FOCUS

The Pursuit of
'Well'Ness
Pilates for the lazy muscle
What?
Pilates (pronounced puh-lah-teez and not pie-lates) is similar to yoga but
emphasizes the body’s core — the abdomen, obliques, lower back, inner and outer
thigh,and so on. For this reason, Pilates develops much of what exercisers need —
strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, coordination, balance, and good posture
— with a much lower chance of injury than with other forms of exercise. The
discipline emphasizes correct form instead of going for the burn.
Why?
Sedentary lifestyles and jobs can contribute to
postural dysfunction and cause general aches and
pains.ITemployeeswouldbethefrontrunnerswhen
it comes to sitting a lot in their work. This habit then
gives rise to complain of neck, shoulder and / or low
back pain. With prolonged static postures our core
muscles and spinal cord can fatigue resulting in pain
anddysfunction.Pilatesimprovestheefficiencyand
control of our ‘normal’ movement, by targeting our
trunk and spinal muscles and motor control.
Benefits
1, Improved Flexibility
2. Increased muscle strength and tone
3. Enhanced muscular control of back
and limbs
4. Improved spine stabilisation
5, Prevention of musculo skeletal
injuries
6. Improved concentration
7. Increased posture awareness
8. Better stress management
12 FOCUS, Q4/2014