Words By Mike Douglas
Looking for a way to feel younger? Ted and Mary Lutz found one at a Lakeshore east Pilates studio that offers custom-designed routines for your specific needs.
When we met at the Second Wind Pilates Plus studio in Port Credit, Ted was just moving without pain again after carrying a heavy wooden cross on his back during rehearsal for his reinvented direction of the Passion Play. Preparing for a special Good Friday performance at Christ Church United in Clarkson, Ted needed full motion and again as it has worked for the last three years, the individualized exercises Danielle created for him, did the trick.
“I used to go to the chiropractor,” Ted explains. “I was hunched over and so tight that I could hardly move and I felt really old at 69. Now I feel younger than my age (72), I’m so flexible! In my head, I run like a kid and feel like I could jump over a hedge.” He’s not kidding and we both look around— no hedge.
And no magic wand either. Ted and Mary do daily light workouts at home, following Danielle’s plan and stretching in front of the TV, and then they come in for
their Pilates sessions a few times a week.
Ted, a former university professor shakes his head. “We’ve been coming in now for over three years and no two hours have been the same,” he chuckles. Danielle B?lec-van Zeyl, studio owner and Pilates guru smiles happily.
Initially, the Lutz’s came in because their kids gave Mary guest passes to help her recover from having knee replacement surgery. Danielle’s advice provided great results. As well as getting her movement back, Mary’s scoliosis symptoms disappeared and her high blood pressure was reduced. Plus, Ted smiles, they’ve kept their weight in check and can eat regularly with “no more cleanses!”
If Pilates sounds interesting to you, there are several studios to choose from and certainly Danielle and her team would be happy to create a plan just for you.