For us at Tempo Pilates, what we wanted to achieve from the ‘New Year, New Challenge, New You’ task was to educate our students on how frequency and dedication to your reformer Pilates classes, whether in London E8 or WC2 can reap rewards. We wanted to prove the words of Joseph Pilates when he said “in 10 sessions, you will FEEL the difference” – and indeed, without any cueing from us, that is exactly what Dana has done.

The healthy diet aspect has for us been (and we hope for Dana) an added bonus, rather than the focus of the Challenge. Designed with a complete system cleanse in mind to start the New Year, Dana has done remarkably well at sticking to the regime prescribed by Pilates instructor and nutritionist Jane Grogan and we hope Dana will take pointers away with her when she re-introduces meat and treats!

Pilates Blog 4

So here we are nearing the end of my Pilates challenge at London E8, with only a handful of days remaining… I can’t believe 3 weeks and 9 classes has passed by so quickly!

The last week of my challenge at the Hackney studio has been incredibly smooth. My reformer Pilates exercises are going well, and as usual those pesky tricep dips and planks are keeping me on my toes. But I can feel myself slowly improving, and I’m feeling stronger every day. It’s been a subtle change but overall I feel more solid – more in control.

I think I’ve basically reset my brain to accept that going to Pilates three times a week is just something I do, and I think nothing of it. As a newbie to any sort of fitness, I used to consider going to exercise as some sort of epic self-sacrifice, doing what I hate in the name of that elusive thing called HEALTH. But now I’m actually looking forward to my Tempo Pilates classes in East London… What can I say, I feel refreshed, I feel ready to face the day. It’s just not a big deal anymore, and it’s as natural a part of my morning routine as eating breakfast.

Speaking of food, no world-shattering events have happened in the last week either. I’ve absorbed my new regimen and think nothing of it anymore. My last week has mostly been focused on thinking about how I will soon re-introduce “normal” food to a nearly all veggie & fruit diet, without shaking the boat too much. As much as I’ve gotten used to the super-healthy approach, as a hopeless foodie (the kind that instagrams all her meals… yup), I can’t realistically see a future denying all the distinctly unhealthy wonders of the culinary world forever. But to be honest, I don’t want to go completely back to how I was before either (give me pork or give me death!!). This’ll be something I have to think about…

Dana is back for a final Blog with us next week: Watch this space.

(PS: Dana has already purchased more Pilates Classes – yes, we warned you Tempo Pilates is addictive ☺)