🇬🇧 I Don’t See Myself Yet… And Yet My Body Has Already Changed

That Moment When the Student Doesn’t Recognize Herself

A few days ago, a student told me something very simple, yet something that deeply moves me every time I hear it, because this sentence alone contains all the complexity of our relationship with the body: she looked at me, a little hesitant, almost surprised by what she was about to say, and she softly admitted that she still didn’t see herself the way she was becoming, even though her body had already begun to change in a very visible way.

I recognize that moment immediately, because it is not only about physical transformation; it speaks of a more subtle, deeper, almost invisible gap between what the body is actually becoming and what we still believe ourselves to be internally, as if one part of us were moving faster than the other, as if the body were ahead of consciousness.

Photo Samy La Famille — Caroline Berger de Fémynie (Studio Biopilates Paris)

The Gap Between the Real Body and the Perceived Body

This gap is not a mistake, nor is it a failure; on the contrary, it is an essential step in the process, because the body does not change only in what we see, it changes first in what we feel, in the way it organizes itself, breathes, stabilizes, and releases at the same time, and these changes are often much faster than our ability to recognize them.

In the practice of Pilates, transformation always begins from within, through a refined reorganization of the muscular and nervous systems, through a better coordination between deep muscles and global movement, through a more conscious and three-dimensional breath, and all of this creates a real, measurable evolution, which is not immediately reflected in the image we have of ourselves.

Why We Never See Our Body in the Present

We tend to believe that we see ourselves objectively, as if the mirror were giving us a pure and immediate truth, while in reality, we never look at our body in the present moment; we always see it through memory, through a mental and emotional construction that has developed over the years, made of past sensations, sometimes very old judgments, and external gazes that we have internalized without even realizing it.

This body image, which seems so obvious, is actually deeply rooted in our nervous system, and that is why it does not change at the same pace as the body itself; it needs time to transform, to readjust, and to accept this new reality that the body is already beginning to inhabit.

Photo Samy La Famille — Caroline Berger de Fémynie (Biopilates by Caroline)

Pilates: A Transformation Lived from Within

Pilates works precisely at that level, within this space of dialogue between the real body and the perceived body, because it does not simply strengthen or stretch, it creates an experience, a sensory experience that gradually transforms the way we inhabit our own body.

When we begin to practice, we often believe that we will work on posture, tone, or silhouette, and of course, all of that is part of the process, but very quickly something else appears, something more subtle and deeper, which is the ability to feel, to perceive, to refine our awareness.

We no longer simply perform a movement; we begin to understand it from the inside, to feel how it is built, how it organizes itself, how it can become more fluid, more precise, more intelligent.

The Role of Body Schema in Transformation

This sensory dimension is essential, because it is what allows the body schema to change. The body schema is this internal representation of the body that the brain uses to organize movement and posture, a living map built from sensory, proprioceptive, and visual information, which does not update instantly.

When the body changes through Pilates practice — through muscular reorganization, pelvic stabilization, spinal alignment, and improved breathing — this internal map must be adjusted, and this process requires time, repetition, and experience, which explains why someone may not recognize themselves even though their body has already evolved.

Slowness as a Tool for Deep Transformation

The slowness of Pilates plays a fundamental role here, even if it can sometimes feel unsettling in a world where everything moves quickly and where immediate results are expected, because this slowness is not a limitation, it is a condition; it allows the nervous system to receive information, to analyze movement, to correct automatic patterns, and above all, to create new connections.

When movement is fast, the body reproduces what it already knows, but when movement slows down, it becomes possible to truly feel what is happening, to perceive imbalances, tensions, and compensations, and it is within this space that transformation becomes possible.

Breath and Awareness: The Invisible Link

Breathing, in this process, is much more than a simple support to movement; it is a true tool of connection between the body and consciousness, an anchor point that allows us to return to ourselves, to listen, and to feel.

A broader, more lateral, and more three-dimensional breath activates deep muscles, stabilizes the center, regulates the nervous system, and opens an inner space where perception can evolve, and very often, it is through breathing that students begin to perceive the first changes even before they can see them.

Mat and Equipment: Two Complementary Experiences

Work on the mat and work with equipment enrich this experience in complementary ways, because on the mat, the body is alone with itself, without assistance, which requires a high level of listening and control, while equipment such as the Reformer provides a more direct and concrete sensory feedback, allowing for a more refined perception and a faster understanding of certain sensations.

This complementarity multiplies bodily experiences and accelerates the integration of changes within the nervous system.

The Moment When Perception Finally Meets the Body

Then, gradually, without knowing exactly when or how, something begins to shift in the way we perceive ourselves, and this moment is not spectacular, it is often very subtle, but it is deeply transformative, because it marks a form of inner recognition.

The person begins to feel that their body is different, more stable, more fluid, more coherent, and this sensation becomes evident; the body stops being an object we look at and becomes a space we inhabit.

The True Secret of Pilates

The true secret of Pilates does not lie only in physical transformation, but in this deeper transformation of self-perception, in this ability to reconcile the real body with the image we hold of it, in this slow and progressive evolution that allows us to move from an observed body to a lived body.

It is not only about changing posture, but about changing the relationship to oneself, and that transformation is infinitely more lasting.

If You Don’t See Yourself Yet…

So if today you have that strange feeling of not yet seeing yourself as you are becoming, I want to tell you something very simple: it is normal, deeply normal, because it means that your body has already begun to change, that your nervous system is adapting, that your posture is evolving, even if your perception has not yet caught up.

With time, with practice, and with the attention you are learning to bring to yourself, your perception will eventually adjust, and on that day, you will not only see a different body, you will feel a different relationship with yourself — softer, more accurate, and more aligned.