Pilates is still quite a new form of exercise in the UK.\u00a0 Just to give you some background, Joseph Pilates, a German-born gymnast, circus-performer, boxer and anatomical-chart model, developed his training method during the 1920s, so it\u2019s been around for quite a while.\u00a0 He named his method \u201cContrology\u201d, initially to rehabilitate soldiers during the war.\u00a0 Later, it became popular in the ballet circuit, then went mainstream, where now it\u2019s suitable for just about everyone.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll hear Pilates Instructors mention your \u201ccore\u201d muscles quite a lot during class.\u00a0 The \u201ccore\u201d is made up of several muscles which wrap around your spine \u2013 a bit like a cylinder.\u00a0 There are muscles at the front of your body (transverses abdominus\/hip flexors), side (obliques), back (multifidis), top (diaphragm) and base (pelvic floor).<\/p>\n
To find your core muscles, you just need to tighten\/pull\/draw your abdominal muscles in slightly.\u00a0 Start by breathing into your belly first, then as you breath out, drawing your tummy muscles in towards your spine and keeping that light tension switched on.\u00a0 These muscles are slow to contract and slow to fatigue, so it means you should be able to hold your tummy muscles inwards with a low level of contraction, for a minute or two, then simply move an arm or a leg, or the spine, to create an unstable environment and therefore provide a challenge for the muscles.\u00a0 Pilates is quite simple in design.<\/p>\n
Pilates is particularly beneficial for postnatal women, because, put simply, it targets the very muscles which get weakened by pregnancy itself eg the pelvic floor and core.\u00a0 It also helps you breathe better, puts your body in an optimal postural position and relieves tension in your neck, shoulders, hips and lower back from constant lifting, carrying, feeding and changing your baby.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pilates is still quite a new form of exercise in the UK.\u00a0 Just to give you some background, Joseph Pilates, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,259,9],"tags":[16,191,34,37,316,313,317,311,312,318,153,315,81,319,314],"class_list":["post-886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antenatal","category-bump-to-birth","category-postnatal","tag-antenatal-pilates","tag-antenatal-pilates-southampton","tag-contrology","tag-core-strength","tag-get-pre-pregnancy-body-back","tag-pilates-after-baby","tag-pilates-for-mum","tag-pilates-for-new-mums","tag-pilates-postnatal","tag-pilates-pregnancy-southampton","tag-pilates-southampton","tag-post-natal-fitness","tag-post-natal-pilates","tag-post-natal-pilates-southampton","tag-recover-pelvic-floor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3FIsx-ei","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1123,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1123","url_meta":{"origin":886,"position":0},"title":"Postnatal Hair Loss, how to look after those locks.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"14 November, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the lovely side effects I had during pregnancy was to have thicker, faster growing hair. 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