BROOKE SILER / HUFFINGTON POST – What does being fit look and feel like to your innermost informant? Is it limited to shape, tone, and size, or is it based on quality of movement? Is it a product of jogging, spinning, yoga, and weight lifting, or does everyday living play a role?

So much of what we think about fitness has been formed by images alone. We look at bodies and create an idea of it in our heads that doesn’t usually scratch the surface. But being fit is about distinctly more than what we look like. Being fit is about adaptability, balance, and feeling great in your body. Sound fitness methods should teach and create movement awareness that you take with you long after the workout ends.

Do your workouts focus on balancing out imbalances in your body? Do they take into consideration the inner workings of your body’s functioning? Do they teach you how to move more efficiently and create more awareness of how you move throughout your day? Are you getting smarter and making more intelligent movement choices for yourself? This is where Pilates comes in.

Joe Pilates envisioned fitness as sound movement and internal health. He created his method to strengthen his own body inside and out using a system that fit fitness into daily life organically. With it, your bed becomes an apparatus, your chair is flipped to become a resistance machine, your doorways house tower units with spring bars. This isn’t to say that you need the Pilates equipment to be fit, but these apparatuses expedite the acquisition of the strength and balance that are requisite to enjoying a normal, healthy life …

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