PILATES

ABOUT THE ACTIVITY

My mother has been doing Pilates for numerous years, over the summer holiday she challenged me into doing Pilates with her. Sonia, the Pilates instructor holds classes in her apartment for approximately 8 people. Pilates is a form of exercise, which is slow paced. It works majority of the muscles through exercises, which seem like stretches. I did Pilates for a month twice a week and each class was an hour long. My role in this activity was simply being a participant and keeping myself active.

OUTCOMES

1.     Increased awareness of your strengths and areas for growth – Partaking in Pilates gave me the chance to learn about my physical strengths and weakness. Through these classes I learnt that I need to workout certain parts of my body more than others. I learnt the importance of maintain a healthy lifestyle, not only on the short run but on the long run as well. Through this experience I also got to know that pilates is a form of exercise that I am good at.

2.     Undertaking new challenges – Pilates was a form of exercise that was unfamiliar to me. I challenged myself by doing something new. Although I had heard about Pilates I had never attempted it. Pilates is a slow pace exercise and due to this I was a little drawn back from joining the classes. I tend to prefer sports that are faster and more active. I challenged myself into not only joining an unfamiliar sport but joining a sport that did not meet my general interests and preferences. After part taking in the classes and doing Pilates for approximately 8 hours I learnt that Pilates is a form of exercise that I do like and can see myself doing on a constant basis. 

3.     Planned and initiated activities – The instructor Sonia planned every class before hand. The classes rotated in three ways, there was one day that was floor work, the second type of class was using the big gym balls and the third was using a tool called the “magic ring” and a “log”. All students knew all these three activities. Students had a say on the type of exercises that would be done during classes. 

4.     Show perseverance and commitment – All students including myself had to be committed and show perseverance. I was committed to go to the class. The perseverance factor joined in during classes. At times the exercises were either hard or too tiring. Certain Pilates exercises got my muscles tired towards the end of the classes. I had to push through and keep up with what the instructor was doing.

5.     Develop new skills – During the classes I did not only develop a new skill but I also learnt and developed my knowledge about sports (Pilates specifically) and about the human body. I developed my flexibility. I learnt what exercises were the more appropriate for each part of the body and what each exercises worked.