Pilates - should be named Painlates

I went to my first Pilates class on Sunday. It was only 45 minutes long - I thought how hard can it be? The class started at 11:15 am and went until 12 noon. At around 11:32 am I was wondering if I was going to be able to make it until 12 noon. Intense core workout like this ol' body has never experienced before. I am happy to tell you that I sucked it up and forced myself to stay until the end. The instructor told us that if our stomach was burning to just push through it. My stomach was like an inferno! I seriously expected Dante to rear his ugly head in the mirror in front of me at any moment. Class ended and I told my friend Sara that I was so happy that I pushed myself to stay and that I was feeling great. She said, "Oh, just wait until tomorrow." I thought how hard could this be on my body. I am exhausted after Zumba and Group Groove, but always feel wonderful the next day. Aside from the day that I felt like I rowed the length of the entire Chicago river and convinced myself that I was having a heart attack that night...the pain hasn't been too bad. Oh..and I probably only rowed 1500 meters that.. lol. This morning when I woke up and I went to bend over for some reason I was astonished at the amount of pain I was feeling. Every time I would laugh - pain...take a big step up...pain...bend...pain...squat pain...from my hips to through my abs...I am coping with some serious pain today. I keep telling myself that this is good pain and that the more times I pilatiate myself the better it will start to feel. So friends, if you have never been to Pilates be forewarned it is much more intense than yoga. Give it a shot...you might be like me and find yourself experiencing and discovering muscles you never knew existed.