A strong core can lead to an overall healthy body. It improves your balance, posture, and stability to aid you with all of your daily activities, from the most basic ones, like bending, sitting, and lifting objects, to more intermediate ones like playing sports. Through pilates, this can be optimized.
Centering as a Principle of Pilates
Being the main principle of pilates, one can teach his or her body to engage the core muscles more in every movement through centering. This can be both mentally and physically beneficial as you feel more connected to your body, allowing you to take control of your movements and never losing your equilibrium.
As it is practiced by employing all of your body’s muscles in conjunction with your breath, it allows you to workout from the inside out, ensuring balance as you engage in low-impact exercises. According to studies, this can improve the quality of your life, and can even decrease the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Indeed, pilates can bring harmony to your physical and mental well-being as it allows you to control the core of your mind and body. Pilates classes in Dubai even utilize certain equipment to help in optimizing your experience.
Pilates and Your Powerhouse: Some Basic Routines
Your core, also commonly referred to as the “powerhouse,” starts from the base of your rib cage to the base of your buttocks. It includes not only the muscles in your abdomen, but also those in your back, hips, glutes, pelvic floor and inner thighs. These areas support your body’s stability, enhancing its overall functionality and strength. To help you optimize your core, here are some basic pilates exercises that can strengthen them:
- Breathing Exercise
As simple as it may sound, breathing exercises can help you engage your respiratory muscles and stabilize your pelvis. You can perform this by simply lying on your back, bending your knees with your feet on the floor, and placing your hands over your ribs. Then, slowly inhale and exhale through your nose, while aiming to keep your shoulders and chest relaxed.
- Pelvic Curl
This routine targets your spinal flexors, anterior spinal stabilizers, pelvic floor muscles. and hip extensors. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the mat. Place your arms by the sides and your palms face down. Consciously relax your lower back, neck, and shoulders. Then, draw your abdomen inward while slowly curling your pelvis along with your back off the mat. Slowly inhale, then lift your upper trunk a little higher to form a diagonal line with your body. Return to the start position then repeat ten times.
- Side Leg Lifts
Side leg lifts allow you to engage the muscles in your abdomen, back, and inner thighs. To begin, lie on your sides with your legs straight and your bottom arm reaching overhead in a straight line. Use your other arm for balance by placing it on the mat in front of your belly. Inhale, then lift both legs off the floor, then exhale to lower it. Repeat for eight to ten times before you switch sides.
Advance Your Skills
Although it may seem simple to perform, there can be a lot of considerations before you engage in pilates, such as health conditions, muscle tensions and pains, and even pregnancy. To ensure that the given routines are suitable for you, and to help you advance your skills in pilates more, working with a qualified instructor during pilates classes in Dubai can help you get the most of the method.
For pilates in Dubai, reach out to the experts at The Hundred.
