Pilates

A discipline founded by Joseph Hubertus Pilates to make people more aware of themselves, their bodies, and their minds, to unite them into a single, dynamic and functional entity.

Pilates is a moment of self-care, where the focus is on our body, the connection between the parts, and breathing. It is a low-impact practice that helps to build muscles in a gentle way, with small but deep movements, to align posture by adjusting the center of gravity, thus giving greater harmony and fluidity in movements and improving the flexibility of the whole body. Pilates is about taking care of the movement with which the repetitions are performed, their subtlety, and their precision of them.

There are different teaching methods: the classical method or, for example, STOTT Pilates, which is a Canadian method founded by Moira Merrithew that differs from the original method in certain exercises in the classical repertoire and evolves in step with awareness and medical-scientific advances in anatomy and biomechanics.

All practices are designed free-body. If you want to be more aware of muscle activation and movements and want to feel the classes more challenging, you can always include a Pilates ball, easily replaceable with a cushion, an elastic band, a towel or a pair of tights. If you want to buy a Pilates kit, you can take the open and closed elastic band, the small Pilates ball, two 1kg weights, and the hoop. After your doctor's approval, you can also practice during pregnancy, taking extra care, especially during the month.

Pilates can be practiced from the beginning to the end of pregnancy. Core activation and breathing will help you during pregnancy to support the weight of your belly and prevent back pain, and during labor to manage contractions and consequently in the final expulsion phase.

As a general rule, abdominal and prone (belly-down) work should always be avoided, but I encourage you to let us know in chat before the class starts, so we can give you viable alternatives.