What is Mindful Movement?
This term, our courses will focus on mindful movement. We know that Pilates is brilliant for our bodies but did you know it can be brilliant for our mental health too?
Often in daily life our brains are busy with one task and our bodies another. Often we don’t have time to think about what our bodies are doing or the sensations they are feeling. It is easy to be too busy writing emails to notice that tiredness in our neck. It is too easy to be absorbed in our day to day life to check in with how our bodies are moving (or not moving!). Rushing through life without stopping to notice our bodies isn’t just stressful, it is linked to injuries, pain and ill health.
Mindful movement is about drawing our full attention to our body, what it is feeling, how it is moving. We might focus on our breath at rest, or the sensations felt when moving through a sequence. It is recognising and becoming aware of our body in the here and now.
Bringing our full attention to the moment is a brilliant calming technique. It helps us reconnect with our bodies and our thoughts. Recognising our thoughts, feelings and sensations in the moment can also help us to understand them. And understanding can help us to challenge and deal with things that may be having a negative impact on our lives.
How will we use Mindful Movement in Pilates?
This term our classes will be a bit slower paced. Your physiotherapists will create space and use prompt to help. Exercises will have more repetitions and layers to help you explore them, improve your technique and develop endurance.
Throughout the term we will:
Use breathing as an anchor to our body
Slow down and give ourselves space to notice and reflect
Look at the 5 key elements of Pilates and notice how our breath, chest, pelvis, core muscles, neck and shoulders feel and move.
Interrupt the autopilot and notice our bodies sensations as we stretch and strengthen
Practice body scanning techniques to explore how our bodies feel and work
Become experts in our own bodies. Learning to listen to its cues.
Use this knowledge, alongside your physios to challenge, build and rehabilitate
Each week we will look at our exercises through one of these lens, building up week by week throughout the term.
We hope you enjoy our slightly slower paced and more mindful term! Your physios are excited to explore with you.
Exploring Mindfulness more:
You can find more information on mindfulness and mindful movement here:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/mindfulness/mindfulness-exercises-tips/#MindfulnessExercisesToTry
https://www.headspace.com/meditation/body-scan
November – Dec 2021 Programme. Your physiotherapists develop each class for you. No two classes will look the same as your physios will be helping you with your goals and meeting your class where you are. Each week the class will use a combination of stretching, strengthening, and balance exercises to challenge you. We will use these to help us to explore the programme below:
Week 1: Mindful breathing: using Pilates and breathing techniques to connect with our bodies
Week 2: Mindful practice: key principles of Pilates with awareness and focus
Week 3: Mindful stretching: tuning until the sensations of stretch
Week 4: Mindful strengthening: listening to where our bodies and noticing our muscle balance
Week 5: Gaining flow: using sequences of exercises to maintain our internal focus
Week 6: Turning off the auto-pilot: practicing exercises in different orders or at different levels to allow a new perspective
Week 7: Christmas week! Mindful Christmas Parties!