Pilates helps us to develop:
Core strength
Pelvic stability
Effective breathing
Coordination
Muscle control
Muscle tone.
It does not help us to develop cardiovascular fitness.
Body Control Pilates is remarkably effective - and medically-approved. It is of an holistic nature, being based upon a well-constructed philosophical foundation. Central to the Method is 'awareness of your own body' and each and every exercise is built around eight basic principles:
By working on the deep architectural structure of the body, 'core stability' is achieved, and then maintained, through increasingly complex movement sequences. Specific problem-areas can be targeted by an exercise, always in relation to the rest of one's body.
Your body awareness is heightened by bringing together mind and body - Body Control Pilates literally teaches you to be in control of your body, allowing you to handle stress more effectively and achieve relaxation more easily.
To find out more, a good place to start is the Body Control Pilates website (23) and Emily Kelly’s book (24).
When I practice Pilates I often get to a point where I feel great. My eyes soften and I am less aware of the divisions between individual objects in my sight. I am more conscious of feeling inside myself and less conscious of seeing or hearing things outside myself. When I look in a mirror at this point I can’t see myself, only the room. I feel warm. I am conscious of the blood flowing through me right to the tips of my fingers and toes. I feel truly alive and a part of everything. I feel like I am melting into the ground - allowing myself to be supported.
Have you felt like this? Do you believe me?
Pilates helps to build both core strength and flexibility and that makes it great to support your riding. However, you must make sure that you use a balance of Pilates movements to achieve this! Stretches lengthen and relax tense muscles. Other movements use different muscle groups and therefore help to build strength. We need both!
I’ve learnt a lot from my Pilates experience. I’ve learnt to listen to my body. When I did this I found that it told me what it couldn’t do and what it would like to do. I learnt that this didn’t work well in classes where we were expected to follow a set programme. I prefer to practice in an environment where I can set the pace and choose the exercises and where I can get feedback and help when I need it from a trained teacher.
I also learnt that one class a week and nothing in-between was not sufficient. I tried setting time aside each day for practice but this was difficult to manage. Instead I started to think about the principles of alignment, breathing, engaging the core and releasing whenever I could. So, mucking out the stables, soaking my hay, I practise Pilates. Sometimes I find myself to be so stiff in a certain area that I feel the need to do some specific stretches there and then – so I do. Our horses do this for themselves all the time.
I started to experiment using Pilates principles on horseback and I found them to be very effective. An even seat, stretching in warm-up, coordinating my breathing with my riding and aids really improved the effectiveness of my aids. Releasing (letting go) as I breathe out can be used to allow the horse increased freedom in upwards transitions. Breathing out and engaging the muscles in the core helps to stabilise the body in downwards transitions.
I interviewed Kate Fernyhough and Rhona Watson, two Pilates teachers who apply Pilates specifically to riding. Their responses are given in Appendix 3.