'Side-effects' of Pilates - Quiet-time
The first 'side effect' of Pilates
Quiet-time
I recently asked my Pilates members if they had noticed any unexpected positive benefits of attending a regular weekly Pilates class, other than the obvious ones, such as improved flexibility or core strength. A number of people gave a similar response which could be described as quiet-time, or me-time.
They talked about how their lives had become very noisy – both in the sense of the actual soundscape of our modern environments, but also in terms of that feeling of general busyness.
They felt that having an hour booked in their diary each week gave them the opportunity and the motivation to leave the noise behind and spend an hour listening inwardly rather than outwardly.
A large focus of my classes is to encourage people to listen to their body. Our senses are bombarded by so many different external sensory inputs during a typical busy day, that it can become difficult, if not impossible, to tune inward to the sensations and feelings from within the body. It's interesting to note that the largest nerve in the autonomic/automatic branch of our nervous system carries more information up to the brain from the body than it carries down from the brain to the body. This Vagus nerve connects to all our major organs. When we take the time to slow down and listen inwardly, we may become aware of our rapid shallow breathing, or sense that our heart is racing. We can use techniques such as breathwork to send signals to the brain to help dial down the stress-response and help to calm our breath.
At the beginning of each class, we spend a few moments checking in with our posture and our breath. Then we'll take a moment to mentally scan through the body to notice how we feel before we begin the class. We'll check in with our general health, our energy levels, note how our sleep has been, and also how our aches and pains feel in that moment. Throughout the class participants are reminded to continue tuning inward, allowing them to also focus on using the correct muscles and maintaining good form. Participants are advised on modifying and adjusting the movements when necessary and to stop and rest whenever a rest is needed.
A common reason for starting Pilates is to strengthen the connection to the core muscles, however, you may get the added 'side effect' of an improved connection to your inner self too, along with a much-needed break from the noise, and hustle and bustle of every day modern life.
If an hour of quiet time sounds like something you’d like to look forward to each week, feel free to get in touch and enquire about my Pilates availability at Hook Community Centre and Elizabeth Hall Hook.
If possible please check your junk box for my reply, and include your mobile number in your email as my email replies sometimes don't come through, in which case I can text you to help with your enquiry.