Pilates for Anxiety: A Personal Journey in Recruiting Breath and Mind Body Connection Morgan Ekegren October 6, 2018 Aptos, 2018
Abstract: Pilates has been the main treatment for me in battling anxiety. After having my child my life was consumed with debilitating anxiety. I was unable to participate in the joy of life because my mind and body was suffering from anxious thoughts. I was seeking a nonmedical treatment and found relief through Pilates. Pilates was able to calm my mind and emotions using the benefits of mindful meditation for the body and mind. Pilates specifically encourages the power of breath and posture and their impact on the entire body. It has personally helped me treat insomnia, sharpen my mind, relieve stress, and reduce negative emotions. It s helped me learn to engage certain muscles and deep core activation to cleanse my nervous system and elevate the symptoms of anxiety. Pilates has encouraged me to concentrate my attention on one thing- my body, and leave the negative behind. 2
Table of Contents: Abstract- 2 Table Of Contents- 3 Diagram of breath- 4 The Respiratory System- 6 Posture- 7 Program Planning- 8 Conclusion- 12 Sources- 13 3
Diagram of breath: The power of breath is essential in Pilates. The benefits of conscious deep breathing are necessary in addressing the mind body connection, which breath encourages. This is particularly true in the Pilates practice; according to Joseph Pilates, Pilates is the complete coordination of the body, mind, and spirit (Joseph Pilates, Return to Life). Breathing fully, 4
when paying attention to intention, centers us. It helps clam the mind, reduce stress, and encourages a greater holistic experience for the client. Working closely with breath also brings a natural rhythm to movement that greatly enhances the experience of the session. In Pilates an effort is made to emphasize the expansion of the rib cage, and this is called lateral breathing or intercostal breathing (Isacowitz, 10). Part of the reason for using this method of breath is to maintain abdominal contraction while executing the exercise, which is particularly important during the inhalation. The nature of diaphragmatic breathing demands relaxations of the abdominals during inhalation. In an effort to maintain the abdominal wall pulled inward, emphasis is placed on lateral breathing with consistent inward pull of the abdominal wall (Isacowitz, 10). The mind must focus on the breath pattern during the exercise in order to execute the movement. Joseph Pilates attitude toward holistic whole body health was ever apparent, specifically in coordinating breath and movement. Pilates is the complete coordination of body, mind, and sprit (Joseph Pilates). By applying the coordinating breath, spine stabilization, all while also moving your legs and arms, connects the brain to a total mind body workout. The brain and physical benefits to Pilates include corrected alignment, improved cognitive ability, stress relief, muscle strength, and greater enhanced mood. Joseph Pilates continues to say, Breathing is the first act of life and the last, our very life depends on it. 5
The human respiratory system is a series of organs responsible for taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system, which carry this exchange of gases as we breathe. The oxygen you breathe in goes into your lungs and passes into your blood stream and then transported to all those cells (Web, MD). Pilates helps filter this process and encourages the new oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. It acts as a detoxifying process, which in tern helps ease, the symptoms of anxiety by filtering out the negative through breath. Pilates encourages you to maintain the mind 6
body connection by controlling your breath pattern so you can t focus on anything else. There is no option but to stay within the exercise, movement, and breath pattern or the exercise cannot be completed. Posture: 7
Proper posture is a huge positive outcome from Pilates. When dealing with anxiety I noticed that my posture was suffering. My shoulders and head were rounded forward as if in a grief position, my lower back would hurt, and I would struggle with muscle engagement. Through Pilates, I found that I was able to stand taller and my chronic pain started to ease. I was able to focus on back extension, engaging my core muscles, and lateral flexion with rotation to help my posture improve. I was gaining muscle strength along with elevating my mood and overall wellbeing. Pilates is the sole reason for my posture improving. Program Planning: In beginning of my Pilates journey in searching for holistic relief from anxiety, I began working with an amazing instructor twice a week. We worked together designing a program that would allow for mindful mind body connection to achieve symptom relief from anxiety. Warm up on the Mat: We always began our session with a standing roll down and a series of 6 large inhales and exhales to calm the heart and prepare for the session. Pelvic curl Spine Twist Supine Chest lift Chest lift with rotation There was specific focus on breath pattern and slowing the breath down. One very over whelming symptom from anxiety is fast breathing and racing heart rate. Starting the 8
session with the standing roll down and the 6 long breaths helped significantly slow the breath down and open the mind for receiving the mind body connection of Pilates. Footwork on the Reformer: Parallel heels Parallel Toes V-Position toes Open V-position heels Open V-position toes Calf raises Single leg heel Single leg toes The footwork on the reformer was important to associate breath to movement. My instructor encouraged me to let this feel as free flowing as possible. She wanted me to feel like my breath was matching my movement and flow, which encouraged an athletic flow sequence. Abdominals on the Reformer: Hundred Prep Hundred My instructor always had me work on Hundred Prep and Hundred on the reformer because she wanted to encourage the cell renewal through bringing in new oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. The Hundred required all my mental and physical focus to perform because of the breath sequence. This exercise took so much out of me mentally 9
that it took time to build the endurance to complete. It took me several weeks to feel the flow of this exercise and execute. Hip Work on the Cadillac: Supine Leg Series: Frog Circles Down Circles Up Walking Bicycle Spinal Articulation: Short Spine on the Reformer Short Spine would help encourage the exact breath to movement connection, with each movement coordinating simultaneously with breath pattern. Stretches: Standing lunge Full Body Integration: Down Stretch Knee Stretch Group: Round Back and Flat Back These were great exercises for me to work on because they required an exact breath sequence. These exercises would require a tremendous amount of focus while using the breath pattern. Arm Work: Arms Standing Series on the Cadillac 10
Leg Work: Standing Skater was a favorite of ours to work on because the standing work would require extra focus. We would keep the spring light and focus on building the reps up. Lateral Flexion/Rotation: Side over Box Back Extension: Pulling Straps 1 and 2 This was a perfect exercise to end on because it required muscle strength and mental focus. Posture played a huge role in this exercise and we saw a major improvement in my extension over the weeks of our sessions to correct the rounded forward shoulders and poor posture. 11
Conclusion: The power of breath and ideal posture create a huge positive impact on reducing the symptoms of anxiety. I learned that through Pilates I was able to reduce stress, encourage better sleep habits, and reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety. Pilates has improved my quality of life and helped me see the joy of life again. Breath is crucial to creating mental focus and cleansing the body. Posture improves greatly with the practice of Pilates and helps to restore the suffering posture that comes with a grief like posture. Pilates has drastically helped me alleviate my suffering symptoms of anxiety and I am forever grateful. 12
Sources: Isacowitz, Rael. Study Guide: Foundation Apparatus Program. Costa Mesa, California: Body Arts and Science International, 2016. Pilates, Joseph H, and William J. Miller. Return to Life Through Contrology. 1960. Respiratory System. Web MD. Web. 2005-2018. 13