Writer: Lucia Farina
I’ve been really curious about Fibro since my friend was diagnosed with it in London. I’ve wanted to understand it and wanted to see how the info I found could have been helpful to her.
I have since taught a few people Pilates with it and from that, it made me realise it's a bit more common than I initially knew.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. For most, it’s a real struggle to do day to day tasks when they are going through a flare up. It’s often triggered by an event that causes physical or emotional (psychological) stress. Possible triggers include: a serious injury, such as after a car accident. Michaela, our studio owner also has to manage Fibro flare ups. I’ve asked a million questions, as I always do.
After chatting for a while on this, we think emotional trauma can possibly be a trigger for Fibro as well. Emotionally traumatising events can trigger the nervous system to react and that presents differently in every body. I tend to notice, when we are overwhelmed in any way, our bodies will always find a method of communicating this to us, so we can become still and almost force ourselves to relax and recover. Oftentimes, it comes as sickness or extreme tiredness, or even pain. Something to make you physically STOP and chill out!
Just say, that is in fact the case. In relation to our previous posts, on brain to movement connection, focus and intent, concentration and integrity, it might be that Pilates can provide a relief, somewhat, for those who suffer with Fibro.
If we put ourselves in situations, where we are focused on something, whether it be physical movement, gardening, writing, anything at all that gets you into “deep work” (which is when you do a task, undistracted and for a period of time, allowing your mind to really delve “deep” into that one particular thing) it can become quite meditative.
During true meditation, the mind is never still or silenced. It’s almost (i’d go as far to say, practically impossible) to shush your mind. We are humans and we are alive, therefore our thoughts are constant and moving and flowing. Always. The best meditation I've tried is the ones that focus on the body. A style of meditation that aims to focus on one steady thing. For me, it’s body sensations and body scanning that works. I’m not silencing my mind, I'm FOCUSING it, which then gives it somewhat a break, even though that focus might be hard to do, it still feels restful by the end. That might be because instead of being overwhelmed and thinking about many things, it just has to focus on ONE. Again, back to the idea of “Deep work” which by the way, there’s a whole book on that topic, how to get into deep work and the research around it when it comes to productivity. It’s called “deep work” (funnily enough) by Cal Newport. Definitely worth a read if you find yourself procrastinating a bit or struggling to complete tasks.
If we consider that Fibro could be triggered by an emotionally stressful experience, it would make sense that channeling focus could help alleviate some of the lingering aspects and physical effects of it.
Now, the meditation mentioned earlier, is one where you sit in silence and stay very still, it’s purely mind training, basically. Brain strengthening. Focus techniques. But the movement meditation is one we will talk about now. And Pilates for Fibro specifically.
Fatigue is one of the prominent symptoms of Fibro, and from chatting with Michaela, the fatigue isn’t just from feeling tired, it’s a full body exhaustion which is married with body pain which is felt all over the body, all at once. A feeling of electric heat, all over!! The pain can be exhausting and the fatigue from it makes the pain hard to manage. It sounds like torture. You can imagine anything that would help prevent a flare up, is a god send!
Pilates done the way we like to do it here at Trinity, requires your attention and full concentration. Also Michaela makes a really good point that Pilates the classical way, has low reps, this allows for solid movement and absolutely not pushing too far is key to leaving the body with energy to recover. Always changing exercise keeps the mind engaged, and working deeper into the body and not gripping those superficial muscles all the time, also allows for ease of movement, less strain or brute force.
A regular practice of Classical Pilates seems to be perfect for anyone who lives with fibro. Apparently fibro doesn’t progress, it is what it is and it doesn’t get worse, it doesn’t seem to ever go away, but it can most definitely be managed. It takes a lot of discipline to listen to what the body needs, and actually give it that where possible and also keeping up with the practice consistently, to PREVENT a flare up.
When I look into Fibro online, I can't see much about how channeling the mind could prevent flare ups. It seems to make sense though. It is very true and effective for Michaela, and I'm glad as it is not a nice thing to live with. I’m happy she has found a way to manage it, and i wish for all Fibro sufferers find a way too, so it’s not seen or experienced as suffering, but in fact a tool to listen closer to what your body tells you, keep your body healthy and keep physically moving in a holistic way that isn't aggressive on the body but extremely powerful in keeping you functional and living day to day pain free.
Again, the magic of Pilates goes well beyond what is says on the tin. It’s far more than just a physical practice or exercise. It’s way more than posture correcting and way more than an endorphin release. It really is the most holistic training I've found, the wellness component of Pilates might be my favourite part of it now, and all the physical things are just a bonus. I mean, name me a practice that can do all of the above and be so powerful for all kinds of people, ages, medical conditions and also so nurturing for mental health, along with being inclusive to all bodies.
I’ll wait.
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