Whenever someone asks how I’m still so healthy four years into ALS, I answer “Pilates.” That’s an oversimplification – but not by much.
As a sickly child, Joseph Pilates (1883-1967) developed a fitness regimen to overcome his limitations. He began helping bedridden patients exercise by attaching springs to their hospital beds. Today, that ubiquitous piece of Pilates equipment is called a reformer.
Working with a Pilates-based physical therapist (same insurance codes) at InsideOut Body Therapies in Durham has helped me build core and muscle strength through the gentle resistance of springs and bands.
The hope it builds? That’s free.
– Andrea Lytle Peet, Team Drea Foundation