Office Pilates Day 20 : You can be healthier in 5 minute chunks!

Have you seen some of our short Office Pilates videos and thought,”Sure I can do these things, but if I’m not practicing Pilates 2 or 3 times a week is this really doing me any good?  Or maybe you’ve thought,” These things are way to simple and basic to be effective!”. Maybe you’ve said to yourself, “I’ve seen pictures of people doing Pilates and it looks nothing like Office Pilates!”.

Our Office Pilates series was really designed to open your eyes to the possibilities of a mindful movement practice.  It’s true that what we’re calling Office Pilates may look very different from a traditional Pilates workout and that’s on purpose.  We want everyone to know that you don’t have to be super fit, skinny, flexible and have hours each week to workout to benefit from adding mindful movement into your life!! Wherever you are in life, your health and happiness can be improved by learning about mindful movement techniques and starting to incorporate mindful movement into your daily life!!

A lot people are hesitant to start a mindful movement practice like Pilates because they can’t figure out how they can do it 2 or 3 times a week( or maybe even once a week) and they figure if they can’t do it religiously it would be pointless.   Their life is packed with work, family, travel, and countless commitments and so the idea of squeezing one more thing in seems… well… impossible.  If you are one of those people I have some exciting news for you!

There are no rules about having a mindful movement practice and every time you practice (even if it’s taking a class once a month or watching a short video and trying a new movement)  you will get benefits.  The benefits of a mindful movement practice go far beyond the physical movement.  Every time you practice you learn new things about your body, your alignment, the way you are thinking and how you move throughout your life.  You are practicing being mindful through movement and science is proving that mindfulness can reduce stress, increase overall happiness and have some pretty big effects on your overall health!! (Isn’t that exciting!!)

The practice of mindfulness involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one’s subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective.  (i.e.- notice what you are doing and how you are doing it)

Clinical studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in general, and MBSR (Mindful Based Stress Reduction) in particular.  Programs based on MBSR and similar models have been widely adapted in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and other environments. 

When you practice mindful movement you train yourself to take that mindfulness into your daily life and daily movements.  And whether your are practicing mindfulness in 5 minute chunks at your office desk or a 50 minute Pilates or Yoga class it all adds up!!   So what are you waiting for?  We encourage you to start small and maybe just pick one exercise or movement to add in on a regular basis.  Once that becomes part of your daily routine try something else.  Maybe when you see what a difference those little chunks of mindful movement have made you’ll decide that you want to keep learning and keep adding it into your life.

Have questions or want to learn more about mindful movement at Rivercity Pilates?  We would love to talk to you and share our passion for mindful movement!  Give us a call (319.665.2499) or schedule a complimentary private session today!!