Can you do Pilates at your desk?
Absolutely! Pilates is a system of movements that will contribute to physical activity (a healthier body), reduce stress and improve your energy while you work. Incorporating movements that are desk-based into your day means that you are breaking up long bouts of sitting, which is beneficial for your overall health.
Many of the traditional Pilates exercises can be translated into chair exercises. They might look a little different but you will be moving the same areas and in the same ways. We can use our chairs to side-bend, rotate, work our abdominals, strengthen the back and even plank!
I set up Pilates At Your Desk after putting together a programme of desk-based movement for my clients to do between our 121 sessions. Clients would come for their weekly session with various niggles, we would address them but then between sessions they were not moving very much and definitely staying quite stilll while they worked. I wanted them to feel better all the time so I put together simple and effective movements that they could do while working at their desks. Those who did them saw the most benefits in terms of how they felt. It was a hit!
It is quite simple really: the more you move well in varied ways, the better you feel. Even if it’s just a minute here and a minute there several times throughout the day, it all adds up.
There are 100s of movements you can do while you work. Here at Pilates At Your Desk we can show you how. Whether you are a company looking to help your teams to feel better, or an individual looking to strengthen and lengthen, we have plenty of online class and video options. See more about that here.
For an effective movement programme you want to combine these movement breaks with longer and more intense exercise sessions when not at your desk.
Personally I combine moving at my desk with Pilates, Pilates with weights, walking, cold water swimming, bouncing on a rebounder and dancing in my kitchen!
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