Welcome to Pilability.
This was formed on a foundation of pilates but it is mostly wrapped around mobilising the body through mid-life, putting focus into joint mobilisation and working towards your own ability.
Pilability© is designed to build courage and confidence in movement as we age. It helps us to feel strong and confident around our changing bodies in our mid-life and beyond.
Helen Tite
Video of pilability and photos of us teaching
My Pilability Story
Pilability – A place where confidence grows.
I created Pilability as a result of getting older, hitting menopause and having multiple health issues. I went from teaching 28 classes a week and running my own health club, to injuries, multiple surgeries and I never really got my physical health back on track.
My personal deterioration from turning 40 and my knowledge of being an expert in older adult well-being sent me on a journey of recovery and hope. What if I addressed the ageing curve and targeted mid-lifers? I could use my knowledge of the end of life span and literally “amp up” the movement patterns. I could see that if I focused on the younger mid-lifer (me) I could maybe allow ageing to be fabulous rather than of poor physical health.
Transcendence
On this journey I met with 100s of women (and men) who had lost their confidence due to mid-life. That includes weight gain, mental ill health and a sense of loss of direction and injuries. I worked with clients promoting prevention and pre-hab for those having surgical interventions such as hip arthroscopies, knee surgery and joint replacements. I supported people going through cancer treatment and beyond. So many identified as rehabilitation and did not see the direct connection to ageing.
Avoiding physical decline was quickly becoming my intention. To age well. To embrace my own changing body and thank it for becoming me. I recognised that if we change what we are teaching to mid-lifers, together we can confidently make positive changes to health and wellbeing.
Age Defying Fitness
So I created this programme, but in those days I called it Age Defying Fitness and guess what? The customers hated it. They hated that I was focusing on the ageing body. They did not want to see themselves as mid life. After all, if you look up the phrase mid life you will find statements like stress, mortality, overload, decrepit, crisis, apathetic and losing your mind.
What you rarely hear is vitality, ownership, empowerment, embracing the elixir of life.
What I didn’t want to see are mid lifers feeling overwhelmed with high impact classes and feeling out of control and disillusioned.
Helen Tite
What would the 25 year old fitness instructor me know about getting older?
If I could talk to her what would I say? I would always say, look after your body above everything else. Especially if she wants a long career in fitness and wellbeing. It is not a selfish thing to put yourself first. Be kind to your body. Massage, meditate and rest when you need to. Most of all, keep up your mobility as it really fades and suddenly your fear of moving becomes overwhelming.
The Narrative is all wrong
So it’s the re-writing of the mid life narrative by creating a new recipe combining physiological, emotional mental well-being, with a dash of empowerment and a sprinkle of elixir and voila, you get Pilability.
As a Pilates Instructor and Personal Trainer I took my toolbox of physical activity knowledge and years of experience and applied it to an older population and then to the mid-lifers. What we ended up with is Pilability. A programme wrapped around seven elements that have changed posture and improved injuries ,not to mention confidence and strength.
Supporting Our Kind Of People
Having run a health club I recognised that my customers were often people that wanted community support and a safe place to get going. A place where they could be themselves and be the best that they can be on their journey. That is what I want Pilability to be. A place where confidence grows.
Being Body Aware and Body Confident
Body confidence and awareness happens in an environment where you are safe to be what ever you want to be. Pilability focuses on moving YOUR body the way you need to. To build a stronger awareness with yourself and appreciate your body as a work in progress, piece of art.
Tag Team Working Through Solutions
At this point I have to also talk about my muse Pat Taylor. She gave the method a name. She helps me to extract the craziness of my brain and get it down on paper. Pat has supported me on this journey. She brings a sparkle to the work and she is a great person to work shoulder to shoulder with. As a registered nurse and a fellow mid lifer we share so many similar stories of our broken bodies and expectations of ourselves to be the best we can be.
