Mindful movement takes centre stage during Sigma season
Published:Wednesday | February 11, 2026 | 12:11 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
Last Saturday, fitness lovers rang in the second month of the year with A Pilates, Plates and Prosecco, a curated wellness experience. Invitees gathered at Body Forte, located at the Sovereign Business Centre, for a relaxing and restorative session that also served as a fitting precursor to the Sagicor Foundation’s upcoming Sigma Run.
Financial adviser at Sagicor’s Holborn branch, Terri-Ann Spencer, who was in attendance, explained to Lifestyle that she appreciated the session: “I enjoyed the class. Although it was challenging, I haven’t worked out in a while and my body is very unforgiving, it felt good getting that full body workout in the end.”
Spencer, who has tennis elbows, is no stranger to Pilates. In fact, because she is unable to lift heavy weights for upper body workouts, this practice has worked wonders as an ideal alternative at targeting specific areas of the body.
“The instructor was very knowledgeable and patient, and the demonstrations were very clear. I would recommend doing Pilates with a certified trainer and start with a small group [of] beginners, so you can get comfortable with exercises without feeling rushed,” she said.
Spencer is already gearing up for her participation in the highly anticipated run on Sunday.
For those who are unfamiliar with Pilates, the practice is more than just a workout; it is a philosophy of movement. “Created in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, his method ‘contrology’ is the conscious, intelligent control of all muscular movements of the body. He believed, and modern science now confirms, that the mind and body are inseparable. You cannot move well without thinking well, and you cannot feel well without moving well,” physical therapist, founder and Director of Body Forte Dr Summer Lopez explained.
As one of the original mind-body disciplines, the practice gives the body a refined vocabulary for movement, while supporting balance, posture and the nervous system.
“Pilates trains deep postural muscles, refines movement patterns, cultivates breath awareness, and builds a body that is not just strong, but intelligent. When we say Pilates, we don’t mean an exercise class on a reformer. We mean a complete re-education of how your body organises itself in space, and it has the power to change your life,” she said.
At the heart of Body Forte is the partnering of Pilates and physiotherapy, which Dr Lopez believes is the future of rehabilitation. “Traditional physiotherapy often focuses on the symptom – the painful knee, the compressed disc, the impinged shoulder. And while addressing the local problem matters, it is never the whole story. Pain changes movement, and movement changes pain,” she said, adding, “While we hold enormous reverence for Joseph Pilates and the timeless genius of his classical work, contemporary Pilates meets the classical principles of breath, concentration, centring, control, precision, and flow, but it integrates them with the very latest in movement science, neuroscience, and rehabilitation research.”
Growing up as a national swimmer in Barbados, Dr Lopez knew from early on that she wanted to pursue a career in movement, as far as fitness and rehabilitation go. She has dedicated close to a quarter of a century to this framework. “Pilates, especially through the Polestar framework, gave me a clinical language to address not just the tissue, muscles and the joints, but the entire movement system: the breath, nervous system and belief system,” she added.
Another popular practice, like yoga, is a magnificent discipline which shares common grounds of honouring the breath as an integral part to movement and promoting body awareness, and has profound benefits for the mind as well. “Yoga has ancient spiritual and meditative roots; it is a pathway to presence and transcendence. Pilates, by contrast, was born from a rehabilitation instinct,” she shared.
On the matter of wardrobe, comfort meets functionality, so fitted and flexible clothes are recommended for a Pilates session. The movement is practised barefoot or with grip socks. “If you’re new to Pilates, expect to be welcomed, first and foremost. And expect to be challenged in ways you did not anticipate. Pilates is not about how much weight you can lift or how fast you can move. It asks you to slow down, to become aware, to coordinate movement with extraordinary precision.”