While Boulder has its share of beautiful, well-maintained, and professional Pilates studios, the easiest way to get started is through at-home practice. If you’re not quite sure where to begin—maybe you don’t have the apparatus you need, or perhaps you can’t get yourself mentally relaxed enough to complete the exercise—this article is here to help you out. Creating and maintaining a successful at-home practice takes a bit of work, but with some patience, you’ll be able to easily do the exercises without leaving your living room.
Start with the basics.
Pilates practitioners are notorious for overestimating their fitness abilities. The basics of Pilates are the foundation of the entire program; if you don’t get them right, then the rest of the workout is simply a haphazard activity. Even if you’ve been practicing Pilates for a few years, start your home practice by completing a few sets of the most basic exercises. This will help you ground yourself and test your ability.
Explore the principles. Pilates benefits are achieved through a continuous practice of its principles: centering, concentration, control, precision, breath, and flow. Pay attention to your body while beginning the home practice—are all of these principles met? Does a particular noise in your home disrupt your flow? Does the creaky flow affect your concentration? Once you’ve addressed all principles, find creative ways to fix what’s annoying you.
Make Pilates a part of your day. We do Pilates to gain control over our bodies for everyday activities. Performing these daily activities will allow you to hone your practice and get to know the exercises you most prefer. This can be as simple as practicing the Pilates posture while at work. Inserting a practice into your everyday routine is a great way to improve your ability.
Clear the distractions. If you want to see results, you have to do the work—there’s no way around it. One of the largest barriers to developing a great home practice is the presence of distractions—your phone, your roommate, your kids, &c. Identify your distractions and do what you can to escape them for just a few minutes every day.