Classical Pilates for Modern Life

Shining light on Pilates truths, honoring Joseph Pilates,

and supporting you in your Pilates journey. 

      What is body awareness?

Why does it matter and most importantly, how to get better at it? 

Do you ever feel that no matter how active you stay, you still feel stiffness in your joints, your muscles are tight and you are often in pain? 

The problem may not be that you are not strong enough or not flexible enough. The issue may be that you lack body awareness. 

Body awareness is about how well you perceive, understand, and carry out the movement of your own body. How well you know which muscles to engage, when to engage them, and how to move efficiently,  which means moving without unnecessary strain.

Why Is Body Awareness So Important?

Most of us go through life moving on autopilot. We sit, stand, bend, twist, and reach without giving much thought to how we do these things—until discomfort or injury forces us to pay attention. Poor movement habits, often formed over the years, lead to chronic stiffness, tension, and eventually pain.

Based on the above, improving body awareness is essential, don't you think? 

Makes Daily Life Easier: Body awareness isn’t just for athletes or dancers. It affects how effortlessly you get out of bed, carry groceries, sit at a desk, or even breathe. When you move with awareness, everyday actions become more fluid and less taxing on your body.

Reduces Pain and Tension: Unconscious habits like slouching, constantly tensing shoulders/upper back/neck muscles, or using lower back instead of core muscles can leave you with chronic discomfort. When you become aware of these patterns of movement that you perpetuate, it is the first step toward changing them.

Enhances Coordination and Stability: Movements should feel integrated—your core supporting your limbs, your spine aligning correctly, and your joints absorbing impact efficiently. With refined body awareness, your movements become more controlled and more effective. 

Improves Strength and Flexibility Where You Need It: Without awareness, you might be stretching areas that don’t need stretching or strengthening muscles that are already dominant while neglecting the ones that truly need support. A balanced body moves with ease and efficiency.

Prevents Injury: Many injuries aren’t caused by a single moment of strain but by repetitive faulty movement patterns. When you learn to move correctly—aligning your joints, engaging the right muscles, and distributing load efficiently—you significantly reduce wear and tear on your body.

Even though you may be a seasoned Pilates practitioner, go back to the basics, and revisit the intro to Pilates if not for more clarity of how to move than for making sure that you are doing your absolute best. 

In the words of Joseph Pilates: “Ideally, our muscles should obey our will, reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex actions of our muscles”.

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If you want to satisfy your curiosity and learn more about how to:

• practice Pilates effectively
• find out more about Pilates' fundamental concepts of "how and why"
• learn useful stretches

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Sincerely,

Joanna 😊