At Studio Blue, we offer workouts to suit every fitness and experience level. From mat, springboard, and reformer classes to private and semi private instruction, we challenge your body and mind, transforming your physique and out look.
In this two-part article, you’ll learn the keys to getting the most from your Pilates session at Studio Blue.
• Stay Relaxed
• Concentrate
• Breath using Pilates breath
• Check your alignment
• Coordinate your movements
• Create movement from your “center"
• Make your movements flow
• Work to build your stamina
Stay Relaxed: Maintaining a relaxed body while exercising takes skill. Actively reminding yourself to relax before you begin each exercise, and focusing on targeted body part will help you get the full benefit of each movement.
Run through a quick checklist before beginning any exercise. Is your butt clenched? Or your jaw? If you’re holding weights, do you have a “death grip?” Does any part of your body feel tight?
While tensing up can actually cause injury, you also don’t want to completely “let go,” either. Active relaxation takes thought.
Concentrate: Even though we could not move without brain engagement, much of our day is actually spent on movement “auto pilot.” After practicing Pilates over time, exercises can sometime slip into that same autopilot. By focusing the mind on all the elements that go into each exercise, the actions become more precise, and the body reaps the training’s full benefit.
Every physical action involves a bit of imagination. First our brain “sees’ the motion, and then communicates instructions to the appropriate nerves, muscles and cells that make the movement happen. When an exercise is first envisioned, the images employed can help in muscle re-education, thus improving the quality of movement.
For an example of this idea in action, position yourself so you can see your self in a mirror while you stand against a wall. Shut your eyes and tell yourself “stand up straight.” After a few seconds, open your eyes, observe yourself in the mirror, and take note of your body.
Shake out your body, and reposition yourself against the wall.
This time, imagine your body being very straight, with a bunch of brightly colored helium balloons tied to the top of your head. Again after a few seconds, open your eyes. Do you notice a difference in your apparent height? In the way your body feels? Your posture? This is the power of concentration.
Breath: Very few of us take in full deep breathes, or let all the air out of our lungs. When an instructor tells us to use “Pilates breath,” it can be difficult to know exactly what that means.
When told to take a deep breath, most of us will see our chest fill out and our shoulders rise. This kind of breath uses only the upper part of the lungs. A Pilates breath employs the thoracic and back muscles to fully expand the chest and ribs.
To experience the muscles involved in a Pilates breath, stand or sit. Wrap a towel around the ribs, crossing its ends in front. Take the towel’s opposite end in each hand, and gently tighten it. Then breath in, feeling the towel expand.
Then let the breath go, pull the towel tighter until every drop of air has been released. Notice that the rib cage remains relaxed. Do not allow the breastbone to lift very high. The breath will feel like it’s expanding three dimensionally. This is called lateral breathing.
The breathing rhythm during Pilates is also important. At Studio Blue, instructors guide the breath, keeping it in the correct rhythm with the exercise. Inhale through the nose, and exhale through pursed lips, keeping the mouth relaxed. Make the breath smooth and even, which will help guide the movement, and help the abs stay on during the exercise
This article will continue next week.
Co-ordination
Alignment
Flow
Centering
Stamina
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