How To get an amazing toned body by following these tips And start looking and feeling vibrant and young again!

Discover the secrets to an amazing toned body with these Pilate Mat Tips!  

Are you wondering if you should take a Pilates Mat Exercise Class?  I have been practicing the Pilates Method for more than 10 years and the following tips will help you jumpstart your Pilate mat practice at the gym or at home.

Would you like to stabilize and firm your core, improve your posture and get the toned body you've been longing for?  If so, taking a Pilate Mat class may be just the answer.  

In the next few moments, you will learn some valuable tips I've learned while taking classes.  The tools we use are the foam roller, the Pilates ring also called the Magic Circle,  a variety of Pilates balls and resistance bands.

Pilates is designed to train the body’s “powerhouse”, which is the CORE, the abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks. Two of the key elements of Pilates are core muscle strength and spinal alignment. 
Most of your movements will come from your "Powerhouse."  Pilates Mat classes follow a flowing choreography and emphasize the core principles of Pilates including: breath, concentration, control, centering, precision, balanced muscle development, rhythm/flow, whole body movement and relaxation.  

If you are beginning Pilates Mat Exercise classes, it's important to take a class from a certified Pilates instructor and if possible take a class where you can get individual attention if needed.  When the class is too large, say 20 or 30 people, you may miss out on key Pilates methods from the instructor.

I highly recommend taking a Pilates mat class to learn to control you muscles and then move into a reformer class and practice Pilates at home.  I have all the equipment at home and do them when watching television or on the exercise channel.    Pilates classes are focused on helping you connect the mind and the body and require concentration and focus.  Throughout the sessions, whether on the mat or on the reformer, your instructor will prompt you to concentrate deeply on your core muscles as well as your breath.  The tips below will be very helpful in jumpstarting your practice.

Proper Alignment Tips for Lying on the Foam Roller. 

1. When lying vertically on the foam roller, make sure your spine is aligned.  Your knees bent with your feet flat on the floor.  Make sure your knees and feet are aligned with your hips.
2. Your sacrum, the triangular area just about your butt cheeks, should be very HEAVY, (you should feel the weight of your butt cheeks move down onto each side of the roller.
3. The back of your head will rest HEAVY on the roller with your nose pointing straight to the ceiling. When you do the exercises, you tuck your chin to your chest (imagining a small orange between your chin and your chest) looking at your belly button or your knees. 
4. There will be a space between your neck and the roller.
5. Your back ribs are resting on the roller- no space between your ribs and the roller.  Relax your ribs! Melt into the roller.
6. Your low back is rounded and making contact with the roller. SCOOP your low abs, pull them in and up. it's not a tuck, you are in neutral spine position.
7. Your belly button is always pulling back to your spine and up towards your heart.
8. Your shoulder blades are moving down and back. I visualize putting my shoulder blades in my back pocket.  Your shoulders are always moving away from your ears.
9. With each movement remember to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth while pulling your naval towards your spine.  Your core is always ENGAGED.
10. LIft and expand your chest and keep you ribs on the foam roller.

The above foam roller tips will put you in neutral spine.  Your pelvis region will be level.  No tilting and No tucking. Your pelvis is in the shape of a bowl.  If the bowl was filled with water, no water would flow over.

Magic Circle or Pilates Ring Tips! 

1. When you lift the ring, make sure you draw your shoulders blades down and relax your shoulders. Also, you shoulders don't move forward or back.  They stay STABLE and will get stronger in the most stable position.  Make sure you always have your scapula "settled on you back." Shoulder blades and scapula are the same thing.  Your shoulder blades need to be flat, not sticking out or winged out.   Put your shoulders blades in your back pocket!
2. Magic Circle will help you find the connection your your center (Powerhouse/Core) more easily.  Use it as an assistant.  Always focus on your CORE and use rings as a great tool to deepen your work.
3. As you move through the Pilates ring exercises, you want the movement to connect all the way to your core.
4. You will be doing pulses with the Pilate ring.  When you squeeze and you release, make sure you use control in both the squeeze and the release.

I've heard teachers saying, "Think about a tree."  Does it have all its strength in its limbs? No. The tree is only as strong as its trunk and roots. Without a strong trunk, the tree would topple over.

It's the same for human bodies, if we don't concentrate on building a good foundation and a strong trunk or core, we'll end up tight in some places and weak in others, injury-prone and susceptible to the pitfalls of our occupation or chosen form of exercise.  Pilates helps us have a stronger and healthier back and body.  

Finally, it's time to sign up for a Pilates Mat exercise class at your gym or do them at home anytime you want.
The cable television channels have many sessions as well as DVD's are available after you get your initial CORE instruction.  Remember to always concentrate on your POWERHOUSE through out the entire Pilates mat exercises. The tools are used to deepen the work and make you more aware of what your powerhouse.

to find Pilates props that can add a new dimension of resistance, stability and balance to traditional Pilates mat exercises.