In this week’s Your Whole Self I want to focus on physical movement and the connection with the mind.
Pilates is all about conscious movement, the link between the brain and the body, and how you feel when you are moving. I will often use the words move with purpose, or be in the room with me, when I am teaching, because it’s
often easy to switch off and go through the motions of movement without really thinking about it.
If you really listen to me in class, you will hear me repeating and repeating teaching cues, and this isn’t because I run out of things to say (ha ha … as if! — my Dad once told me I could talk for England), it's because I know that every time I speak, only a small percentage will hear it first time, so I hope that by repeating the instruction gradually everyone will tune in
and hear it, as everyone gradually becomes more conscious of what they are doing. If we purposefully and consciously move, it can feel a whole lot different.
Sometimes going through the motions is all we feel we can manage, but I believe the full benefits of Pilates comes from connecting between the mind and body, listening and hearing what our body is telling us as we move and recognising how it makes us feel. The connection is all about being in the moment, the here
and now, being present.
Our movement is often a reflection of our life — if our heads feel busy and full of thoughts, then the way we move is affected — we might feel rushed, our breathing may become more shallow, we may feel more off balance and single joints might start to become stiff and achey.
By participating in a Pilates session and giving yourself that specific time to switch the brain off from life thoughts, we can start to encourage
the mind to be more present, to tune into how the body feels, and become curious and conscious of how we move … where we place the arm, how we return the foot to the mat, how we breathe, and so on. If we really listen we start to become more body conscious and more aware of strengths, weaknesses, balance and stability, and from here we can build, progress and improve.
Once we start to be more conscious, then we start to fully experience the benefits of Pilates,
experience the difference it can make to mind and body, and experience the medicine of movement.
Last week was Mental Health Awareness week, and participating in a mind and body exercise class such as Pilates can really benefit not just our physical self, but our mental self, our whole self.
Have a great week folks — keep looking, moving and feeling good.
With love
Jane xx
