Tone, tuck and sculpt

The pilates movement practice is one of the best overall fitness regimes you can use to sculpt and tone your body. Sculpt pilates not only strengthens and lengthens your muscles but also aids overall development of the body and increases physical awareness.  The six principles of pilates are concentration, control, centering, breath, precision and flow train the body and mind to effectively build a strong core, improve balance, flexibility and coordination. Every exercise is a full body workout thereby making it a revolutionary fitness programme that has the power to transform lives.

— The writer is a pilates trainer at Pilates for wellbeing.

Swan

• Lie on your belly and place hands under shoulders and bring elbows close to the rib cage, legs and feet stay together.
• Inhale as you roll slightly away with your nose to lift head, neck and upper back, while shoulder blades slide down your back.
• Exhale to reach your chest and collar bone forward with elbows staying close the sides and reaching for your heels.
• Repeat exercise 3-5 times.

Benefits: Strengthens and tones upper back, shoulder and arms. Helps in spinal extension.

Hundred

• Lie on your back, head, chest and legs are lifted with heels together and toes apart, chin tucked and head rolled up far enough to see your belly.
• Stretch your arms long beside your hips.
• Pump your arms up and down like bouncing a ball about 8-10 inches from the mat.
• Breathe in for 5 pumps and breathe out for 5 pumps.
• Repeat for a total of 10 full breaths (100 pumps).

Benefits: Warm up, increases heart rate and circulation, builds strong flat abdomen supporting spine.

Spine stretch

• Inhale to sit tall on your sit bones against an imaginary wall, legs placed wider than shoulder, knees pointing the ceiling and feet flexed. Arms straight by the ears.
• Exhale to hollow your abdomen, peel of the imaginary wall to stretch the spine forward.
• Inhale to roll back up starting from low back, mid back, upper back and finally neck and head.
• Repeat exercise 5-8 times.

Benefits: Promotes deep breathing, stretches the spine and hamstrings, improves posture by aligning the spine.

Single leg Stretch

• Lie on your back, head, chin and chest up. Right knee bent into chest, with right hand holding right ankle and left hand holding right knee.
• Scoop belly muscles into the spine.
• Inhale to hug the right leg while left leg reaches out long.
• Exhale to switch legs and arms and repeat (5 sets)
• Benefits: Builds endurance, elongates spine, strengthens and stabilises core.