Discover How to Maximize Your Workout Benefits Through Activating Your Mind-Body Connection with Lagree Pilates
Written by: Danielle Rosario
Lagree Pilates Connects The Mind and Body
With any type of physical activity you have a chance to utilize your mind-body connection. But just as specific workouts have different benefits, not all workouts are as effective as others when it comes to fostering the mind-body connection.
We’re going to show you why Lagree Pilates particularly is an amazing workout for finding your mind-body connection. For starters, with Lagree Pilates your workout involves the Megaformer, which is the machine used in Lagree Fit 415’s studio. The Megaformer is an unparalleled machine. It lays the foundation for a workout that gives you the ultimate mind-body connection practice.
What Is The Mind-Body Connection?
So you’ve probably heard the term mind-body connection at some point in your life. But what exactly does this mean? The mind-body connection is exactly how it sounds. Through your body’s nervous system, your brain is directly connected to your muscles. It’s about the link between your physical and mental health. This connection plays a vital role in physical performance.1
Any form of movement or activity that improves your physical fitness provides you with a chance to activate your mind-body connection.
Why Is the Mind-Body Connection Important?
The mind-body connection is important because it helps you in achieving your most effective and efficient workout. When you focus on the connection between your mind and body, you elevate your awareness. With increased awareness and mindfulness comes maximum benefits from your workouts.
Your mind-body connection also is crucial in your overall health and well-being. So how do you work on and improve your mind-body connection? Well there are mind-body therapies, or MBTs, such as meditation and guided imagery exercises.2 MBTs can improve your health in many ways with regular practice. One way MBTs can help you is that they can help you manage pain and reduce anxiety symptoms.
Finding your mind-body connection is important because it works both ways. For instance, exercise helps you maintain good brain health, and may even improve your memory. And on the other hand, practicing mindfulness will boost your performance during your workout.
The mind-body connection in Lagree Pilates enhances your workout as your body awareness increases. When you realize that you can isolate and contract specific muscles during an exercise, your workout is taken to the next level.
How to Unleash The Mind-Body Connection at The Lagree Fit 415 Studio
Group fitness classes such as Lagree Pilates are a fantastic way to practice your mind-body connection because they naturally incorporate mindfulness within the movements.
By incorporating a sense of mindfulness within your Lagree Pilates class, you’re able to transform your workout into a sort of inner strength Pilates. By turning within, you not only increase your physical strength with Lagree Pilates, but your mental, or inner strength as well.
Lagree Pilates transcends beyond a physical workout and doubles as inner strength Pilates. In this sense, both your mind and body are exercised during a Lagree Pilates class.
Because Lagree Pilates involves the principle of time-under-tension, slow, controlled movements allow for a greater sense of the mind-body connection.
Turn Off Distractions
The first step in enhancing the connection between your mind and body with Lagree Pilates is to eliminate any distractions within your control. This means turning off your phone before the start of class, or silencing it at least. Avoid checking your phone or any electronic device during class.
The idea of multi-tasking is actually a major misconception as the vast majority of people cannot effectively do it. It may come as a surprise to you, but when you single-task and exert your full attention on your Lagree Pilates exercises, your workout will be more productive.
Challenge yourself in your next Lagree Pilates class to not look at your phone during your entire workout. It’s a lot easier than you may think.
Add Cues
When you add cues to your workout, you automatically activate the mind-body connection. Adding cues can be internal and/or external. It’s a great idea to incorporate a mixture of both.
Cues help you pay attention to your form during your workout. An example of an internal cue might be reminding yourself to keep your knee over your ankle and in line with your toes while executing an elevator lunge on the Megaformer. This is to help you make sure your knee doesn’t extend forward over your toes or collapse inwards.
An example of an external cue might be actively pressing your heel into the front platform during an elevator lunge, as you lower and raise your body, which activates your glute muscles. External cues involve how your body interacts with your environment, and in the case of a Lagree class, the Megaformer machine you work out on is the major one.
Learn to Breathe
Learning to breathe correctly is significant because it will help you turn your focus within. This allows you to use mindfulness to practice your inner strength Pilates.
But sometimes, when we’re so focused on something, such as a particular movement, it’s quite easy to forget to breathe. This results in holding your breath. This is problematic because it can rapidly cause dramatic fluctuations in your blood pressure, which ultimately could lead to injuries, such as hernias, for example.
Learning how to breathe properly can help lower stress levels as well, which may help reduce inflammation levels within your body.
Focus on Your Muscles
During your workout, you’re probably more focused on the actual movement of a particular exercise, rather than the way it makes your muscles feel. During your next Lagree Pilates class, try and focus on the feeling of your muscles. This automatically activates the mind-body connection, increasing the effectiveness of your workout.
When you focus on your muscles, you can activate your body awareness. This helps you to tap into any signals your brain may be sending your body. For instance, knowing when to push yourself harder, or when to take it easy and make modifications to avoid injury.
In addition to the mind-body connection, you may come across the mind-muscle connection. This is just a hyper-focused version of the principle of the mind-body connection. It’s about solely focusing on your muscles and placing deliberate tension on them during your workout.3
During exercises, visualize the muscle you want to focus on and direct your attention to it. Focusing on a specific muscle sends a message telling your brain to use a greater percentage of muscle fibers to execute the movement. Ultimately, this helps in building strength in the targeted muscle(s).
Stay in the Moment
Have you ever caught yourself thinking about all the things on your to-do list during your workout? I mean, who hasn’t had their mind wander during a class?
That’s why practicing mindfulness comes in handy. It helps you stay in the moment during your workout. When you focus on the mind-body connection in your Lagree Pilates class, your workout is more productive because you can focus on the present moment. Being aware of what you’re doing and how your body feels helps to avoid injury as well.
By staying in the moment, you can more easily focus on your inner strength Pilates. Too often we operate on auto-pilot and find ourselves thinking about the past or the future rather than just being one hundred percent present. It’s called the present for a reason— it’s a gift that should be enjoyed and cherished.
Elevate Your Mind-Body Connection with a Workout at Lagree Fit 415
The link between the mind and body is undeniable. It’s been made very apparent that the mind-body connection is a two-way street. When you focus on your mind-body connection in Lagree Pilates, you’ll be rewarded with both physical and mental benefits.
While both internal and external focus is important during your workout, there is evidence that the internal focus has a more integral role in muscle growth and development.4 This supports the idea of inner strength Pilates and how beneficial it is in reaching your fitness goals.
Unleash your mind-body connection and sign up for your first Lagree Fit 415 class here today!
Sources:
1 How to Unleash the Mind-Body Connection At The Gym
2 What You Should Know About The Mind-Body Connection
3 Understanding The Mind-Muscle Connection and Making It Work For You
4 Attentional Focus for Maximizing Muscle Development: The Mind-Muscle Connection
