Pilates On The Patio

When I first moved to California, I wanted to make friends with some of the mommies at my school. I was trying to think of a way to spend time with them regularly. So, I decided to host a workout time. Twice a week, ladies would come and work out on my patio. My house was way too small to fit all of the ladies into, but the outside had plenty of space. On bad weather days, we’d often end up at one of their homes, in their more spacious living rooms.

During those early days, we worked out just after we had dropped off our kindergarteners at school. The tinier tots would wander around us or sit just inside, hypnotized by a cartoon. We just wanted one hour to do something good for ourselves. It was so refreshing to have that gathering time as part of our regular schedule.

The combination of unstructured summers and older, more active kids has made working out during vacation time a real challenge. Children who were once content to sit and build a train track together are now teaching one another to climb the walls.

So, this summer, I’m making the most of evenings on my patio. Twice a week, my group of ladies comes over to do Pilates together. We meet at 7:30 pm and finish at 8:30 pm. It’s the perfect time of day for our families. The kids are winding down and spouses are home to watch over them. The sun is setting, but there’s still plenty of light in the sky. The evening breezes bring in fresh air and we all feel relaxed and ready to breath and stretch.

If you are thinking of ways to reach out to women around you,

consider being active together.

I am an out of shape, former Pilates instructor, but you don’t have to be. My friend Ailie got obsessed with those Insanity workouts and she decided to invite ladies to her home to watch the sessions and do the workout with her. My friend Pam fled her home altogether. She went on a weekly hike with a bunch of mommies that she met through her son’s classroom. Women who she knew only by acquaintance became good friends over months of walking together.

The key is to invite and be consistent.

We all have good intentions but most of us struggle to build those into good habits.

It’s tempting, when you stay home with your kids and see the world as a thing speeding by outside your window, to forget all of the things that make you wonderful. Look around and realize your assets. Your home and yard are assets. Your interests are assets. If you like to cook, that can be powerful. But realize that the things you want and don’t have are assets too because they mirror other people’s feelings and experiences. Letting people know that they’re not alone can be one of the most powerful things you do.

If you want to be in better shape, invite people in and work on it together.