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| Katie from Flow enjoying the flat spell this summer! |
“Hi
there, I am just ringing to confirm your business as Flow Physio and
Pilots.’’
“Sorry,
it’s actually Pilates.”
“Oh
right, so what’s that then? Anything to do with aeroplanes?”
“Not
quite”
A recent,
now fairly routine, conversation I had when I ventured into the world
of advertising my company; Flow Physio & Pilates.
Pilates
is a term a lot of us have heard of, but are not necessarily that
familiar with. The Yoga image has really taken off when it comes to
limbering up ready to catch a wave. So when Surf Sistas invited me
to write a little blog, I thought explaining what Pilates was might
be a good place to start.
Pilates
was initially built around developing ‘core strength’. It has
since diversified and focus has moved onto core control and
awareness. Sometimes
we aren’t aware of the way in which we move. We can get from A to B
on ‘auto-pilot’ and be left wondering how we managed to get
somewhere without any recollection of the journey. This movement
gives no awareness to our bodies and how we move. We may only notice
if we experience pain or altered movement patterns. Pilates is a form
of ‘mindful movement’. It aims to draw your attention to how you
are moving your body; noticing areas that may be weaker, tighter or
stronger.
Pilates
works brilliantly alongside surfing. It helps draw your mind’s
attention to the present moment and the activity you are about to
undertake, as well as prepare the body for exercise through
stretching, strengthening and building tone. The Pilates method is
based on flowing movement, aiming to improve movement patterns and
developing a sense of wellbeing.
In my
spare time I am usually at the beach surfing, kite-surfing, stand-up
paddle boarding or swimming. Alongside my sport I practice Pilates
to help maintain muscle-balance and notice any areas of weakness or
compensation. It is also a great way of relaxing the mind and
focusing on just you and your body’s movement.
I also do Pilates on Paddleboards, which was recently featured in the Guardian’s article on ‘Making the Most of the British Coast’. Pilates on paddleboards is the perfect combination of getting out and seeing the coastline as well as using the natural movement of the water with the paddleboard to challenge you further with your Pilates practice – and its a great workout for those flat days between surf sessions!
Here
is a great little Pilates routine designed to help improve your
control, awareness and flexibility for surfing – enjoy!
Handy
hints
It
is important to remember to keep your body relaxed when you are
doing any Pilates movements; if you are holding your breath and
tensing up, you are probably working too hard.
Pay
attention to how the rest of your body is compensating for the
movement you are doing, if you are having to make a lot of movement
adjustments, you might need to do the exercise more gently. The aim
is to keep the body steady and the movement flowing.
Unlike
yoga, the effort of the movement is done on the out-breath to help
you stay relaxed and focus on the movement
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| Mermaid |
Mermaid
Stand
with your feed hip width apart, slide your right thumb up your side,
then unfurl your hand towards the sky. Scoop down in front of you,
sweeping across your body and then back up with your thumb along your
side. Repeat 4 times and then do on the left. This is a great
exercise for loosening off the mid back and shoulders.
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| Roll down |
Roll Down
Slowly
reach down towards the ground, as if unpeeling your spine from a
wall, feeling each vertebrae curl down. Bend your knees slightly
when you get to your limit, then hand there for a count of 10.
Slowly stack back up, then repeat 3 more times, on the last roll
down, come down to a lying position on the mat. This is really nice
to wake the body up and stretch out the whole body.
Cobra
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| Cobra |
Place
your hands on the mat as if you are about to pop up on your board.
Keeping your hips relaxed, slowly raise your upper body upwards,
lengthening through the chest towards the sky. Feel each vertebrae move one at a time, then slowly lower back down. Repeat 3 further
times.
Leg
Pull in Prone
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| Leg pull in prone |
Come
into an all fours position, with your knees directly under your hips
and your arms slightly ahead of your shoulders. Curl your toes
under, then left your knees off the mat and hover about a couple of
inches off the mat.
To
make this harder, after you have hovered your knees, you can
straighten your legs out and come into a plank position on extended
arms, keeping your body straight. Then return to the knee hover
position and gently lower down. Repeat 3 further times.
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| clam |
Clam
Now
roll onto your side, placing your feet together and in line with your
back and head. Slowly lift the top knee up, keeping the body still,
then lower down. Repeat up to 10 times – you should feel this in
your bottom and it is a great exercise for stability.
Spine Twist
Gently then fold yourself into a sitting position, either with one leg in front and one behind or cross legged. Make a praying position or diamond with your hands on your chest, and rotate your upper body round to one side. On the next breath out, try and gently rotate further, as if you are rotating round a pole through your centre. Repeat this on the left, doing 4 altogether.
Come down into the clam position on your other side and do up to 10 clams on the left hip. Then roll onto your back.
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| spine twist |
Shoulder
bridge
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| shoulder bridge |
Rest
your hands by your sides and your knees bent. Roll your back up from
your tailbone so that you are in a ski slope position. Try and keep
that position steady, and raise one leg off the ground, reaching away
as if turning off a light with your toe.
This
is a great exercise to practice isolating movement and build control
through range of spinal motion.
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| cat stretch |
Cat
stretch
To
finish off, come back onto all fours, and tuck your head under whilst
arching your back, then breath out and sink your belly button towards
the ground. Repeat 4 times then roll back up into standing.
Now
get in the water and enjoy your surf!
Katie Watson
Flow Physio & Pilates
