Research shows that the mind can induce positive physiological effects on the body, both internal and external. You may notice that when you’re in a good mood you automatically seem to look better and feel healthier as well. Scientists ascribe this phenomenon to the activity of billions of nerve cells in our brain which transmit chemical messages to the rest of the body. Our thoughts and emotions play a vital role in influencing this intercellular communication.
Think for a moment about how unpleasant you feel when you’re stressed. Your body produces an excess of stress chemicals, like adrenaline and cortisol, which causes your whole system to speed up. Your heart beats faster, your blood pressure goes up, your breathing becomes rapid and shallow. This response is necessary to motivate you in a crisis. But in our day-to-day lives, large doses of this reaction can be extremely harmful and lead to symptoms such as dizziness, profuse sweating, shaking, insomnia and migraines. Tight, tense muscles make your body shrink, constricting the flow of energy throughout the body. This eventually results in a weak, misshapen musculature.
Positive feelings of calm and contentment have a far more beneficial effect. The release of health-enhancing feel-good chemicals, like endorphins and serotonin, are vital for well-being. You breathe more easily and deeply, your heart rate is slower and your blood pressure lowers. This sense of serenity has an overall positive effect on your general bearing and posture.
CREATIVE VISUALIZATION
How you picture yourself is reflected in your body language which, in turn, is observed by the world at large. What we create in our lives begins as a basic image in our minds. Visualize the way you want to walk, stand, move. In Body Maintenance, visualization is an important next step after learning the exercises. On a superficial level, many of the exercises appear fairly simple. However, how you physically position your arms or legs is only part of the process. It is necessary, even when working certain muscles, that you are equally focused on the rest of your body. Where are your feet? Are you holding your head in the right way? Is your body properly aligned?
Initially this can seem quite difficult; using visualization techniques can be enormously helpful. By understanding how your body should feel, it becomes easier to assume the correct position.
Visualization is one of the best methods to bridge the gap between mind and body. By creating mental pictures that correspond to what you are trying to do physically, you will, in time, develop a level of body awareness that is unique to Pilates-based exercises.
Basic Visualization Techniques
Anybody can learn to visualize. Start by relaxing, as a still mind helps to conjure up images.
Start by gathering your thoughts. Try to forget about external influences like work, or things you need to do. Remember, this is your time.
Focus on your breathing by taking slow, deep breaths. This can instantly help you to feel calm because it promotes soothing alpha brainwaves. You can add a few gentle stretches. Once you feel sufficiently relaxed, you can start your exercises.
As you perform each exercise, concentrate on how each part of your body feels. With each one, think of a specific picture. For example, if you try to envision yourself walking effortlessly through a cloud, concentrate clearly on how this feels. Do your feet feel relaxed, warm and comfortable? Are your arms hanging loosely by your sides? Where is your head? Thinking of these images will help you to relax into the correct position.
Let your mind create each image with as much intensity as possible, so you can almost feel it. This will help you with your exercises as, once you recall a familiar picture, all you will need to do is focus on it and your body will automatically respond.
Even when not exercising, using these visualization techniques can help bring about permanent changes. You can use visualization to help you walk, stand and sit in the correct way.
Because Body Maintenance is a very precise system of exercise, it is important that you first become acquainted with the basic principles. This groundwork will help you fully understand what you are doing. There are six essential guidelines to follow.
1 BREATHING
It is important to be aware of the relationship between breath and movement. Emphasized in dance but rarely addressed at the gym, breathing correctly is fundamental to Pilates. For most exercises in this book, you should breathe out at the point of effort.
As oxygen nourishes the brain and the body, it is crucial to breathe deeply, right down into the lower lobes of your lungs, not just using the upper chest. Most people are stronger on one side of their body than on the other, looser on one side and tighter on the other. Pilates uses breathing and exercise to create balance in the body.
Breathing deeply, you’re working from the inside out, energizing and replenishing large areas of your body. It is as spiritual as it is physical. Breathing into a tight area that is being stretched after a long time is rejuvenating. Think of breathing as a form of liberation.
2 CONTROL
‘Control’ in this instance means that the correct part of the body is used in each exercise. By focusing on a particular muscle group, you are able to minimize the stress and involvement of other parts of the body. Doing an abdominal curl without this kind of focus and attention, for example, often leads to straining of the neck, shoulders and hip flexors, instead of working the abdominal muscles.
All exercises must be done slowly and in a meditative fashion. Control and precision are key. Your mind must concentrate on what you’re doing. It is preferable to do 10 repetitions in a thoughtful and regulated way than to do a 100 mechanically, using only momentum. When working with free weights, for example, you should be able to use internal resistance rather than using your shoulders or snapping your elbows. Similarly, in the pelvic tilts you should be able to feel one vertebra at a time. Pilates is about being sensitive to your body.
People often make what is a simple exercise into something that is torturous, thus creating distortion and tension. Proper control makes each exercise efficient by concentrating on each muscle group, while keeping the rest of the body relaxed and aligned.
3 CENTRING
Pilates encourages the development of one strong, core area that controls the rest of the body and supplies it with energy. This core is the centre of your body: the continuous band between the bottom of your ribcage and across the line of your hipbones. The area’s stomach and back muscles support your spine and internal organs, and keep you upright.
This central stability supports its various extensions – the arms, legs and head. Having a strong core means you can walk and run without discomfort or pain. Similarly, a strong centre results in a strong back, and backache can be alleviated by strengthening the core muscles.
Human beings were not originally designed to stand up straight. As gravity is constantly pulling us forward, it explains why so many people have problems associated with the neck and shoulders. We are basically defying nature, gravity and our initial body type by walking and standing upright.
4 FLOW
If any action feels quick, jerky or sharp, you can be sure that