Love Pilates. The mind-body connection

When new clients come to my Pilates classes, I always ask about their goals. The most common ones tend to be to increase core strength and improve flexibility, with close runners up being to tone up, improve posture, reduce back pain, or improve the pelvic floor. Pilates can help with all of these things.

The surprise benefit - and that which is reported to me most often after people have been coming for a while - is how well you feel for doing Pilates. People leave with a sense of ease in the body, and have an enduring sense of wellbeing. The emotional benefits of setting aside an hour in a busy schedule are valued by Pilates devotees, and it becomes a priority in their lives. While there is no overtly spiritual dimension to Pilates, it involves mindful movement, like a physical meditation. A state of psychological flow is often reached, where you become fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus and enjoyment as you concentrate on the precise movements. Spending time in the zone can help you to progress more effectively in what you are learning, and also feel greater happiness and emotional wellbeing. 

Distractions can prevent you from fully connecting your mind and body, so here are my tips for getting the most out the mind-body connection in Pilates:

1. Arrive early for your class. This gives you the chance to lay out your mat, gather any equipment together and relax before the class starts.
2. Leave your worries at the door. If your outside life starts to encroach on your mind during the exercises, rather than trying to push your thoughts away, focus on your breathing and movement and let your thoughts drift away by themselves. With time and practice this gets easier, until it becomes instinctive.
3. Choose comfortable clothes with stretchy fabric. Belts and buttons can distract from your comfort and stiff fabric can impair your range of movement. Joseph Pilates used to exercise wearing nothing but his (short!) exercise shorts. These wouldn’t be considered appropriate today, but fortunately fabric technology has come a long way since his heydey, and there is no shortage of comfortable clothes that will stretch with you.
4. Let your instructor know if there are any environmental factors that are disturbing you - it is straightforward to open and close doors to adjust the room temperature, or block out noise. Lighting can be adjusted, and you can have an extra mat or cushion. I have one class that prefers to work without music. Simple things that make your workout more comfortable will help you to focus.
5. Think about the purpose of each exercise and reflect on whether you are accomplishing the goals in mind. This will help you to focus inward, on each body part involved in the movement. However...
6. Don't worry too much about whether you are 'doing it right'. I give a lot of instructions, and not all of them are there to correct everybody. If you try to work on all of them at the same time, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. If you find this happening, focus on a single aspect at a time, and progress step-by-step.

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