How to do Pilates at home

Typically, formal sessions last for around one hour, but by doing Pilates at home, it's easy to fit shorter, more frequent sessions into your lifestyle. The controlled movements of Pilates not only exercise and strengthen your body but also help control your breathing and concentrate your mind - reducing stress and getting rid of the internal chatter that can plague us all.

Read on to find out more about how to do Pilates at home.

What is Pilates?

Awareness of the link between physical and mental health is quite recent. Someone who did understand this was German-born Joseph Pilates. In the 1920s, Pilates developed a program of body and mind-strengthening exercises aimed at helping injured soldiers and dancers.

In New York in 1926, he opened the first dedicated Pilates studio with a program focusing on six key principles - control, concentration, powerhouse-centering, breathing, precision, and flow. These key principles are still very much at the heart of Pilates.

What are the benefits of Pilates?

Pilates is for everybody. It gently targets every bit of the body, strengthens muscles, and improves flexibility and balance.

You don't need expensive or bulky equipment to enjoy Pilates - making it ideal for the home. And, whatever your fitness levels, you'll soon notice an improvement in your core strength and body alignment. Other benefits of Pilates include:

• Improved posture
• Spine stability
• Fewer musculoskeletal injuries
• Better coordination and balance
• Improved lung capacity and circulation
• More focus and concentration
• Better stress management.

Can you do Pilates at home?

You most definitely can do Pilates at home. Instruction videos and books are widely available while basic equipment is inexpensive. All you need to get started is space to fully stretch your body in all directions, quiet surroundings, and a yoga mat. Wearing body-hugging T-shirts and leggings helps you fully appreciate your Pilates stretches while going barefoot or wearing warm socks is the most comfortable option.

Getting started with Pilates exercises at home

Pilates is about controlled movements rather than speed. Follow a Pilates program at home that focuses on concentration, powerhouse (core) centering, breathing awareness, and precise movements. These five Pilates exercises are a good place to start.

The Hundred is at the heart of any Pilates practice. It targets your breathing, core strength, and circulation while warming your body up for the workout.

• Lie on your back and draw legs up to your chest so your knees are above your hips and your lower legs parallel with the floor.
• Curl your chest and head up towards your knees.
• Pull in your abdominal muscles and hold your arms straight out and just above stomach height.
• Pump your arms slightly up and down, inhaling for a count of five and exhaling for five.
• Repeat 10 times without taking a breath.

If this is too tricky to start with, rest your head on the floor rather than curling it up and make it The Fifty rather than The Hundred.

Don't take yourself too seriously doing this Pilates move. It looks and feels fun while massaging your back and relaxing tense muscles.

• Sit upright with knees bent and your toes just lightly touching the floor.
• Grasp the back of the thighs with your hands and lift your legs off the floor.
• Slightly open your knees and lower your head between them.
• Inhale deeply - hold - and fully exhale while maintaining your balance.
• Rock back onto your shoulders and then swiftly back up to regain your center of balance.
• Repeat six times.

Adding a Wellness Ball to Pilates exercises means your body has to work harder to maintain balance and stability. The Basic Bridge works the hamstrings, glutes, and abdominal muscles while giving your spine a gentle stretch. Using the ball adds to the challenge and ups the results.

1. Lie on back with knees apart and arms by sides.
2. Place feet hip-distance apart on the ball.
3. Bend knees to about 90 degrees while keeping your pelvis relaxed and neutral.
4. Breath in and as you exhale, press heels into the ball.
5. Start peeling your spine off the mat until you have formed a bridge shape with your body.
6. Continue until your shoulder blades rest on the mat. Pause.
7. Inhale and slowly lower your spine to the mat while exhaling.
8. Repeat eight to ten times.

Rowing is a fantastic exercise - it builds back strength, arm muscles, and stamina. Even better, you don't need fancy machinery to recreate it at home. All you need is a Power Band.

1. Sit on the mat with your legs extended.
2. Run the band behind both feet.
3. Sit up tall and pull on the band in a rowing motion.
4. Continue for a minute and rest.
5. Gradually build up your rowing time.

The Saw is an essential Pilates exercise that works the back, hamstrings, and core muscles while stabilizing the pelvis. Holding Wellness Weights gives the exercise an even greater impact.

1. Sit with legs extended and the crown of the head held high.
2. Stretch your feet out and spread your toes.
3. Inhale and twist your torso to the right, stretching your body upwards as you do so. (Only move your torso, not your hips or pelvis.)
4. Exhale and continue the twist, taking your right arm even further around your body.
5. Without leaning forward, stretch your left arm towards your right foot.
6. Hold and then inhale as you return to the start.
7. Repeat three times on each side.