Pilates
At Breathe Yoga and Pilates we offer pilates classes that are suitable for everyone from beginner to advanced. For the office worker sitting at their desk all day, to a runner trying to improve their marathon time, to the active retired person who is conscious about keeping their body functioning to its optimum, we have a class that is suitable for you.
Pilates was originally developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century as a system of exercises which emphasise the balanced development of the body through core strength and flexibility. Pilates enables individuals to learn a practice which is proven to promote improved posture by engaging appropriate muscles whilst stabilising the muscles of the core or ‘power house’. This gives students an opportunity to build strength, stamina and endurance without the risk of injury.
A typical Pilates class includes a sequence of repeated postures (modified where necessary for beginners or those suffering from injury) to build strength in the core and condition the body. It also includes stretching postures which build flexibility. The class also focuses on breath awareness during posture practice, and then finally finishes up with a relaxation.
Benefits Of Pilates:
- Improved posture
- Reduces the risk of injury
- Muscle strength, flexibility & body conditioning
- Increased core strength and stability
- Improvements in peripheral movement & joint stability
- Improved performance
Principles of Pilates:
- Concentration: Focus all your mental ability on the exercise until it almost become subconscious
- Control: Over ones muscles, including those of breathing and stability. Starting slowly with each exercise should enable control to be maintained.
- Centring: All movement should come from a stable centre
- Flow: The movements are not jerky or sharp & should flow gracefully
- Precision: This leads to efficiency and safety which in turn gets results with less waisted effort
- Breathing: By focusing on active breathing this assists with engaging the core muscles
- Relaxation: Use the muscles that need to be used and relax the rest in order to avoid unnecessary fatigue
- Stamina: Through controlled & prolonged challenges, muscles will obey directions and improve in function
Our Classes
Mat Level 1
Suitable for complete beginners or students who may be suffering from injury. Also suitable if you’ve practising yoga (or another discipline) and you want to learn something new.
Mat Level 2
Suitable for those students who have been practising pilates for 3- 6 months or those who wish to challenge themselves! Usually referred to as mixed levels in the timetable.
Private Classes
If you don’t feel quite ready for the class environment and would prefer one to one tuition to get you started we have private classes available either online or in person in the studio.
Corporate Classes
Available on request, we are happy to come to your workplace to provide in person classes or online classes if your prefer. Call or email us to discuss options.
