If you’re into all-things wellness, you’ve more than likely stretched your way into a Pilates class. The buzzy workout is fantastic for your mind and body when enjoyed a few times a month, but just imagine spending a week immersing yourself in the exercise. With a tropical backdrop at a luxury villa, we’re pretty sure a Pilates retreat is just what you need to reset and refresh your mindset.
During our Pilates retreats, we rise with the sun and jumpstart our days with an energizing walk on the beach. After the seaside jaunt, we head inside for a freshly prepared nutritious breakfast to line our tummies before a Pilates practice. To balance the rigors of the Pilates practice, we perfect our mountain poses with a golden-hour yoga session. And, we do this over the course of seven nights, with a dash of surf and stand-up paddle boarding classes to round out the week. As we say our ‘see you laters’ at the week’s end, you’ll be wishing you could extend your stay just a smidge longer.
Interested in getting away from it all with a wellness-focused week spent in Bali? Well, settle in and break out your reading glasses. Below, we’re breaking down the five reasons why a Pilates retreat is just what you need.
1. You’ll Reduce Your Stress Levels
With any challenging exercise, you’re almost always guaranteed a break from your regularly programmed series of thoughts when sweating it out. Pilates is no different. Instead of worrying if you remembered to switch the oven off before leaving the house, you’ll be forced to think about that burn in your glutes. This escape from routine is precisely the reason why a Pilates retreat is just what the doctor ordered.
While being hyper-focused on your body’s movements during a Pilates practice, you’ll also be giving your most powerful muscle (your mind) a heavy-duty workout. Your mind is just as much at work as is your body during a Pilates practice because it demands so much out of your muscles. You’ll exercise self-control when you want to drop out of your plank, and similarly when you should be focusing on your breath rather than those stress-inducing thoughts. With this redistribution of mental energy, you won’t have as much to give to worrying.
2. You’ll Improve Your Posture
After taking part in our Pilates retreat, your mum will be happy to no longer have to pinch you for slouching. Why is that? Well, Pilates is a firecracker at honing your abdominal muscles. Nearly every motion asks so much out of your core. From side-bends to hip circles, your abs will remain activated throughout the course of a Pilates practice.
Along with strengthening your abdominal muscles, Pilates will also toughen the muscles in your neck, upper back and lower back. These are literally all the moving parts responsible for a posture that will make any mum beam with pride. Pilates will improve your body’s ability to hold itself in proper alignment for longer periods of time. Not only will it help you maintain upright posture, but Pilates also enhances your overall stability and responsiveness to whatever the world may throw at you.
3. You’ll Alleviate Back Pain
This goes hand-in-hand with our previous point because a stronger core equals a better back. If you need hard proof to believe it, science backs up this claim tenfold. Researchers have seen that by stabilizing the lumbar-pelvic area, back pain can be alleviated. In fact, Joseph Pilates (the mastermind behind Pilates) developed the workout with body alignment and core strength in mind as a way in which to tackle a number of bodily afflictions.
If you spend the working week hunched over a desk ignoring that uncomfortable twinge in your back, then a Pilates retreat is just what you need to take the edge off. I mean, if research has found that the core-strengthening perks of Pilates may also ease pain and improve daily life for people suffering from chronic low-back pain, then who are we to contest that?
4. You’ll Improve Your Sports Performance
For supermodels like Gisele Bundchen and sports greats like Lebron James, Pilates is a regular part of their workout routine. Why is that? Well, with a stronger core (courtesy of Pilates), everything else tends to fall into place. Your core is the point from which all of your body’s stability radiates. So, if your abdominal, oblique and lower back muscles are on point, you’ll see that you perform much better in any other physical exercises you take part in.
With a strong focus on deep breathing during a Pilates practice, lung capacity is increased and circulation is heightened with each move, which is absolute magic for an athlete-in-the-making. Pilates also promotes muscle elasticity and joint mobility, which not only heightens agility, but it can also lessen the incidence of injuries. After one of our Pilates retreats, you will feel primed and ready to take on whatever sport you’ve been dying to try your hand at.
5. You’ll Become More Flexible
Okay, this one’s a bit of an obvious one. But, it’s worth bringing up because enhanced flexibility allow you to reach your full potential in other workouts. You see, when you’re tight, you shorten your muscle and limit your body’s range of motion. So, consistent stretching over time can help elongate your muscles.
Even if you don’t have any dreams of joining the ranks of Cirque du Soleil, working on your flexibility has many important benefits. A lack of flexibility may be leaving you susceptible to injury. Also, issues with form and small muscles aches and pains generally spring from a lack of flexibility. A Pilates retreat is an ideal way to immerse yourself in the stretch-heavy exercise.
PS: If you’re keen to take the next step toward a Pilates retreat, then head to our informational page for the program to learn more about the experience. We cater the practices to fit any and every expertise level, so all you need to worry about is when you’ll be joining us.
