Beat those Winter Blues with Pilates

As the colder weather slowly approaches and we start to get used to our cozy jumpers, hot chocolates and snug duvet days, it can be rather tough trying to find the motivation to stay active and maintain a positive mindset.

Pilates has proven to have many physical benefits but, have you ever stopped and thought about how it could possibly benefit your mental health too? Pilates is generally used to help increase muscle strength and tone, aid in improving flexibility and improve posture but, there are more and more studies showing that Pilates may also aid in improving mental health. Which is quite necessary especially as we head into these cold Winter months, where somewhat naturally our spirits tend to drop.

Here are a few things Pilates can help keep you on track and motivated through Winter:

Reducing stress and anxiety

Have you ever wondered why your Pilates instructor constantly reminds you to inhale and exhale, something we do every second of every day right?

Well not only do these breathing techniques aid in core activation but, they're also a great tool to help calm the mind. If you've been doing Pilates for a while you may have picked up that each exercise requires a specific breathing pattern, which improves the overall effectiveness of the exercise, it helps supply oxygen to your muscles and most importantly it helps prevent you from holding your breath. To all the ladies that have been in my Pilates class and found it extremely difficult to focus on anything other than breathing and trying to activate your core, all while concentrating on co-coordinating your muscles to follow allow... it makes it impossible to worry about your packed afternoon, when your next work deadline is or what to cook for dinner!

Instead you are focusing your mind on your breath and being present in the moment and allowing yourself to reconnect with your body, not to mention how all those "happy endorphins" are floating around your body as you start to get your sweat on.

Reduce aches and pains

As the leaves start to rustle and the winter chill sets in, those already stiff muscles start to feel even tighter and those old aches and pains return to greet you with a vengeance.

By focusing on controlling your movements and aligning your body in each exercise to create balance in your muscles, Pilates can help teach you to stabilize your muscles and keep your body limber. Keeping your muscles and joints mobile can aid in relieving some of the symptoms associated with those general Winter aches and pains.

Keeping your brain active

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While we all know exercise is good for getting those 'happy hormones' flowing, Pilates in particular can be beneficial in giving your brain a workout too! Pilates works on the basis that you actively work your body and brain simultaneously during an exercise, when learning a new exercise or modification, it challenges the brain to learn a new skill, which aids in keeping the mind engaged at all times.

"Learning new activities is a proven brain-training technique. Heidi Johansen Berg and her colleagues from the University of Oxford have discovered that learning new activities increases the density of white matter in the brain (the fibers that let neurons communicate.) If the neurons are formed but they don’t connect then eventually they die without any benefit to brain health so this white matter is extremely important.

Learning a new activity is an important part of brain fitness. But most of us don’t have an extra several hours a week to learn how to juggle (that is what Heidi Johansen Berg used in her research) or take on a new hobby" - Taken from Pilates Bridge.

By joining an exercise program such as Pilates, it can help you "kill two birds with one stone" as they say, not only are you getting the benefit of exercise but, your giving that 'white matter' a workout as well!

Enhance your mood

As Joseph Pilates once said "Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness."

Exercise in general can help you blow off some steam but, because Pilates is a low impact form of physical activity, it's often more enjoyable. I know many of us feel overwhelmed when walking into a gym, it can be daunting seeing all those big built men walking around, grunting and lifting heavy weights, in fact it's often off putting to say the least. Pilates may seem like a gentle easy workout but, trust me those muscles get just as stiff and you have the added benefit of actually enjoying your workout, how many of us can say we enjoy working out?

You don't always have to be out of breath and drenched in sweat to move your body and simply feel good, in my personal opinion that's what exercise should be about, feeling good and enjoying what you're doing.

Loving yourself and gaining confidence

Isn't that just the all time ultimate goal to love ourselves? In today's society it's very easy to get swept away in the need to conform to social standards, the Pilates Practice focuses on working within your personal range of motion and gradually builds up your flexibility, strength and endurance. It is a movement focused on what it is that your body personally needs and as you start to gain more confidence naturally you feel more motivated to increase your range of motion. I always like to remind my clients that we are all unique, we think differently, we have different opinions and that's exactly the same with our physical appearance as well, our bodies are unique too.

Confidence is perceived through how a person carries themselves and generally a confident person stands tall and proud, well because Pilates aids in postural realignment and core strength, you naturally gain that self-confidence that goes with it.

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms."

Amy Wilkins