Just when you thought it was safe to stop doing Pilates...

The dead shark floating in a tank was one of the artworks that first brought British artist Damien Hirst to public attention in the early 1990s. It's a well-known, perhaps infamous, work that helped launch his extraordinarily successful career. However, it's the title that has always fascinated me: "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living".

I think about that title in the middle of summer, when I find it almost impossible to imagine ever feeling cold again. Of course, exactly the opposite happens in winter. I remember that the summer was hot, but somehow can't believe it was that hot.

Pain behaves in much the same way. It's almost impossible to imagine having a bad back - until you do, and then it's all you can think about. Eventually - thankfully - it eases, and before long the memory begins to fade. Was it really so bad?

Psychologists have long recognised our tendency to soften unpleasant memories. It's probably a useful survival mechanism. If we vividly remembered every broken bone, illness and painful experience, we'd never do anything. Minimising the memory of pain allows us to remain functional, take necessary risks and get on with our lives.

I suspect nostalgia is similar. We remember the highlights and quietly edit out the inconveniences. Memories of "the good old days" somehow omit the queues, limited choice and endless waiting around that often went with them. Did we really have to wait three months for a telephone to be installed? Was it actually necessary to queue up at the electricity board shop to pay the bill? Surely I'm misremembering that...

Exercise can suffer from the same phenomenon. Once the aches and stiffness disappear, it's remarkably easy to forget how restricting they once were. So we stop doing the very thing that helped because, well... we don't seem to need it any more.

Until we do.

That's one of the reasons people often return to Pilates after a gap. The back starts grumbling again, hips stiffen, or everyday tasks aren't quite as easy as they used to be. It's not that Pilates has suddenly become useful again; it's that people sometimes forget just how useful it was all along.

If you've drifted away from attending because everything is feeling pretty good at the moment, perhaps don't wait until your body reminds you why you started Pilates in the first place.

One of the pleasures of my online classes is that they're wonderfully easy to fit into life. Just click the button, choose a class and join me from the comfort of your own home. No travelling across London to a sweaty studio, no rushing to arrive on time, only to find someone else has nabbed your favourite spot.

Oh... you'd forgotten all that already? Funny how that happens.

For more details and to book an online Pilates class with me, click here to go to the online classes page of my website.

#pilates #pilatesonline #shark #memories #toodarnedhot