around the 6 month mark of consistent Pilates, including home practice, she was largely pain-free and overjoyed. In 2011 she announced she was going back to her childhood passion - martial arts! While this was totally unexpected for me I turned my attention to preparing and strengthening her as much as possible to withstand this new chapter of her life. She went from having an uncertain future to having highly motivating goals she was willing to strive toward achieving and I was delighted to support her through Pilates on this pathway. Belinda was progressing rapidly in martial arts and was preparing for Black Belt when the unthinkable happened in 2017. During her training, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee with the additional complexity from meniscal root damage. Surgery followed and the recovery was difficult both physically and emotionally. Most people would have probably given up on their dreams at this point, but not Belinda. She drew on her incredible determination and discipline to overcome this with a combination of physio rehabilitation and Pilates. She achieved her Black Belt at the end of 2018!

Read more about her inspiring story, From Back Pain Towards Black Belt here and see Belinda in action

Another Challenge To Overcome

Just when everything was proceeding smoothly, Belinda suffered another major setback last year, mid 2023, when some unexplained neck pain worsened and became a cervical disc bulge. Belinda experienced debilitating nerve pain down her right arm and into her fingertips. While she is very active physically, she also has a demanding corporate job that requires her to sit working at a computer for long hours and sometimes late at night. Prolonged sitting puts enormous strain on spinal discs and this was a big contributor to Belinda's injury. Understandably she was extremely concerned as the pain was almost intolerable and her sleep at night was broken and disturbed. Pain relief medication was prescribed by her GP but it only took the edge off the pain. She saw a surgeon to determine if surgery was a necessity or could be avoided, and he advised her to keep strengthening with Pilates - which had been doing all along - and to try a cortisone injection. Fortunately, the injection was successful and provided some much-needed relief from the nerve pain.

Belinda then added visits to her trusted osteopath who was able to work on the disc to release the compressed nerve over time. After everything she has been through this was incredibly challenging. During this time, I didn't even want to mention the possibility of her ever going back to martial arts as I knew she was missing it terribly, but at the same time she couldn't jeopardise the healing process of the disc. However, by November last year she was progressing so well she was able to start easing back into martial arts slowly and she gradually increased her training bit by bit. Sometimes she had flare-ups but each time she was able to get back on track with Pilates and osteopathy. She is back to enjoying her time at martial arts now with few limitations on what she can do. Seeing how far she has come since last year from the acute phase, when she was in so much pain, to being completely back to a largely pain-free life is miraculous.

Pivot From Studio PIlates to Virtual Pilates 

The photo above shows Belinda with me in my Pilates studio where she began her training and continued to do so for almost 11 years, until the pandemic hit in March 2020. When my studio was forced to close at that time Belinda was the first client to jump in and do a 1 on 1 virtual session with me via Skype. It was a total unknown for both of us, but by the end of that session, we both knew it was a winner. Belinda has now been doing virtual sessions with me for over 4 years of her 15 years of Pilates training and she has gone from strength to strength. 1 on 1 sessions work perfectly for her as each session is tailored to her individual needs on that day and what she is working on in martial arts.  As she works from home she loves the convenience of finishing work and starting her session straight away, avoiding her previous long commute from work. It just makes her life easier and more relaxed.

What motivates Belinda to keep going despite the obstacles she faces? Her motto is to “keep aiming,” and despite any obstacles that arise, she will keep striving for her goals. Despite her busy schedule, Belinda prioritises Pilates as she knows it helps her to recover from pain and injury, stay pain-free and will help her age well and safely enjoy martial arts for many years to come.

15 Years is a Long Time

Let's pause for a moment to fully absorb what 15 years of practicing any discipline consistently
means. School, for most students from kindergarten to Year 12, is 13 years. Belinda's decade and a half long Pilates training, the equivalent of school and 2 years of higher education, is priceless.  It transformed her life from an uncertain future limited by her back pain to a life pursuing her passions and achieving goals beyond her wildest dreams. You can't buy 15 years of Pilates training. You can't upload or download it. You can't outsource it to someone else to do it for you. You can't do a crash course and cram 15 years of training into a few hours. There are no shortcuts to experiencing the incredible benefits of 15 years of Pilates. So if you haven't already started Pilates, the time to do so is now.

 If you have dreams you want to fulfill but pain is holding you back then my online Pilate studio is for you. If you are ready to start Pilates email me at [email protected] .  Alternatively, you can book an Initial Assessment with me here or  take the free 10 day trial of JS Mind Body Pilates, my online studio which is a library of on-demand videos, and start straight away.  It would be my pleasure to assist you on your Pilates journey to pain-free living as you age!