ASULA, a wellness center in the Pearl District, visited my office and gave out free treatments helping me tick off the very first thing from my bucket list: to work out in front of all 600+ of my co-workers in spandex.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking: really? The first thing on my bucket list is to not only work out in front of my co-workers in spandex, but to do so while having them stare at my ass in spandex. Well, you’re in luck, friends! Because that’s exactly what I did!
Wear-spandex-to-work-and-get-away-with-it-day occurred in my office’s atrium– which is literally the middle of the building that all 6 floors can see into. And, the class that I took was a Pilates class. Which meant that I was either ass-up or lifting my ass up and down for an entire hour. Yup.
I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I was the only person to show up to the Pilates class ASULA offered. But I was saddened by it because everyone else missed out.
I’m sure the thought of having co-workers watch you exercise is intimidating to people who haven’t been putting themselves in awkward exercise situations for the past 3 months. Having now twerked in front of perfect strangers, I’m pretty desensitized. In fact, I was more concerned that no one else wanted to rock totally not weird office spandex in the middle of the day than anything else.
The class, or rather, my private Pilates appointment, was split up between using foam rollers and doing straight up mat Pilates. If you’ve been following along, you know that me and Pilates have a weird past. I’ve always thought of Pilates as the kid in class who’s super nice but eats paste… I put up with it but it’s not my first choice.
Having a personal Pilates instructor changes things. I learned the real beginner fundamentals of Pilates and my instructor could see when I was cheating. Every time I’d relax an ab muscle, she’d see it and push me. I am starting to think I may have been wrong about Pilates all along. Maybe Pilates wasn’t eating paste. Maybe it was just white chocolate! I think I owe Pilates an apology.
The foam roller addition was also a new thing for me. Foam rollers are basically rolling pins for your muscles. You use them on different parts of your body to break up all those toxins and lactic acid in there making it not feel awesome but be awesome for you.
I’m thankful to ASULA and my job at Wieden+Kennedy for the unexpected private Pilates lesson. Except for the occasional co-worker stepping over me, I felt pretty much like Madonna must.
ASULA’s approach to wellness is unique. Their services can be billed to most health insurances because in addition to massage, acupuncture and chiropractics, they use Pilates or Yoga as a way to treat your back. I plan on trying ASULA again and I honestly can’t wait to take more Pilates. Pilates is still winning. I guess, despite myself, I’ve turned into a Pilates person.
