It's a Matter of Time

IT’S A MATTER OF TIME

by Kerry De Vivo

Ironically, I was at the National Clock & Watch Museum on New Years eve.  How appropriate to be at a museum that celebrates time when about to embark on the holiday that tends to make us all ponder time.  

Time... how if flies by, and what we make of it.  The New Year, oh yes, we’ve been through this before.  A time of renewal, a new beginning, another round of self promises.  Well, I think meeting our New Year resolutions regarding fitness, all comes down to time.  We will always make that call to sign up for the new Pilates session, IF we make time.  We will always practice our exercises at home, IF we make time.  

What is my point?  My point is, if we make our health and exercise a priority, we will always find time for it.  Believe me, I struggle with this just like everyone else.  If I make my Pilates workouts an option, then often there is not enough time in a day.  If I commit that my Pilates workouts are mandatory, it’s just a matter of determining the time of day it will happen.  But it WILL happen. 

Years ago a client said to me that she realized it wasn’t a matter of IF she was going to practice her exercises every day, it was a matter of WHEN.  So true.  If you want to keep a resolution that involves exercise, take on this mindset and then figure out what works for you.  Another client said his ritual is 10-10-10.  So at 10 p.m. every day, he practices his first 10 mat exercises which took him 10 minutes.  This daily practice, along with regular Pilates sessions, is a perfect recipe.  Figure out what works for you and you will say, IT’S ABOUT TIME!

Another consideration about having success with a New Year resolution is the type of exercise one chooses.  Pilates is a workout for life.  It is a cumulative method, where concepts build upon one another.  It also builds the body up vs. wearing the body out, and therefore it can be done for years.  Heck, this June I will celebrate my third decade of doing Pilates.  Yup, 30 years!  Lucky me.  And I’m aspiring for at least 30 more!  So as time passes, Pilates continues to support my body while simultaneously providing challenge.

With the New Year in front of us, and a year of time to sculpt, consider this quote that caught my attention at the museum.

It IS a matter of time.  What will you allow your time to “fill” up with?  What will stand out as a priority?  And isn’t is suiting that my favorite Joseph Pilates quote is, 

“Time and progress are synonymous terms - nothing can stop either”.