Moving to feel good

Why having this mindset is essential for your longterm health and wellbeing - by Carolina Moya

Having the mentality to move because I wanted to feel good, is what finally got me to become regular with exercise and turn it into a habit. This is something a lot of people struggle with, often treating exercise as a way of being able to maintain or adjust their weight, their figure, maybe a necessity for long-term health, or as a means to an end for other goals. As a practitioner, it isn’t as often as I’d like that we get clients who come to see us because they have already connected the dot’s that regular exercise actually makes them feel good. And it can sometimes be a bit of a journey to find a place with experienced instructors that offer the style of classes you like, at a time and price point that works for them. But once you find it, it makes a huge difference to your willingness to exercise.

You had probably already read the sign on your way up to our studio: ‘As you are in your body, so too you are in the world.’ We at Movementality wanted to use this space on the way into our business, to help our clients set a clear mindset before their session. They are there to develop an understanding of the body, and that movement isn’t just about the shifting of their body parts. It’s about an understanding that our body and mind are heavily integrated. Using your mind to feel and connect to a movement is essential to get the most out of movement, and to also become comfortable with both movement and our bodies. And when we are comfortable with our bodies, then we bring a certain level of confidence with us that is unshakeable. And then everyone can notice the confidence we bring with us, even if the person that is most important to take note is actually ourselves. And then because we feel comfortable and confident within our bodies, we feel empowered to use them more to keep us feeling good - a very positive cycle!

And the great news is that we need to move every day, in all directions, which is why any daily movement practice becomes indispensable. Our bodies are made for movement. As a society, we evolved to be strong and mobile peoples, hunters and gatherers, farmers and fishers. To do this we needed to be strong, flexible and injury free. We sought comfort where we could to be able to relax, but generally life was not comfortable, but this also stimulated the body to develop strength, as a way of making hard things that little bit easier each time we did them. Nowadays, the modern lifestyle has changed significantly, allowing us to become a sedentary population. Comfortable and easily fed and watered. No longer are we hunting daily or squatting in the fields for hours on end (at least our clientele aren’t anyway!). But in reality, by moving less we are asking less of our bodies. And when we ask less of it, it provides less of the good stuff that keeps us strong and healthy, instead favouring what it’s exposed to the most - sitting!

This is why I designed my classes to be an experience of movement, so you can leave the room noticing how different and good you feel. It’s also about being able to recognise just how much potential for movement your body has. Learning how to move more efficiently by using the muscles best suited to a particular movement and at a particular time is essential. This is balanced out by learning how to let go of other unnecessary muscles that may want to help out on that particular movement, creating the space for a better quality movement that is more energy efficient, and just feels good.

Carolina teaching a reformer class

One of the regular classes I teach is a Reformer Pilates class. These are designed to make you feel stronger, more flexible and capable of movement by using the spring support of the reformer. Through this, you can experience more freedom in your movement, and be comfortable in your body every day. Believe me , It does make a big difference!

Reformer Pilates group classes have amazing benefits for your mind and body. I want to share with you some of the main ones:

1.   Pressing and pulling on the spring resistance Improves flexibility and mobility

2.   Take the time to focus on your breathing helps with relaxing and improving mental health

3.   Your posture improves from moving the body and balancing joint alignment

4.   Enhances sport performance through all of the above points!

5.   Reduce risk of injury by having muscles and joints that are more supple

6.   Exercises can challenge balance and create body awareness

7.   Tones and strengthen muscles through the resistance work the reformer offers

At Movementality, we have separated the reformer classes in two different levels; fundamentals and progressive, to recognise the different goals and capability of our varied clientele.

Reformer Fundamentals focuses on the basic principles of Pilates and movement. It is a great class for newbies and beginners to start from, or an excellent transition point for those in their last stage of rehab. It’s also a great place for those who are a bit more concerned about getting injuries, or for anyone wanting a more gentle session - but gentle doesn’t necessarily mean easy!

In Reformer Progressive,  there is an expectation that you already have a baseline understanding of the Pilates principles and how to integrate them into your movements, so that we can instead focus on more complex and challenging movements and really give you a full body workout. The focus on the classes change every week, but we’re always open to doing what you feel like on the day.

There are just two classes that I teach where I try to make sure people understand the need to remember to keep moving and taking responsibility for your body. It is one of the most valuable things you can do everyday for your mental and physical health, both in the moment and also for your long term health and well being.

Remember: As you are in your body, so too you are in the world.