The Power of a Pilates Holiday

From Reese Witherspoon to Cameron Diaz, Hugh Grant to John Cleese, Pilates is practiced in studios and sitting rooms, on beaches and in bedrooms the world over.

Perhaps you already attend a regular weekly class, or maybe you’ve never tried it. Olympic athlete or couch potato, anyone can get involved, and a week-long Pilates holiday is the perfect way to get started, perfect your postures, or simply try something new.

The health benefits of regular workouts are immense, and by practicing everyday on a week-long Pilates holiday, you’ll give a real boost to your fitness, strength and overall wellbeing. Here are just a few of the positive impacts you can expect to experience on a Pilates holiday:

Fab Abs
With a focus on building core strength - the back, abdomen, and pelvic floor – Pilates is great for achieving a flat stomach and super-toned abs. Even after a week-long Pilates holiday, you’ll notice the difference in your body shape.

Full-body Fitness
As well as developing core strength, Pilates exercises the whole body. Each session works to strengthen your muscles, as well as develop better balance, movement and flexibility. Practice every day and you’ll notice that, by the last day of your holiday, you’ll be striding out more on your strolls and feeling far fitter than on day one.

Perfectly proportioned
The idea of Pilates is to tone and strengthen, rather than to build bulging muscles. By the end of your Pilates holiday, you’ll start to see better tone and definition developing in your muscles. Keep up your practice when you get home and you’ll achieve longer, leaner limbs and an athletic frame.

Fantastic Flexibility
Pilates works on lengthening and stretching your muscle and improving your range of movement without causing damage. Less extreme than yoga, it works with your body’s natural abilities, improving your flexibility without force. This means that joints can become less susceptible to damage and you’ll find twisting and bending movements far easier in daily life.

Perfect Posture
A stronger core, better balance, improved alignment - all these elements to lead to a great posture. Muscles will move more freely, shoulders and back fall more naturally in line and toned abdominals will help to create a superb silhouette.

Extra Energy
Learning how to control and optimise your breathing can have a huge impact on your energy levels. Couple this with your improved circulation, stimulated muscles and enhanced self-esteem, and you’ll find yourself returning home from your Pilates holiday, full of beans.

Mild meditation
You don’t have to go cross-eyed and start chanting to meditate. Pilates helps to calm the mind and improve your focus by encouraging you to actively engage with each movement and channel your concentration into achieving precise, controlled and dynamic routines. This level of discipline can work wonders for stress relief and takes the mind away from daily niggles and stresses.