My Pilates Experience - Amatouch

Todays guest blogger is Amatouch who was kind enough to share her Pilates experience with the world. To learn more about her please visit her blog at www.amatouch.blogspot.com.

Last summer, I enrolled in a Pilates class out of curiosity, I had heard about Pilates and by the sound of it this could have designated anything from a ceramic workshop to a youth club, anything but exercises. That's because the trademark Pilates derives from Joseph Pilates, its inventor. This also explains why it does not sound too technical. It's a modern discipline consisting of body movements based on a few principles more than a philosophy. You could think that the designation Pilates lacks content in comparison to Yoga, Gym, Steps which have made their name but Pilates has a reputation for being person centered and therefore you can make what you like of it and respect your own limits or ailments. I really fell into it for that reason.

The benefit of joining a class are enormous, increased flexibility and strength in muscles and articulation, better breathing and concentration and improved general well-being. I have never felt more in harmony with my own body. I am a massage therapist and as a home care advise I invariably recommend to my client to join a Pilates class.

Coming in October!

Everything Old is New Again

One of the things that I love about Pilates is how versatile the exercises can be. It is amazing how you can take an exercise from one apparatus and put it on another to give it a totally different feeling and meaning.

Have you ever taken the rowing series from the reformer and taught it with light weights in mat class? Try taking the frogs and leg circles off the reformer and put that in an advanced mat class without any footstaps. Talk about a wake up for your core!

Keep things fresh by showing clients different ways to do a familiar exercise. It's amazing how a new tweak on an exercise can become more engaging.