Pilates Thoughtful Tuesday. Disconnect.

Young passenger by airplane window wears large headphones, eyes down, sealed inside a private digital bubble.

I spent another weekend travelling. Teaching in Athens. Four flights. Edinburgh to Dublin. Dublin to Athens. Then home via Lufthansa. Plenty of time to sit, watch, and notice how people behave when they think no one is looking.

One thing stood out. Young people wearing large headphones. Not small earbuds. Big over-ear headphones. Old-fashioned in size. Modern in attitude. They looked sealed off. No eye contact. No awareness. No engagement with the space or the people around them.

I am not anti disconnection. You need time away from noise. You need moments alone with your thoughts. Your nervous system needs breaks. No argument there. But timing matters.

Airports are shared spaces. Boarding a plane needs awareness. You move bags. You queue. You listen. You respond. When someone blocks an aisle because they are sealed inside their own soundtrack, the system slows down. Everyone feels it.

What struck me was the age pattern. I rarely see older adults doing this. Phones, yes. Headphones, not so much. This feels generational.

So I asked myself the uncomfortable question. Am I missing something. Or am I becoming old-fashioned. Here is what I keep coming back to.

Mental health depends on connection. Not constant connection. Real connection. Eye contact. Small exchanges. A smile. A thank you. Awareness of other bodies in space. These moments regulate the nervous system. They matter.

When you block out the world completely, you also block out those moments. You protect yourself from overload. You also reduce human contact.

In Pilates, you see this clearly.

Clients improve when they are present. When they listen. When they feel their body in space. When they respond to cues and other people in the room. Disconnection has a place. So does engagement.

I am not criticising young people. The world is loud. Digital noise never stops. Headphones offer control. I understand the appeal.

But I do wonder if full disconnection in public spaces comes at a cost. Missed social skills. Reduced awareness. Less tolerance for shared inconvenience. Less practice at being with other humans.

So no, I do not think I am missing out. I think balance has shifted.

Disconnect when you choose to disconnect. Protect your headspace. Then reconnect. Look up. Notice who is around you. Especially when you are moving through shared space.

Pilates teaches awareness. Breath. Presence. Responsibility for your body and how it affects others.

Those principles still apply outside the studio. Even at 35,000 feet.