You know those days when you lie down on your mat to break a sweat with your Pilates routine, but then 10 minutes later, you’re still laying there, just sinking into the floor, breathing easy and feeling super content. Fine, permission granted to morph into a relaxed blob so you can now focus your full attention on breathing and relaxing your jelly formation. And if this feels great, keep relaxing, or if you’re ready to move again, you can continue with gentle Pilates to resurrect your corpse from blissful oblivion.
But before we melt,
Let’s recap how we progressed breathing in our Pilates sessions over the past few weeks:
Week 1: We synchronized our movement with our breath
Week 2: We exhaled to engage our abs more
Week 3: We worked on breathing to turn our bodies into detox machines
Week 4: We learned how to breathe for stamina and endurance.
Just know that your Pilates journey has many layers. Sometimes you will feel strong, and on other days, you feel like you have to work to get your energy up. And sometimes, you feel like you don’t need to have any energy, and you are just happy being easy. We are like the four seasons, and we need to adapt our movement to how we feel.
Acknowledging all the changes in your body is a process that comes with experience and is essential for well-being
I haven’t worked out for a week due to a minor procedure, and my energy is not the same. I predicted this, which is why I pre-recorded all my videos. Once I feel healed, my body will tell me, and I will move back to balance. In the meantime, I am easy like Sunday morning.
Acknowledging all the changes in your body is a process that comes with experience and is essential for well-being. Whoever came up with the quote, “listen to your body,” was right. That’s the easiest way to learn to take care of oneself.
Here’s when you can use this routine:
- After an extended business trip
- After prolonged sitting at the desk
- After a long hiatus from exercise
- After hard training sessions
Of course, don’t limit yourself to this list. Roll your mat, grab your bolster or small barrel, and unwind whenever you feel like it.
I would love to hear your comments after you complete today’s exercise.
Cueing for serious Pilates practitioners and teachers:
1. Hips opening exercise on the foam roller.
Are you a quad-dominant? Do you struggle with single leg circles, Jackknife, and corkscrew exercises? Then this exercise is for you.
2. Lateral breathing on the bolster.
Does your diagram muscle lack movement? Coming up from a flat back position into a rollup is not only about tight hamstrings. Sometimes it’s weak abs and tight hip flexors, but it can also be about lack of mobility in the thoracic spine. Lateral breathing, which we do in Pilates, allows your diaphragm muscles to expand and open, allowing your thoracic vertebrae to become more flexible. If you enjoy barrel breathing, do more of it.
