What is Mat Pilates?

Pilates is a body conditioning routine that helps build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips, and back.  It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, developing a strong core and improving coordination and balance.  Pilates’ system allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginning to advanced.  Intensity can be increased over time as the body conditions and adapts to the exercises.

In Mat Pilates, your main resistance is the weight of your own body and supporting that weight while performing a wide variety of exercises. Every Pilates move, however, depends on principles such as concentration, control, fluidity, breath, and balance. Through a strong mind-body connection, your muscles become toned and you improve your overall ability to execute coordinated movements.  

Pilates is good for everyone who would like to strengthen their core; from those beginning their fitness journey to advanced athletes, and even runners. Pilates can benefit anyone looking to improve their performance in a specific activity or just in everyday movements.

In a typical Mat Pilates class, we use small hand weights, magic circle rings, weighted and non-weighted wooden bars.