Pilates

Totally not me.

During my time in New Zealand I was hoping to get back into yoga. Despite often being too lazy to go, I found it really great for improving my strength and flexibility. So given that I have more free time now, I have no excuse to be lazy and am going to get back at it!

I researched yoga classes in the area and found a few in Whangarei and Waipu, which are 10-30 min drive away. But there is a pilates instructor that does classes in Ruakaka. So I decided to try yoga's cousin pilates instead.

I went to my first class tonight - the sessions are drop in, but I signed up for a 4-session pass to get a discount. There were about 6 women in the class, all beginners and 1 other very-beginner like me. The instructor is a German woman who is really nice, and was great at talking us through the movements.

You can read about the history/description of pilates on wikipedia, but here are my initial observations:

• Similar to yoga in that it focuses on core strength, flexibility, breathing and relaxation
• The poses involve moment instead of just holding - this is both easier and harder. Usually the moment is slow and repetitive but sometimes it is fast
• No crazy sanskrit words for poses, which is nice :)

I look forward to future classes! Maybe I'll try some work on my own too with some internet instruction.