It is fair to say that January has the potential to be a gloomy time of year. Christmas cheer has come and gone, we are back at work and outside it is rather dark, grey and wet. A number of us will have made well intentioned but highly ambiguous New Year’s resolutions that are going to be tricky to keep. Typically, we make promises to improve our physical and mental well-being: eg. ‘get fit’, ‘exercise more’, ‘lose weight’, ‘be less stressed’ etc… Sound familiar?
The start of the new year doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. It can actually be a great opportunity to make some positive changes and try something new, such as a new type of exercise.
It is well known that New Year’s resolutions often fail because we are over-ambitious and non-specific in what we want to achieve. The key to succeeding is to take a structured approach and use goal setting. Consider the following:
1) Set just a few goals (or even only one)
2) Make goals realistic and specific
3) Break your goal down into smaller steps
4) Share your goal with friends, family or colleagues
5) Reward yourself for small successes
6) Focus on the benefits of your success
If you have made a promise to yourself to achieve any of the well-being goals above, or wish to address poor posture or aches and pains, or improve your stomach/core muscles, then Pilates would be a good exercise option for you to help you achieve your goals.
Pilates involves mental and physical training to improve posture and control of the body through activation of the central core (deep abdominal and spinal) muscles.
Benefits of Pilates include:
- Improved postural awareness
- Correction of muscle imbalances (relaxation of overactive muscles and strengthening of weak muscles)
- Improved flexibility
- Improved strength and control of the central core muscles
- Pain relief/management of painful conditions
- Promotes a sense of well-being/relaxation
At Central Health Physiotherapy we offer small group Pilates classes. Exercising in a class can help motivate you to stick to your goal(s). Classes are based on clinical Pilates principles, to ensure that exercises are safe and appropriate. Exercises can be easily adapted for different abilities and can be progressed from beginners up to a high level. One to one sessions are also available. Please contact reception if you would like further information.
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