Tag: beginners pilates

Benefits of Pilates

Priya Tew

It goes without saying I am a HUGE fan of Pilates, but I didn’t use to be! I was a fan of high intensity workouts, thinking that unless I left a pile of sweat on the floor the workout wasn’t being effective. Now whilst I still do like a bit of high intensity now and again, what I have learnt is Pilates really can work you hard and lead to a strong body.

Here are some of the benefits:

  • All over strength for the whole body. Pilates can help build bone strength, muscle mass as well as that core too.
  • Improved posture and body awareness, which can go hand in hand. By knowing your posture issues you can start to correct and work on them throughout daily life.
  • The deep breathing used in Pilates can help with stress/anxiety management and with releasing tight areas in the ribcage, back and pelvic floor.
  • Improve your balance and co-ordination. Pilates teaches you to weight transfer effectively and work on your standing balance too.
  • Prevention of injuries. Once you are more connected to your body, balanced and co-ordinated it goes without saying that it helps prevent injuries in other sports too.
  • Sets the foundation for other movement. If you do other fitness related activities too then Pilates can help you be strong from the inside out.

The best way to start Pilates is to find a beginners class or do a 1-1 session to connect with the all essential basics. The breath, the set up position of the body and the activation of the core are those building blocks that you very much need to get under your belt before moving to the actual movement.

If you want to join a class then we have spaces in the studio or email [email protected] to book a 1-1 session with one of our experienced teachers!

Pilates, build on the rock and not on the sand

Priya Tew

Pilates is one of those back to front type of practices I always think. In other exercises the aim is to go as fast as you can and as hard as you can for as long as you can. In Pilates it is the opposite. Before you can actually jump in and do an exercise we want you to learn how to :

 

Breath

Maintain neutral with good posture

Engage your core muscles 

 

It is so important to master these basics first before adding too much movement. I know if can be frustrating to have to SLOW DOWN and focus on the small things but these really are the key to a strong, functional body.

Why?

Well this basic triad underpins everything you will do in a Pilates class. You can do all the moves without the magic trilogy and it will feel easy and like you’ve not worked. Add in the breathing, posture and core then suddenly it becomes a lot harder. Use the old parable of the foolish man built his house upon the sand and the wise man build on the rock. Lets say the house is your body. If you build on a good, solid foundation with a firm understanding of the breathing, a solid connection to your core and knowing how to correct your posture, then your body will get stronger and won’t fall apart when everyday stress is placed on the body. Think moving from sitting to standing, lifting, rotation movements and just bending down to the floor, all movements we do all the time that can impact the body if not done with good form.

 

Pilates with Priya: Build on the rock, pilates foundations

 

I’ve had to slow down and reconnect with the basics after every baby I’ve had. It’s really shown me how important it is to do this so I am a bit advocate of it, but also know the frustations with it.  So if you are new to Pilates, it is perfectly OK to go at a slow pace, get to know your body, connect with your core, learn to breath and find out which parts of your posture you need to work on most. You will continually learn more about your body as you progress through the classes (heck, I’m still learning now) but those initial few months are precious ones, where you can form the best foundation. Practise the breathing daily, engage your core when breathing out and work on that posture between classes. You will click with it quicker if you practise more often.

If you have done Pilates for a while it can be amazing to go back to the basics, really check you are using thoracic breathing (breathing into the ribcage and not the tummy), focus on your posture and the muscles you are using in each exercise and work that core even harder!

Check it out and let me know, I would love your feedback.