These were the reformers back in 2013. OneLife Studio expanded and imported brand-new reformers that are so premium, they're the only studio to have it here in the Philippines!
I brought 3 wonderful babies into the world, and I'm lucky to have never experienced morning sickness, bloating, nor post-partum obesity for all 3 pregnancies. But I was not able to escape CHRONIC BACK PAIN! :-( I have a petite, athletic 100-pound frame that was stretched by over 20% during pregnancy. Our little Boss was the biggest of them all, weighing in at 8.4 pounds when he was born! All that stretching seemed to have weakened my belly and back muscles.
In September 2013, as I was sitting in traffic on my way back home from my daughter’s preschool, I saw the sign of OneLife Studio and they were offering Pilates and Yoga classes. I have been contemplating on enrolling in a fitness activity to improve the muscle tone in my abdomen and lower back. I did some research online to check their class offerings. The class descriptions are a perfect fit to what I was looking for!
And it seemed that I was fated to try this out because I found out that my brother-in-law knew the people there! He booked me a trial class for Core Reform Total Body Workout that was described in their website as such: “This class is focused on a full body workout that incorporates functional movement and a dynamic flow of exercises. This class allows further exploration of the intermediate routines on both the mat and reformer, allowing for a challenging and high-intensity well rounded workout. Open to all fitness levels.” Spot on!
I did a little research on appropriate Pilates workout wear. Comfortable and snug-fitting tops and bottoms and socks are best so that your clothes won’t get caught in the equipment. All the cool Pilates equipment will be provided by the studio so I just had to bring myself. I arrived just before the class started and there were only three of us. I love that the place is cozy and intimate, which gave our awesome instructor the chance to check that all of us were stretching and bending the right muscles and joints. We started on the mat and did several routines with the small balls, and moved on to the “reformer,” a body Pilates equipment that resembled a rowing machine with really interesting knobs and springs.
For a first-timer, I really enjoyed Pilates. It's just the right amount of difficult to stretch and strengthen all the right mommy-tummy muscles! I signed up for a 10-session program soon after and got to try Reformer Pilates, Mat Pilates, Yoga, and Core Suspend. I felt a HUGE improvement. The workouts totally lessened my lower back pain! So for all of you out there searching for a fitness activity for toning and strengthening your muscles, Pilates may just be thing for you.
Sadly, I stopped attending classes in mid-2014 when I took on the full-time role of #DomesticGoddess as wife, mother, caregiver, chauffeur, and everything in between. I got reacquainted with the updates and improvements at OneLife Studio when my little Boss had a field trip there with his classmates to experience Kids' Yoga. Now that my kids are settled in and staying for longer hours in school, it may be time to restart a fitness regimen again. ;-)
#DomesticGoddessMNL