Pilates for Posture

It’s amazing. The more I do Pilates, the more I learn and the more I learn, the more I fall in love with it all over again.

This week I’ve been tired. Toddler is teething and waking in the night. My health isn’t in the best of places. Teaching 10 Pilates classes plus 2 Step and some one to one sessions has felt like it should be too much. You know what – it has actually refreshed me and held me together.

My aches, pains, clicks and gripes usually get soothed and sorted by Pilates. Some of that is down to working hard, but a lot of that is down to the posture and poise I automatically adopt in class and when thinking about Pilates.

How many of you hunch over a desk, walk around with your pelvis/bum stuck out or cross your legs a lot? It all leads to tightness in some areas and lengthened, weak muscles in other areas. As an instructor I’m quite in tune with my body….most of the time. But at the end of a busy day when I’m tired my weaknesses slip through – I know I stick my pelvis out, am slightly lordotic and tense my shoulders. It’s a continual work in progress to counteract it all, but when I do, the results are noticeable. I feel more relaxed, less stressed and habe no back pain!

Think about your poise…..how do you sit…..how do you walk…..how do you stand…..? Is your body aligned (a plumb line from ear, through shoulder, through knee to ankle), is your pelvis in neutral, are your hips level, your shoulders relaxed? Release that tension.