My Walking Pilates Tour Around Local Town Rye
Walking Pilates.... How?
Walking Pilates I hear you question at the screen? What? Really is that a thing?
YES!!
Ok I know it sounds a little out there but bear with me.
Pilates should be a way of life not just one hour a week on the mat or reformer.
If you take the basic principles of Pilates:
Head and Neck Placement
Rib Cage Placement
Breathing
Lumbo Pelvic Alignment
Shoulder blade Placement & Mobilization
And use them in your every day movement then your practice and posture will improve hugely.
So Walking Pilates I recently had such a nice walk around my local picturesque town of Rye in East Sussex. With it's cobbled Streets and local sandy and pebble beaches at Camber and Winchelsea Beach it is the perfect place to challenge your core and work your functional Pilates movements
Whilst walking around the Streets of Rye the things I tend to think about are just the same as on my Pilates Mat....
Alignment - Hips Knees Ankles, check all are heading in the same direction and that your weight is evening distributed between left and right foot.
Breath - Taking breath a little deeper into the Lungs promoting good oxygenation of the blood but also helping you to engage the Pelvic Floor, very useful when walking, and deep core muscles to support the lower back.
Arms and Shoulders, keeping shoulders slightly rolled up and back, opening the chest up and allowing arms to swing freely with the movement of walking.
Keep a gentle connection between the bottom of your rib cage and the top of your pelvis by drawing the navel inwards and engaging the core. This will help everything but importantly the lower back won't tighten up and get sore.
Beach walking around Winchelsea especially across the pebbles really challenges the small supportive muscles of the body, working the core, your stability and balance and also the muscles of the feet as they feel their way across the stones. Being mindful to watch your alignment so as not to turn an ankle or loose balance.
So you see Walking Pilates really is a thing :-)