This is the second time I feature a story about Joseph de Ruvo. That is because I love his mindset and attitude towards Pilates. I give him the floor to let him tell you about how he approaches Pilates. Enjoy!

Being in shape is not a measure of how “good” you look. It is not a measure of how much you can bench press. Or how fast you can finish a marathon. Being in shape is being strong enough to help someone in need.

I was made for it!

My workout routine has looked like this for a while now. Alternating days between a Mat Workout and an hour long deep stretching routine.

Most every day before Covid-19 would be some lifting weights. Running a couple times a week (I am barefoot year round and run barefoot). Alternating between running days would be an Apparatus Workout.
Also on a daily basis try to get some sort of Gymnastics exercise in there (Rings, Handstands, etc…)

But! Growing up, It was a very different story! As a child, I was not a Dancer! I was not an Athlete! I did not climb trees, nor run about even!

I pondered. I looked around me, and took the world in.

What I was from the earliest age was a voyeur, an observer and eventually a Photographer!
I had little confidence in my body, and even less when it came to movement.

I was born with one foot rather firmly planted on the Autistic Spectrum. Sensory Integration issues, Dyslexic, non communicative, Learning Disabilities.

But Thank God, Miracles abounded. Not that any of these things went away, but we’ve learnt how to use them, how to in fact count them as Blessings.

It was not until as an adult, meeting my Wife to be, that I started to learn how to move.

She started me running, and then going to the Gym, which has pretty much turned into a near seven day a week habit going on for decades at this point.

And it was she that introduced me to Pilates (in the formal sense). At the gym we attended she had walked into a free Mat Class that was a new offering. The Teacher was rather engaging and dynamic.

I was away on business and Lini (my Wife) called to tell me that when I get back we are going to the class together and that I was made for Pilates! 

I was only familiar with Pilates because I had followed the court case a decade earlier over trademarking the name Pilates. The next week we went to class together and I fell in love with this method.

The fact that it is non competitive, self motivated, a bit obsessive compulsive, and a discipline of both mind and body, yes, I was made for it! Rather quickly we were attending Mat Classes three times a week.

This went on for nearly a decade, we were fortunate that our Teacher was Classically trained and that she was so very patient and encouraging of our habit/addiction!

As things progressed I would often be mistaken for the instructor by people new to class, prompting the regulars to chime in “you should be teaching” This went from good natured cajoling to them getting pretty pissed at me for not moving quickly enough! 

We were fortunate to also have another Instructor at the Gym who was trained by Romana and she introduced me to MeJo Wiggin.

MeJo set my teaching career in motion by introducing me to Simona Cipriani at the “Art Of Control”. Simona Certified me and became that model that every Apprentice needs when it comes to learning something that can only be taught through feel!

All of that feels like a lifetime ago, now I teach at that very same gym where it all started and have my own studio (Barefoot Contrology).

What I tell all my Clients is this:
Being in shape is not a measure of how “good” you look. It is not a measure of how much you can bench press. Or how fast you can finish a marathon. Being in shape is being strong enough to help someone in need.

Pilates helps you move better, so rather than being a hindrance to others you are ready and able to help when needed. Standing in a corner and looking like a piece of sculpture gets old rather quickly.

When Clients come in and say that their spouse had surgery and they don’t think they would have been able to help them recover if it wasn’t for their Pilates practice then we know we’re being responsible to our Clients!