MY STORY

Life after chronic pain

Hi, I’m Saul, the founder and principal instructor at Pilates To Be.‍ ‍

For 25 years, I lived with chronic back pain (diagnosed lumbar osteoarthritis and other spinal degenerations) and I also had to have a total hip-replacement in my late 40s, so I understand first hand the impact of pain on our physical and mental wellbeing.

I created Pilates To Be because after years of trying many different exercise and movement programs, I finally cured my chronic back pain. I want to share this knowledge to help others get stronger, move freely and live with less, or even no, pain. The results are transformative both physically and for our mental wellbeing.

After practicing Pilates for over a decade, I noticed that it reduced but did not resolve my back pain and my back would still spasm every now and then, leaving me bedridden for days even though I was training regularly 2-3x a week for years (reformer and mat) and with some great teachers here and overseas. Very disheartening and so I began to question the Pilates Method.

Several years ago I learned about about a new form of Pilates that applies current exercise science to the original teachings of Joseph Pilates and thereby removed many of the movement myths that crept into Pilates teaching since ‘Joe’ passed away (e.g. the ‘rule’ that knees mustn’t go past toes in a lunge or not raising hips too far in a bridge and there are many other such ‘movement rules’). These ‘rules’ are not in fact part of the original Joseph Pilates program and they are not supported by current science. I call these ‘rules’, ‘movement myths’. These myths to a great extent limited my ability to fully heal and strengthen optimally. 

Current exercise best-practice guidelines (that Pilates To Be follow) support the way Pilates was originally developed, before these movement myths crept in. 

After switching to an evidence-based Pilates practice, to my surprise and absolute joy, my chronic back pain disappeared completely and I haven’t had a back spasm in years!