Why Pilates?
Core Strength
Pilates connects all our movement to a strong centre. Strengthening our pelvic floor muscles is an important part of obtaining core stability. In Pilates we focus on the muscles in our centre such as our waist, tummy and pelvic floor. We also focus on inner thighs, the glutes and hamstrings as well as the triceps and back muscles. We rely on these muscles to support a strong, mobile back, to help us achieve good posture and to allow us to move efficiently. Core strength also enables our shoulders and neck to relax and lets our muscles and joints work effectively.
Strong muscles around the shoulder blades help counteract the dominant negative tension we have at the front of our chest caused by hand to mouth gestures and looking down at phones and computers.
It’s For Everybody
Pilates is used extensively in rehabilitation settings, as well as by athletes all of whom find that Pilates is the perfect foundation for any kind of movement. Whether you are just beginning an exercise programme, you are an elite athlete, or are somewhere in between, Pilates will teach you to move with ease.
Posture & Alignment
Beautiful posture comes from good alignment. Alignment is how your head, shoulders, spine, hips, knees and ankles relate to each other. Pilates focusses on alignment in every exercise we do and therefore will improve our posture. Posture improvements help to eliminate tension, driving away headaches, backaches, neck aches, and other aches and pains.
Spinal Coordination
Pilates will help us achieve spinal coordination and promote ease of movement in the spine and neck. Back and neck issues are on the rise in society due in part to the increased amount of time spent sitting in cars, at our desks and on our sofas. We also spend a lot of time looking down at our phones and devices. Pilates will help strengthen our neck and shoulder area to support any problems we may have there.
Length in the Spine & Space in the Joints
Pilates exercises help us to create length in our spine and space in our joints rather than compressing them, thereby giving us a greater range of motion. Improved suppleness can help prevent degenerative spinal problems such as slipped disks. It also helps to strengthen joints such as those in our ankles which are notoriously weak.
Mind & Body
The founder, Joseph Pilates, described Pilates as “the complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.” Pilates gets both our breath and circulation moving and stimulates the spine and our muscles. The time we spend doing our Pilates is time devoted to moving our body in a very focused manner supported by mindful breathing which in turn calms our mind.
Full Body Integration
Pilates is a full body workout. We have dominant muscles which we use instinctively day to day. Overuse of those muscles can contribute to back pain. Pilates exercises help us to move away from just using the dominant muscles and allow us to isolate into lesser used muscles thereby achieving muscular balance.
Flexibility, Balance & Stability
Pilates is a form of exercise which combines stretch, strength and control and creates perfect balance and stability in our body whilst at the same time improving our flexibility.
Body Transformation
If we practice Pilates regularly, it will change our body. It creates long, lean muscles, improves our muscle tone and creates body balance between the dominant and non-dominant muscles in our body. It also flattens our tummy!