Pilates Self-Care Saturday: Listen to Your Body

Joyful woman dancing in her living room with headphones, moving freely and smiling brightly.

There’s a difference between discipline and punishment. Too many people confuse the two when it comes to exercise. Discipline helps you show up, but punishment makes you push when your body is asking for something else.

Listening to your body is self-care. Some days it craves challenge. Other days it needs rest. Ignoring those signals doesn’t build resilience, it just wears you down.

Start with this simple approach:

• If you wake up feeling heavy and tired, choose gentle movement like stretching or a slow walk.

• If you feel energised, go for strength training, Pilates, or something dynamic.

• If your head feels cluttered, pick mindful practices like yoga, breath work, or tai chi.

• If you’re restless, dance, cycle, or do anything that lets the energy move out.

Your body is giving you information all the time. Pain, fatigue, or stiffness aren’t signs to “push through.” They’re messages asking for a different response.

Movement should meet you where you are, not where a calendar says you should be. When you let your body lead, exercise shifts from obligation to care, from punishment to partnership.

That’s the real point of Self-Care Saturday: respecting what your body tells you and moving in a way that supports it.