A great way to enhance the results of your private pilates lessons in the studio is to have a short daily routine at home. The only thing you need is a mat or just a folded blanket! 10 to 20 minutes of your time just before breakfast or dinner can do real wonders for your posture, stamina, abs, and your back. Ask your teacher for a short home pilates exercise routine that fits your needs and level. The best way to discipline yourself is to repeat this workout at the same time every day for 2 weeks and after that you will just want to do it as your body will be used to it. If you can't wait to start here I have some suggestions of good basic to intermediate level pilates routines from YouTube
The Jump Board is a padded surface where you place your feet flat, instead of using the foot bar on the reformer. It is also a fun way to incorporate cardiovascular effort into your Pilates routine while correcting your posture. The Jump Board provides a great and non-weight bearing way to increase heart rate and burn some serious calories. The lesson is done with different movement combinations that not only challenge you physically, but also will make you think where your feet and legs are in space. The mind and body need to work together, as in a typical Pilates session, but the tempo is quicker and your coordination is put to the test. Jump Board Pilates exercises will ensure not only an
Did ever want to levitate? With pilates you can do it! There is this wonderful exercise called The Pull Up on the Wunda Chair. You need to set up two springs according to your weight and level. The lighter the springs the more difficult the exercise! Your hands are placed shoulder width apart and your feet on the pedal in the pilates V-position with your heels lifted. Then you bring your shoulders over your wrists and wait for the magic to happen. Hmmm what? Nothing moves? Well now you need a strong core and to bring some of your body weight forward over you hands in order to lift the pedal up in the air. But if you bring too much of your body weight forward then you will loose control and
Joseph Pilates was very much concerned about breathing and specially about the exhale. He understood that if you are able to exhale deeply, the inhale will happen as an automatic or natural response to the exhale. He also had a lot of opera singers among his students and for them expansion of the breath was a key element of their performance. So he came up with this little device called the breath-a-cizer where you have a wooden handle that you hold firmly against your lower chest, where you are going to press towards your diaphragm, and then you have a spinning wheel that you are going to blow against through a straw. The goal is to keep the spinning wheel moving for as long as possible as
The Pilates Magic Circle is an incredible small piece of equipment capable of strengthening your whole body. Originally this apparatus was created by Joseph Pilates using the metal ring from a beer barrel! It is often used during a pilates mat workout to add more resistance and weight. But you can also use it sitting on a chair or standing on the floor. For example place the circle between your legs just above your ankle bones and hold it there creating a good pressure and then lift one foot of the floor holding this pressure. Now start pressing and releasing the circle 10 times keeping your balance on one foot only and your hands at your hips. Then repeat on the other side. This is a simple
If you want a great stretch for your spine we have a great pilates piece of equipment called the Ladder Barrel. To do this wonderful exercise you will sit on top of the barrel and hook one foot between the first and second pole while you lift the other leg up as you roll your spine on barrel all the way down as you can see on the picture. The great support provided by the shape of the barrel allows the spine to hang backwards without strain.At the same time you need a strong core to lift the leg up and to keep it lifted. Also to roll up out of the pose you will need to use your abdominal muscles. I hope you can see the intelligence that lies behind a pilates exercise like this where great st
In a pilates workout the footwork is a fundamental section of the Reformer routine. Usually it is also the first series of exercises taught in a pilate lesson. It encompasses the whole body like, not just legst and feet but also spine and pelvis and even shoulder alignment against the shoulder blocks. The footwork provides for an experienced pilates instructor great insight into the client's imbalances and is taught in four separate exercises: 1. Toes: The toes are placed on the bar in a pilates V position (about four fingers apart) and the heels are together. The heels should stay lifted up in the air as high as possible as the carriage is moved in and out to provide the full benefits. 2. A
