Recently, a few of my clients have had what my colleagues and I like to refer to as “Aha! moments.” These are instances when something just clicks—a muscle engagement, a proper positioning, or a specific technique. A significant step forward in their Pilates progress has been taken. It is a truly great moment for both client and instructor!

However, inevitably, the progress and joy of the moment is side-swiped by the following statement: “So I have been doing it wrong all these years!”

“No,” I reply with fervor. “You’re simply doing it better now!” I will not allow the joy and accomplishing of an Aha! moment to be defeated! In my own practice of Pilates and my craft as a Pilates instructor, I am looking for progress, not perfection.

My clients’ Aha! moments could not have been accomplished without the many hours, months, and years of practice leading up to that point. In those hours, months, and years, we’re quietly undoing bad habits, rewiring and reprogramming nerve connections, breaking through scar tissue, and relieving distracting tension. We’re breaking down barriers to our deeper, better connections. When these barriers are deep-seated, it can take years to break them down. And when we successfully do break down a barrier or two…Aha!

So don’t let yourself be defeated by a better connection. You were not doing things wrong. You are doing things better now. Enjoy the moment and keep moving forward to the next great Aha! moment.