Service Spotlight: Pilates

You may have heard the word “Pilates” thrown around at your local gym. You might even know that it’s one of our many corporate wellness service offerings. But how much do you really know about what Pilates is and why you should give it a go? Let’s dive in!

Essentially, Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while emphasizing proper postural alignment, flexibility, and targeting the core. Movements are all slow and controlled, and the focus is on quality of movement, not quantity. The result is a unique mix of gentle but challenging movements.

Fun fact: the creator of Pilates (Joseph Pilates) actually dubbed his exercise regimen “Contrology” (it was only later named after him) and was inspired to create the concept by the classical Greek ideal of a man balanced in mind, body, and spirit.

There are two basic forms of Pilates; mat-based and reformer-based. The Reformer is a specialized machine used for Pilates. The classes we offer through our corporate wellness services are of the mat-based kind and aim to condition deep stabilizer muscles while strengthening and elongating bigger muscle groups resulting in improved posture, balance, and coordination.

Okay so that all sounds great…but why is this service part of corporate wellness?

Well, just think about what sitting at your desk for hours on end does to your body. Most of us have less than ideal posture and are slumped at our desk for most of the day, which can lead to pain over time. Luckily, Pilates emphasizes strengthening your core, which includes all the muscles responsible for your ability to sit up straight. By learning to not only engage but also to strengthen the muscles responsible for stability in a sitting position (abdominals, back, shoulders), you will not only adopt better posture, but you will be able to sustain it for a longer period of time. This translates into your muscles being strong enough to withstand a traditional workday without fatiguing and allowing you to hunch over, therefore avoiding pain.

Need a way to sell your employer on the idea? This study found that when employees exercised at work they reported managing their time better, having more pleasant interactions with colleagues, and increasing their productivity. They even reported going home more satisfied at the end of the day. That sounds like a win-win to me!

Talk to your employer today about our incorporating our Pilates service into your work day to boost productivity and satisfaction at your organization.

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