Our mat classes are designed to work with every part of your body. First we bring you into an awareness of your breath. Breath awareness is key to releasing tension, understanding holding patterns in the body and supporting the immune system.
We believe that bodies need mobility and stability. We explore shoulder mobility to unwind hours sitting at a desk and working a mouse. Opening up the shoulders and thorax helps to increase breath flow and relates to releasing tension in the lower back and pelvis. Mobile shoulders help a mobile spine which helps flexibility in the hips.
We then move on to the pelvis, looking at mobility in the spine and functional support in the pelvis. Did you know your pelvic floor will work better and be better supported by correct alignment and mobility of the shoulders and rib cage? Our pelvic stability muscles that include the glutes, deep rotators, hamstrings and adductors all get some attention. Hip flexors also need a chance to relax and lengthen out of the sitting postures we spend our days in.
The notion of core stability is something we explore in the Mat classes. If your job involves a lot of sitting then your abdominals will not be put under load required to maintain a supple, strong support system. Rather than creating a rigid trunk we want abdominals that support our bodies in different positions and allow us to flex, extend and rotate our spines without problems.
As we age we notice different aches and pains in our bodies that arise over a lifetime of physical activity or lack there of. Osteoarthritis and chronic pain that recurs episodically in times of stress remind us that we need to look after our bones and joints. Learning to not overstress the joints and support from the bones will improve your body’s strength and function.
Having children is one of the big changes women experience in their bodies and many women come to pilates because they feel like their body has changed since having a baby. Our mat classes are designed to educate you about the different forces and loads placed on the body that effect pelvic floor health, diastasis recti and pelvic instability. Modifications can be made in exercises to deal with these issues.
For more information and times of our Mat Classes see here
