What if your body isn’t the problem?

Last month, I was lamenting to my friend and fellow spinal fusion warrior, Shelby, about my feet hurting. For context, I’d been dealing with this nagging pain in the ball of my left foot since July (this conversation was in December… so, a while).

Anyway, I told her I had done everything I could to heal that foot: strengthening exercises, taking weeks at a time off running, different insoles and pads, and even trying to alter my gait pattern. Just a few hours before that phone call, I had done some deep internet research and finally realized: I think my shoes are the problem.

See, back in June, I had bought a new pair of shoes that were “stability” shoes. They offered more support against overpronation, which is the excessive rolling inward motion of the foot. When I looked at some of my race photos last summer, I asked a PT friend what she thought, and she casually said I might be overpronating.

So , I swung to an extreme and bought rigid, aggressively supportive “stability” shoes, thinking I could perfect my gait in that one easy move and unlock my running superpower.

Fast forward five months, and I kept living with that nagging foot pain. FIVE MONTHS!!!

And in my conversation with Shelby, I told her I’d finally decided to try a pair of shoes more like my old ones—neutral shoes.

“Isn’t It Just Like Us?”

What she said in response actually jarred me:

“Isn’t it just like us to assume that our body is the problem?”

Uhh, yes, actually. Whoa. As someone who’s lived with a spinal fusion and chronic pain for most of my life, when something starts to hurt or break down, I assume my body is the problem—not some external factor.

And such was the case with my shoes. I switched back to a “neutral” shoe style, which had been working well for me until I decided I needed to “fix” my natural gait. And guess what? The foot pain has now subsided (I’m writing this in January, not even three weeks after that conversation), and I’m back to increasing my mileage pain-free for the first time since July.

The Bigger Lesson

For me, there are a couple of major lessons here:

1. What if your body isn’t the problem? What if it’s something else entirely—like your shoes, your workout, your environment, or the way you’re approaching movement?

2. What if you started listening to your body and your pain as signals, rather than assuming pain means you’re broken?

Pain isn’t always a sign that your body is failing you. Sometimes it’s your body trying to tell you something—that something needs to change, but not necessarily that YOU need to be fixed.

Working With Your Body, Not Against It

This is exactly how we approach private Pilates sessions at Havenwell.

We don’t assume your body is the problem that needs to be corrected or fixed. We start from the premise that your body is giving you information, and our job is to listen to it and work WITH it—not force it into some idealized version of what movement “should” look like.

Every session is built around your body, your goals, and what feels okay (and what doesn’t). We’re not rushing anything, and we’re definitely not doing anything that makes you feel worse. If something doesn’t feel right, we adjust. If you need modifications, we find them. If your body is telling you it needs something different today than it needed last week, we listen.

Because here’s the thing: you’re not broken. Your body might need support, modifications, or a different approach—but that doesn’t mean there’s something fundamentally wrong with you.

What Changes When You Stop Assuming You’re the Problem

When you stop assuming your body is the problem and start treating pain as information, everything shifts.

You stop pushing through movements that hurt “because you should be able to do them.” You stop comparing yourself to some arbitrary standard. You stop feeling like you’re failing when something doesn’t work for your body.

And you start building a movement practice that actually serves you—one that meets you where you are and helps you feel stronger, more capable, and more confident in your body.

That’s what private Pilates sessions are designed to do.

Ready to Work With Your Body?

Sessions are 50 minutes long and can be in-person at our boutique Pilates studio in Franklin or virtual via Zoom. Every session is tailored specifically to you—whether you’re living with a spinal fusion for scoliosis, dealing with chronic pain, or just need thoughtful, personalized movement that adapts to your body’s unique needs.

If you’re new to working with us, we offer an intro package: 3 sessions for $300. It’s a great way to experience what it’s like to work with your body instead of against it.

Ready to get started?