6 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Do Large Group Pilates Classes

6 Reasons Why You Shouldnt Do Large Pilates Classes

Let’s say that you get a common cold. So you then call your doctor and you make an appointment in order to get a custom treatment. You meet with the doctor, he looks at you and asks you questions, and then prescribes a treatment. It’s the same for when you break your arm…you go to an orthopedic doctor and you get it fixed. When your child is sick you go to a pediatrician, and so on.

What do all of these situations have in common? Well, they are all specialists in their field and they are all offering individual consultations. In none of these cases, you don’t go to a group class.

So if you have back issues or a poor posture and you decide to try Pilates, why would you go to a class with 20 other people? Each one of them has their own health issues and limitations, so doing a generic Pilates program will definitely not help.

What should you do instead? 

Now let’s look in more detail at some of the reasons why group classes are not so effective when it comes to Pilates:

1. Safety – Pilates is not a dangerous activity, but there is a slight risk involved. Most people that begin doing it are out of shape and have a bad posture or various back issues, so even when doing very simple poses they can get injured.

This especially applies to Reformer Pilates classes, where those big devices can be overwhelming for some people. Those machines have lots of benefits, but only if they are used correctly.

When teaching to a large group of 20 or more people, the Pilates instructor will simply not have the time to show the movements to each and every person and to assist and correct everyone. Each person has its own issues and limitations, and there are certain exercises that work great and others that should be avoided. So the training program should be customized based on each person’s individual needs.

2. Getting Results – people don’t go to Pilates just for the fun of it, and they usually want to achieve a certain goal. And this can only be achieved by performing the movements with the correct form. Not knowing how to do each exercise correctly will not activate the right muscles and will not give the needed results.

3. Personalized Instructions – even if someone knows how to correctly perform all the movements, this still does not guarantee results. And this is because each person is unique, and each person has certain muscle imbalances or tightness. So the movements should be adjusted according to each participant’s needs.

4. Quantity Over Quality – personal trainers and group trainers need to make a living too, and sometimes they take shortcuts. They focus on training as many people as possible in order to earn as much money as possible and neglect the quality of each class.

This explains why individual classes are more expensive than group classes. But instead of wasting your money on group classes that don’t produce any results, it’s better to invest a bit more on individual classes that actually work.

5. Lack of Commitment – there are some exceptions here, but most classes do not follow a path toward an end-goal. You simply go there and perform just about the same movements every week. It’s better to show up and do something than to do nothing, but with the time you will get bored. This is why all the classes are full in January, and slowly decrease with each passing week.

Sure, some of the group classes have a certain path and they evolve over time. But this has a drawback as well: if some people miss a class or two, then they are left behind and it’s very hard to pick up when they come back.

So individual classes are much better, as you can do things at your own pace, and be able to keep up even when you missed a class or two.

6. Lack of Flexibility – group classes always takes place at the same hour and at the same day of the week. So if anything comes up and you can’t make it at that exact hour, then you missed your workout. This then leads to what we talked about at the previous point, and you end up quitting the class altogether. However, the private classes can be scheduled whenever you are available and can be postponed or moved according to your needs.

There were 6 important reasons why Pilates group classes are not effective. So what’s the solution? 1 on 1 class or at least classes with up to 3 people max. The Abbysan center offers both private classes and 3rio classes that have a maximum of 3 attendees. Our classes are highly personalized and adapted to your own needs and limitations. Find out more by visiting this link.

Why Fancy Yoga Postures Are Not Important

Why Fancy Yoga Postures Are Not Important

So it’s Monday evening and you are tired after a long day at work, but you just signed up for that cool Yoga class, so you drag yourself there. But after the warm-up and a few simple poses, the teacher asks everyone to do a handstand, a headstand or who knows what kind of crazy arm balance pose.

Everyone seems to go for it, so you try it as well. But you end up falling, diving into your nose or even injuring yourself. You were never good at arm balances, but you see everyone doing them on social media, claiming that they feel so amazing afterwards. But those complicated poses you see on Instagram are the results of years of practice and a life long journey of yoga. There are many factors involved in what poses someone can or cannot do, and they include age, occupation, body type, joints, range of motions, genetic tissue composition and the acquired postural habits.

And the truth is that head standing or arm balances don’t matter. None of the fancy looking postures are that important, and not a single posture will make a huge difference in your life or bring you closer to enlightenment. What’s more important is to do the poses suited for your level and experience, to stick to yoga on the long term and to gradually get better at it.

The History of Yoga

While yoga has been around for thousands of years, the truth is that these fancy poses are relatively new. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a popular text from the second century does not mention any postures at all, except for seated meditation. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a book from the 14th century only includes 15 poses, which are quite basic.

The first texts with more complex yoga poses only appeared in the 1800s and become more popular in the mid-1900s. So they are new practices that were definitely not performed by our ancestors and the inventers of yoga. There are now hundreds of postures and new ones are invented regularly. Does this mean that you need to learn and master ALL the postures in order to reap the benefits of yoga? Definitely not!

What Should You Do Instead?

If you really want to do those fancy yoga poses, you simply need to be patient and to practice them a lot. Anyone can develop certain skills with the right training and persistence. But if you are a regular person that does yoga once or twice a week, then it’s more important to develop skills and mobility that can help you in the day to day life.

A responsive body with good reflexes and a good balance will help you to walk and to run better, to have a quicker response when slipping on ice or to avoid certain dangers and injuries. Having mobility will allow you to easily perform cleaning or gardening tasks and keep up with your children when playing with them. And the great part is that you only need a few yoga and Pilates postures in order to break free from pain and mobility limitations, and to live a better life.

Because of certain health issues and severe limitations, some people may not do any yoga poses at all. But they still can benefit from the meditation and the yoga philosophies & practices that make you calmer and more emotionally balanced. They can also make you love yourself more and love others as well, and least but not last they can help you discover your true self and accept who you are.

Many people have reached a state of wellbeing without ever being able to stand on their head or on their hands. Some have even become successful yoga teachers without being able to perform ALL of the crazy acrobatic yoga techniques.

Not being able to perform certain poses discourages a lot of people and they quit yoga altogether. But this should not happen. You should go there because it makes you feel better and you like it. You should not feel forced to do yoga just because it’s cool and looks good on social media. The yoga mat should become your best friend and you should really look forward to using it. Even if you don’t always get to the classes, you can take a few minutes at home (or even at the office), and just seat in silence, reflect and meditate. This can be more beneficial than going to a yoga class on a Monday evening and performing a head stand.

If it seems like fun and you feel like doing those poses, sure, go for it! But if it doesn’t feel right and only makes you feel uncomfortable and inadequate, just forget about it and focus on the poses that you CAN do. Sticking to yoga and Pilates on the long term is much more important than one single fancy pose.

In case you need a healthy diet approach, mindfulness coaching or Yoga & Pilates classes, the Abbysan Center is here to help. Contact us today!

Why Dieting Doesn’t Work

Why Dieting Doesnt Work

Low carb, keto, low fat, vegetarian, vegan, carnivore, South Beach, Atkins, intermittent fasting, Mediterranean…these are all popular diets that many people stick to religiously, claiming that they are feeling and looking better than ever. But think about the last time you tried any of these fad diets. Did they actually work? Sure, maybe you lost a few pounds at that time, but then you quickly gained them back when you introduced that food or macronutrient that was forbidden during the diet.

Most of these diets are not sustainable in the long term, and they only create a yo-yo effect. So people end up with the same weight as when they started, or even worse.

Why Diets Don’t Work

Most health professionals agree that diets don’t work, and here are a few reasons why:

  1. Weight Loss Is Just Temporary – studies have shown that as many as 60% of those who start a diet then gain back more than their initial weight
  2. Dieting Makes Your Brain Crave More – we need food to survive and that’s that. When you are restricting a certain food or macronutrient, the body will produce hormones that will make you hungry and will make that missing food taste even better in the future. So it will then be even harder to resist that sugar, or that fat or whatever you are restricting
  3. Dieting Damages The Relationship You Have With Food – instead of learning how to eat in a healthy manner, people are unsatisfied with their bodies and are turning to extreme diets. This makes them hate certain foods and then always feel guilty when eating them
  4. Dieting Causes Stress and Emotional Overeating – when faced with an extreme diet, the body releases cortisol which is the stress hormone. Then, people tend to feel more hungry and to eat more than they should be in order to relieve that stress
  5. Dieting Slows Down The Metabolism – this study has shown that weight cycling is associated with extra weight and abdominal fat accumulation. So the more yo-yo dieting you do, the harder it will be to lose weight and the easier it will be to gain it back
  6. Diets Lack Important Nutrients – whether you are restricting carbs, or fats, or meat, or vegetables, or any other group of foods, you are limiting certain nutrients that are important to the body. Studies have shown that each of the popular diets is deficient in certain micronutrients, which can be harmful on the long term
  7. People Diet for The Wrong Reasons – if you are obese with multiple health issues caused by the extra weight, then it is essential to get rid of it. But most people these days (especially women) are trying to lose weight for the wrong reasons. They have insecurities related to their bodies caused by the beauty and fashion industries that are putting skinny women on a pedestal. Women no longer feel beautiful even though they have a normal weight, and pursuit extreme diets

What Should You Do?

So if diets don’t work, what should you do in case you need to lose weight and to look better?

  1. Focus on Feeling Good, rather than Looking Good – it’s important to change your perspective and to focus on feeling good both on the short and the long term. And it’s clear that diets don’t make us feel good. They actually make us feel worse. One of the ways to notice what truly makes you feel good is mindfulness
  2. Accept Yourself – some men will simply never have six-pack abs, while some women will simply never have flat abs or a “thigh gap”. It’s important to try to become the best version of yourself, but without comparing to others that have different genetics, different health issues, different lifestyles and so on
  3. Focus on Being Healthy, Not on Losing Weight – adjust portion sizes, re-educate your eating habits, learn about what to eat and how to choose your food, eat mindfully and the weight will slowly take care of itself. And the difference is that this approach can be maintained in the long term, and it’s not just another yo-yo diet
  4. Change The Way You Think About Exercise – do what feels right and appropriate for your current fitness level instead of trying to force your body into extreme weightlifting techniques or other crazy sports. Low impact exercises performed regularly can be more beneficial than extreme sports have done sporadically. Movement can simply be a way to enjoy life, instead of a method to lose weight. Do it because you like to, not because you absolutely have to
  5. Enjoy life – being stressed leads to unhealthy binging and then to weight gain. But if you are happy and relaxed, you will make smarter choices. You don’t need to wait to have that “perfect body” in order to enjoy life. Start to live the rich and meaningful life you deserve right now!

In case you need a healthy diet approach, mindfulness coaching or Yoga & Pilates classes, the Abbysan Center is here to help!

HOW Poor Posture Affects Your Health & Athletic Performance

HOW Poor Posture Affects Your Health Athletic Performance

The posture you have in the day to day life has a big impact on athletic performance, as well as on your mental and physical health. We are all told from a young age to not slouch and to stand up straight when walking, but so many people still do it throughout their adult life.

So why do people have a poor posture? Well, there are multiple reasons for this. Sometimes it’s because of accidents or injuries, other times it’s because of genetic factors, while other times it’s because of bad sitting habits. Just hunching over at a 60-degree angle to check your phone can put more than 60 lbs. of pressure on your cervical spine!

Other reasons include:

  • Poor sleep support (a bad pillow or mattress)
  • Being overweight
  • Stress
  • Muscular imbalances
  • Improper shoes
  • Standing with a bad form
  • Walking incorrectly

When people walk or stand incorrectly, bones and muscles line up incorrectly and eventually block the flow of the sciatic nerve. This can lead to sciatica, a painful and unpleasant condition.

The Main Cause of Poor Posture

But the main cause for poor posture is definitely prolonged sitting. A study held in 2012 found out that each week people spend around 28 hours standing, 11 hours lounging around and an astonishing 64 hours of sitting. The average of working out was just around 2 and a half hours per week.

So that means that people are sitting for about 9 hours each day, some even for more. And sitting for so long inevitably leads to slouching and poor posture. Even if you know how to sit perfectly, you won’t be able to hold that pose for 9 hours, and you will change positions, putting your back into awkward positions.

Slouching puts a lot of pressure on lower back muscles and the spine. Besides this, the hip flexors get tight, while the glutes become weak. Tight hip flexors limit the range of motion, while weak glutes can cause stability problems in the gym. So lots of hours of sitting on a chair can definitely affect performance when working out.

Not only the lower part of the body is affected, but so is the upper side. Most people keep their monitor or laptop way below their eye level, which makes them to constantly look down. As mentioned before, this puts a lot of pressure on the cervical spine, neck and shoulders. Then by going to the gym with these tight muscles and imbalances, people easily get injured.

Poor Posture Also Affects Your Heart

Dr. Joel Goldthwait noticed that the abdominal nerves and blood vessels are under tension in individuals with bad posture. Not only this, but he also found out that those people display various cardiac issues and impaired blood circulation.

So your poor posture directly affects how your body carries blood to all the major organs and muscles. A slow blood flow allows for fatty acids to clog the heart, which can then lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol. But it may also lead to varicose veins and even the formation of dangerous blood clots.

But This Is Not All

Poor posture has also been found to negatively affect digestion and breathing and puts a lot of strain on your heart. A study published in 2007 also found out that strain in the neck muscles may lead to higher blood pressure.

A poor blood circulation means that fewer nutrients flow to the brain, which impairs memory and concentration. And last but not least, all of these factors could lead to a stroke.

Not just physical health is affected by a poor posture, so is the mood. This study showed that people who had a good sitting posture had a better mood and a lower fear compared to slumped participants who had more negative emotions and a worse mood. So even when you are stressed, make sure to keep a good posture as this can improve your mood and self-esteem.

So a bad posture can damage joints, create muscular imbalances, stress organs, affect blood circulation and also create a bad mood. It’s clear that you need to take action right away, and we are here to help! We offer a wide variety of Yoga and Pilates programs, and we work with both professional athletes and regular people. After attending our classes, you will relieve stress, treat certain medical conditions, rehabilitate after injuries, have more mobility and a better posture. Check our website for more info and contact us today! The staff at the Abbysan Center will gladly assist you!

Real Cause Of Sports Injuries

Real Cause of Sports Injuries

The answer to a fit and balanced body is definitely not found in sports. Sure, sports are fun, have some health benefits, and get us outdoors. Some are good for us. But to consider starting a sport to have a fit and well-balanced body is not the best option. Sports do not get us in shape; they actually get us out of shape.

The problem with most sports is that they develop tight muscles and create imbalances, either because of uneven use of muscle groups or because of uneven use of one side of the body.

Imbalances in Running and Tennis

Let’s take running for example. Sure, it is great for the cardiovascular system. But it dramatically tightens the muscles at the back of the legs. And besides this, it has no effect on most other muscles of the body. This intense shortening or disproportionate strengthening results in major muscular and structural imbalances.

Tennis is a game of repetition, and it creates a lot of strength and flexibility imbalances throughout the entire body, imbalances that could lead to injuries if not corrected. First of all, the player gets stronger in his dominant side and by always hitting the ball with the same hand. All parts of the body are linked together in a kinetic chain, and when one single part of this entire system does not work properly, it can create imbalances throughout the entire body and injuries on muscles that need to take abnormal loads.

Long Term Side Effects

The harder you train, the tighter your muscles will become, and this applies to most sports. Sure, there are some benefits to this as well. You will initially lose a few pounds, burn some fat, add some muscle mass and feel great about yourself. The problems appear over the long term when imbalances are created (unless you do something about this).

Muscle tightness or imbalances are bad, but they are not that bad. Some people can live with them for their whole life, not even realizing what the problem is. The real problem is when these imbalances lead to major injuries. Then you will have to quit working out completely or to switch to a different activity and start it all over from scratch, losing all of the progress you made to this point.

But switching to a different sport or activity will not solve the problem, and will eventually lead to the same injury again. We already discussed more about this in a previous article, and the solution lies in Yoga and Pilates.

Imbalances Lead to Injuries

Invariably, a lack of awareness about existing imbalances and the need for total fitness training is what leads to injuries. All injuries in sports are caused by structural and muscular imbalances, and we are not talking here about the obvious cases where you fall of the bike, you trip over a rock or the hockey puck hits you in the head.

If you start a training program with an existing imbalance that may have developed over the years from poor posture, an old injury or genetic bad luck, it will make its presence known at one point during training. The same thing is true when developing muscular and structural imbalance as a result of training.

Unfortunately, old-fashioned stretching is not something that most people like to do or have time for. And then, they slowly have to witness their bodies getting tighter and tighter. They eventually recall their pre-training days when they were free of muscle tightness and they were still able to touch their toes.

In the morning they barely crawl from bed to a hot shower, to their training clothes, and maybe also take an aspirin or two on the way. Then they wander through the city in search of chiropractors, physical therapists and orthopedists.

The Solution

Once injured, you will have to go through a lot of re-patterning, body tissue adaptations and changes in muscle length and strength ratios. If you got injured 1 year ago and didn’t do any rehabilitation, then the recovery will also take 1 year or more. It’s the same with weight loss. If you gained a lot of weight over the course of 2 years, it will also take around 2 years of eating healthy and working out in order to get back in great shape.

No matter the type of muscle imbalance or tightness you have, we can help you get back to normal through our Yoga and Pilates programs. We have many years of experience, helping both professional athletes and regular people. We offer a wide variety of methods and classes that can help relieve stress, treat certain medical conditions, rehabilitate after injuries, have more mobility and a better posture. Check our website for more info and contact us today! The staff at the Abbysan Center will gladly assist you!

Why Cross Training Is Not The Ultimate Solutions For Sporty’s

Why Cross Training is not the ultimate solutions for Sportys

Most people these days are working in offices, sitting all day long on a chair and putting their backs in strange positions and under a lot of pressure. Some of them then go to a gym, and because of a lack of knowledge and a personal trainer to supervise them, they perform various exercises with a bad form. This way they put even more pressure on their back and create even worse imbalances.

Then, they might get injured, and looking for solutions they decide to try a different sport, thinking that this will make the pain or the imbalance go away. They try a different activity that involves different muscles, leaving the injured muscles involved in the primary sport to rest and heal. They think like this: “Since I can’t do bodybuilding anymore, then I’ll do Cross Fit. Since I can’t run anymore, then maybe I can bike or skate or swim”.

Sure, it’s great to try new activities and always be active. But changing the sport is not the solution and will not heal the imbalances or the pain. Even though it may help to counter the effects of sport specificity (training at only one sport), it is not the complete answer to injury prevention, injury rehabilitation, and balanced training. And there are two main reasons for that:

First of all, stopping a certain sport or activity does not fix the imbalance that was created or been aggravated by that activity. Sure, you will feel a bit better. But when you will start that activity again, the same imbalance will cause the same injury over and over again. The tightness will still be there.

The muscles don’t get longer by themselves (unless you do specific stretches and protocols). If you ran track in your high school years and now you are forty and haven’t run a day ever since your muscles are as tight as they were on the day you stopped running.

Of course that you lost your fitness and strength, but unless you have done something about it, the muscles are exactly the same length as they were in high school. Some people go through their entire life with muscle imbalances and tightness, not even realizing they have a problem or not knowing what the problem is. And in case you had an injury because of that tightness, if you decide to start running again, the same injury will return like a ghost to haunt you.

To better understand this concept, let’s take this example: you go over a big pothole with your car, which knocks the front end out of alignment. You keep on going not realizing there is a problem, and then one of the tires gets thinner until it completely breaks.

You then get a flat tire and stop in order to replace it. But as you start to drive again with the car still not aligned, the new tire will begin to wear in the exact same place, eventually breaking up again.

Lots of people got injured, took a break, then resumed the activity and developed the same injury again. So what should you do in this case? You need to fix the muscle imbalances and structural irregularities first, before starting the activity again.

There are plenty of ways to do that, and we are here to help! And we not only work with athletes or sports enthusiasts, but we also work with moms and regular people with various conditions. For example, a mom might have carried their baby on one hip for two years, and now she started running and she has knee problems. She now needs to have another baby and carry him on the other hip, or she can get our treatment services that will heal the imbalance.

The second reason is that no sport perfectly balances and complements any other in strict biomechanical terms. Some sports do go well with one another, for example, cross-country skiing and distance running, while others don’t go so well (for example basketball and running).

Some sports have a good direct muscular crossover effect (for example rollerblading and cycling or climbing and kayaking), while others have little muscular crossover effect, like cycling and running. Besides this, most people hate to shift exercising priorities to the point of letting go of the level of achievement they worked so hard to reach.

Our center provides Yoga and Pilates Classes, as well as custom therapy designed to cure imbalances, realign, build power and flexibility. Contact Us today and tell us more about what is bothering you.

Why High-Intensity Workouts Are Not Great For Weight Loss

Why High Intensity Workouts Are Not Great For Weight Loss

Many people are claiming most forms of cardio and working out are a waste of time and that the best way to lose fat is to do super intense HIIT workouts, group training or cross fit. As you are about to find out, this is not necessarily true. The weight loss effects of HIIT have been over-exaggerated, and there are other better ways to lose weight and get in shape.

 

It’s true that HIIT workouts have health benefits and can improve various markers of cardio-metabolic health, but they are not as effective for weight loss as some people like to think.

 

Exercise Is Not That Effective for Weight Loss In General

 

A study looked at 493 other studies made in the last 25 years on diet and exercise, and found out that exercise provides a very slight edge compared to dieting alone. Over the course of 15 weeks, aerobic exercises alone provided a weight loss of around 7 lbs., dieting alone provided around 18 lbs., while dieting and exercise combined resulted in an average of 20 lbs. of weight loss.

 

That’s just 3 lbs. extra compared to dieting alone. And for those 3 extra pounds, you would have to work out really hard, to sweat and give all your effort, to invest time and money, to stress your body and put pressure on your joints.

 

Also, a part of the Heritage Family Study tracked more than 500 men and woman during a 20-week exercise program. What they found out after 60 intense workouts were that the subjects lost just around 2 lbs., showing that aerobic exercise is not a major factor in weight loss.

 

HIIT

 

But let’s get back to HIIT. People are claiming that it is so effective because of its “afterburn effect”, which claims that your body is still burning calories even after the workout is over. This is true but to a very small extent. The rumors about that magical afterburn effect have been way exaggerated.

 

This study showed that HIIT gives an extra caloric expenditure of around 226 calories, which were burned during and immediately after exercising, but having no impact on resting metabolism 23 hours after the workout. Comparing this to 45 minutes of steady cardio which burns around 700 calories (519 during the workout and 190 after it had finished), doesn’t make HIIT that great for weight loss.

 

A meta-analysis of the Australian scientists examined multiple studies and concluded that there is no evidence to support that HIIT is more effective for burning body fat, nor is steady-state cardio.

 

More Reasons To Avoid High-Intensity Workouts

 

Here are a few other reasons why high-intensity workouts, group classes, cross fit or boot camp style workouts are not that effective for weight loss:

 

  • The workouts are making people hungrier, and since most of them are already obese, it means they do not have a proper diet. So high-intensity workouts only make them eat more of the junk food that made them fat in the first place

 

  • Most classes do not properly train all participants on how to correctly perform all of the exercises. Usually, there is only one trainer that teaches in front of 30 people, so they don’t get the chance to personally adjust the execution of each participant. This leads to bad movement patterns on top of the dysfunctional patterns people already have from sitting all day long

 

  • Such intense workouts make participants feel exhausted instead of being fresh and energetic

 

  • If people do not get enough sleep, not only they will not lose weight, but they will feel tired the next day. And in search of more energy, they will turn to sugar and other junk food that will make them gain weight instead of losing it

 

  • These workouts are great for getting you pumped and hyped up, but they do not relax you mentally in order to reduce cortisol. This hormone plays a huge role in weight loss

 

What To Do Instead?

 

As multiple studies have shown it, the single best way to lose weight is through dieting. There are lots of diets out there, but they are all based on the same principle: a caloric deficit.

 

We suggest to start with detox and then to follow a healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and is not an extreme one focused on heavily restricting certain foods or macronutrients.

 

We also recommend taking classes that will help you relax and get rid of daily stress. When you are on a diet you are even more stressed than usual, so classes like Yoga and Pilates can help you a lot.

 

Our 30-day jump start program includes unlimited Yoga, Pilates & Exercise classes, posture screening, and body metrics, a 30-minute goal setting and strategy session, as well as a personalized class calendar to achieve your personal goals. Our experts are here to change your life! Click here to find out more.

Be Pain Free – One Alternative

Be Pain Free One Alternative

With half the celebrities around the world getting their pictures taken leaving Pilates classes, and perhaps your friends and neighbors reducing aches and pains and becoming fit with Pilates, you might be wondering about Pilates lessons for yourself.

What’s Pilates?

“A core workout” is the vaguest answer you will get in just one sentence. Still, surely there is more to it, and only a professional Pilates instructor will be able to give you a better answer.

“Excuse my technical terms in this article, but I can’t help it. I found most individuals rarely make an effort or want to learn more about themselves than they do about others.”

Restructure Your Core

Your Core is your entire body from your diaphragm to your pelvic floor. Pilates can help make your abs stronger or give you better muscular endurance in your Core. Honestly, the focus of a Pilates class is primarily on your inner unit “powerhouse.” That being the central focus of the Pilates programs at Abbysan Centre, it will also serve your back, arms, legs, neck, and feet!

Postural Balance

Technology has created a generation of back and neck pain. Pilates programs are used by everyone from athletes to office workers for their ability to develop strength and correct posture in the critical areas of the body such as hips, lower back, upper back, and neck.

Our Pilates programs will help counteract the effects of slouching and office syndrome. You will learn to release typically overactive regions of your body like the chest, front shoulders, upper back, and hip flexor muscles.

All of this significantly improves dynamic stability – the ability of the body to hold itself in better alignment for longer, maintaining an upright posture, balance, and responsiveness.

Rebuild muscle tone

You might know at least one Celebrities who credit Pilates as the reason for their toned muscles. It makes your arms lean and toned.

Maintaining the underlying tissue quality of Gluteal muscles is your best asset. It helps in maintaining pelvic stability, knee alignment, power in jumps, speed when running, and make your buttock look shapely in tights, of course. Do Pilates for a more extended, leaner muscle system making you stand taller and look slimmer!

Regain Control

Pilates includes balance and standing work. Most of us don’t move our spines in all different directions. A Pilates class will take your spine and neck through a various gentle range of motions (flexion, rotation, extension, and lateral flexion). If you feel tight from sitting or standing all day, these movements will get you loose and limber again.

All movements of Pilates easily be related to compound and dynamic functional movements. This is so beneficial in learning to regain control and re-educate your actions.

Functional movements refer to the actions that we are likely to perform during our daily life.

Equipment or No equipment – It works

All kinds of exercises use Pilates reformer to promote length, strength, flexibility, and balance. The reformer is the key to achieving the long, strong muscles without bulk. The exercises on reformers provide enough resistance and movement variety to help build strong bones.

You don’t need equipment — you can do a Pilates workout on Mat anywhere. Although Pilates can use a full studio, it can also be done just with your bodyweight. If you are committed, we can put together a custom Pilates routine for your holiday hotel rooms. Let us know!

Dancers love it

Pilates is the exercise of dancers. Think of the bodies you see in movies or on the stage — if you want long, lean muscles and ensure the safety of your joints, unlike the dancers; then this is the workout for you.

Best fit for Prenatal or Postnatal

Not only crucial for mums and mums-to-be, but Pilates will also strengthen your pelvic floor, which is a vital muscle for everyone. Your pelvic floor gives you control over your bladder and bowel, but can be weakened by childbirth, obesity and also if you lift a lot of heavyweights.

Athlete and Sport’s Conditioning

Late, Mr. Joseph Pilates initially developed the method as a rehabilitative tool. Joseph Pilates, a German gymnast, born in 1883, who believed that poor posture goes hand-in-hand with poor health and dedicated his life to teaching his exercise techniques. He had a strong belief that having an awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, we could develop the deep spinal and abdominal muscles, and reduce stress.

Elderly are not exceptions

Older people have many risk factors due to aging and lack of exercise. A decrease in balance, gait disabilities, and falls are most common and significantly affects their mobility in day-to-day life.

“Balance” is a very complicated function that maintains positions through diverse functional elements, and intervention of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. It takes almost 15-18 months for a newborn baby to be able to walk correctly.

Various sensory-motor neuron interacts in response to changes in gravity, the base of support, vision, physical stability, and the external environment, resulting instability of the body. Mat-based Pilates helps elderly male and females improve trunk stability, dynamic balance, and significantly decrease the sway length and sway speed.

Clinical Pilates

* Chronic Low back pain (LBP)

* Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD)

* Post Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)

* Multiple sclerosis

* Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment

* Spinal Deformities

Supervised under dedicated instructor

Attending a scheduled class or a private session is the ideal way to start Pilates. Your instructor will be able to design a bespoke pilates program that you can also practice yourself between your sessions in the studio. You are getting the most out of your training, and in time you’ll be amazed by the results.

Our instructors are certified Pilates instructors as well as hold bachelor’s degrees in physiotherapy. We can create bespoke rehab and exercise programs for our clients with injuries or postural issues.

Warning!

  1. If you have an injury, consider doing a few one-on-one sessions with one of our Pilates specialists first to learn the basics. On a personal level, always remember the rule that if something hurts, don’t do it.
  2. Attending classes throughout pregnancy also significantly help and speeds up the process of getting your body back in shape after childbirth. Remember, as with any exercise, always check with your doctor first, and remember to tell your trainer that you are pregnant before commencing class.

Abbysan Studio is located at the entrance of boat lagoon in Phuket, offering highly effective body sculpting Pilates workouts.

Based on various studies indicate people who practice Pilates with proper technique over time see the following benefits:

  • Improved flexibility and mobility
  • Trunk stability
  • Core and pelvic floor strength
  • Injury prevention
  • Improved posture
  • Improved coordination and athletic performance in some sports.

Dr. Abhishek Agrawal

As a pilates instructor, I feel rewarded when my clients achieve their goals, be it getting pain-free or having more ease-of-movement.

Visit the following research links for your reference

Pilates: how does it work, and who needs it?

The Effects of Pilates Mat Exercise on the Balance Ability of Elderly Females

Effects of modified Pilates on the variability of inter-joint coordination during walking in the elderly.

Impact of Clinical Pilates Exercises on Patients Developing Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment

Yoga Gets My Body And Mind Ready For My Day

Yoga Gets me ready

I love it when exercise wakes up my senses. My choice of activity is based on its ability to enliven me and heighten my energy. Yoga gets me ready for challenging days.

Going through slow yoga stretches each morning allows my muscles and joints to loosen up. It is an excellent way to get over the state of stillness from hours of sleep.

Any aches that I wake up with are gently soothed with poses that lengthen my limbs. I feel like a new person after ten minutes of yoga. It is a wonderful activity for getting my body ready for more strenuous activity.

When I am at work, I pay attention to my posture. Sitting at my desk for long hours takes a toll on my body. Whenever my back feels tight, I take a break to adjust my posture. As a result, my muscles loosen up in my lower back.

Relaxed muscles take away the tension that prevents me from concentrating. I credit my stretching habits with my mental sharpness on the job.

Lifting weights at the gym is physically strenuous, so I am careful to protect my spine. I do that by adding yoga moves before and after each workout. This returns my body to a neutral state that supports my daily routines.

Today, my body gives its best to me because I take good care of it through yoga. When my muscles and joints are stretched and soothed, I feel capable of taking on the world.

Self-Reflection Questions:

  1. What other benefits does yoga offer?
  2. How do I adjust my workout routine to ensure a balanced activity?
  3. How effective is yoga at relaxing me at the end of each day?