"One of Pilates' key ideas is 'centering,' which means all our power comes from our core. "The abdomen, hips, lower back, and pelvic area," Holtschneider says. "If these areas are not as strong as they should be, we tend to compensate with less efficient movements with our arms and legs."
Most people are sedentary. Holtschneider calls this "tech neck" or "text neck," caused by hunching forward while texting or typing on a laptop.Kyphosis—excessive upper back rounding—can result from these behaviours. Working the arms, chest, shoulders, and back helps support your posture and prevent forward head and the pressure it puts on your body.
3. Support and strengthen your joints through lower-body isolation
Holtschneider advises extending and strengthening the toes, tops of the feet, arches, and ankles. Legs in straps exercises extend and open the hips, knees, and feet. Eve's lunge on the Reformer and pigeon on the chair stretch the hips and glutes.
In a chair, raise both arms overhead and lower them to your feet for spinal flexion. Sitting, raise your crown to the sky and twist from side to side for spinal rotation. Spinal lateral side bends follow. Sit away from a BOSU ball. Lying back on the ball opens your chest. Finally, standing tall, extend both arms overhead, draw your abs inward into your spine to round your back, and reach for the ground.
Balance is our final exercise habit for ladies over 50 to obtain firm and slender. "Physiologically, we lose the ability to balance ourselves optimally after the age of 30, so it is important to practice balance exercises to prevent falls and injuries," Holtschneider says. Step up and down on the BOSU with the dome side facing up to simulate balancing on an unsteady surface, holding onto the barre as needed.
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