Pilates is a practise and, as with anything you inspire to get better at, it requires repetition of the foundational moves in order to improve and progress.
For example Footwork in Pilates Reformer establishes a crucial foundation, aligning the body and enhancing stability. Our feet are our foundations so initiating movements from the feet improves coordination and core engagement right from the start of class. Starting lying down is also an optimal position to have the body centered and allows for us to connect our breath and movement first, helping us shift into the calmer parasympathetic side of our nervous system so that we can engage our mind in our movement. Focus and concentration are also key foundations of Pilates.
Repetition is also important for other reasons:
Repetition helps us to create and strengthen neural pathways which over time improves our everyday posture and the homeostasis in our bodies, as we learn better movement patterns and improve balance between muscle groups.
By consistently practicing specific movements, the brain becomes more adept at coordinating muscles and joints, enhancing motor skills and muscle memory making movements more efficient and precise over time. As we practise the movement patterns and spinal shapes we make in classes, we can start to understand how they relate and enhance our daily activities and sports that we do.
For example the twist and reach that we perform in the short box series can be related into everyday movement when you twist and reach to grab your bag from the back seat of your car or attend to an infant in a car seat, or for me it enhances my mobility and strength when making a similar movement pattern on my stand up paddle board.
Our classes are carefully designed to help you improve functional movement, they are carefully planned and structured to ensure they are beneficial for each participant in class, we keep our class sizes small so that we can keep this commitment and personally connect and care for each person in class.
Be sure to check out the qualifications and years of experience when choosing a Pilates Reformer class and studio in which to trust your body as not all Pilates classes are created equal. We have been creating high quality Pilates classes for over 12 years now and have thousands of hours of experience in getting it right.
Viv Gallagher - Owner Studio Three
