Pilates technique explained
What is body awareness?
May 16, 2022, by Maria Felsner
When we speak of body awareness in Pilates, we mean a conscious directing of attention to specific regions of the body, to posture, alignment, or even to the interior of the body.
Positive change through Pilates
In Pilates training we also invite you again and again to be aware of your breathing during movement or in relation to your state of mind.
So you are then also able to consciously bring the body and also your mind into relaxation and also listen to signals from your body. You feel more and more where your tensions come from. You know which parts of your body need to be activated during training or in everyday life and which ones are allowed to relax.
Through this perception, a deeper body awareness arises in further consequence. A clear body awareness also increases your self-esteem and self-confidence. And...
- You're worth it to get your workouts in regularly.
- You are worth pausing regularly to focus on your breathing.
- You are worth doing more for your health.
Already these 3 approaches can change your life successively positive.
"We are increasingly losing the balance between mental and physical health. Fitness exercises and sports without balance only work in the short term. Most of the time, they are even counterproductive in the medium term!"
JOSEPH PILATES
Here you can download our LIVE Pilates hour on the subject.
Reasons for a "wrong" body perception
What reads so simply here is often not immediately feasible for many of my customers. The reasons for this are usually very different and many are not aware of them.
One reason may be that an old injury has healed but still triggers an incorrect movement pattern (relieving posture) in the body. Various medications, especially psychotropic drugs, can have an influence on body perception. But also due to one-sided sports, movement patterns can be stored that are not so easy to dissolve...to list just a few examples.
Solution with Pilates training
Now, in order to interrupt these patterns, we can consciously activate the three sensory senses in Pilates training, which are important for body awareness.
- Depth Sensitivity: Responsible for alignment and control of posture.
- Muscle & Fascia Sense: Responsible for controlling movement via the muscles, joints and tendons.
- Sense of balance: Responsible for orientation in space, to control it and, in the best case, to coordinate it.
Through the versatile Pilates exercises, all these senses are trained again as well as sensitized. The neuromuscular system, which establishes the connection between brain and muscles, reacts faster to external influences and "last but not least", we regenerate faster.
A conscious awareness of the body
Conclusion: A conscious awareness of the body...
- ...lets you press the stop button despite the modern world full of hectic and information overload, daily tasks etc.. You find yourself again.
- ...lets you better organize your emotional world. This has a positive effect on your mental strength in the long term.
- ...makes you listen better to the needs of your body. You recognize what you need at the moment, be it exercise, rest or a good cup of tea.
Achieving these goals is a high priority for many. Nevertheless, it is also important here not to make any big leaps, but to focus on yourself again and to feel: How much of a change in my lifestyle can I tolerate in order to train my body perception sustainably?
If you set your goals too high, you will quickly fall back into the old patterns and feel even more of a "failure" than before.
So be aware, as we always say in Pilates: less is more. Small steps lead to the big goal. They are enough to 100 % your physical as well as mental performance.
With this in mind, let me guide you, but keep up your pace!
Maria
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