Pilates Beyond the Studio: Getting Up & Down from the Floor

September: Getting Up & Down from the Floor

Think about the last time you got down on the floor.

Maybe you were playing with your kids or grandkids. Maybe you were stretching. Gardening. Cleaning. Playing with your dog. Sitting around a campfire.

Getting down there usually isn't the hard part.

The interesting question is:

Can you comfortably get back up?

Getting from standing to the floor and back again requires your body to coordinate quite a few things at once:

• Strength to lower and lift your body

• Mobility through your hips, knees and ankles

• Balance as your center of gravity changes

• Coordination to move through several positions

• Core control to stabilize your trunk

• Body awareness to know where you are in space

• And perhaps most importantly, confidence in your ability to move

That's a lot from one seemingly simple task.

And that's exactly what makes it such a useful example of functional movement.

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Why functional movement matters

We often think about exercise in terms of individual muscles or isolated movements.

But life doesn't work that way.

You don't usually think, “I'm going to use my quadriceps now.”

You think, “I'm going to stand up.”

You don't think, “I'm going to challenge my balance system.”

You think, “I'm going to step over that puddle.”

Our bodies are constantly combining strength, mobility, balance and coordination to accomplish something we actually want to do.

That's what makes functional movement so important.

Research has found that physical capabilities—including strength, walking speed, balance and the ability to rise from a chair—are associated with healthier aging and lower mortality risk.

This doesn't mean that being able to get off the floor determines how long you'll live.

Rather, it points to something much more useful:

Maintaining your physical capabilities is an important part of staying independent and active throughout life.

And that matters whether you're 30, 50, 70 or beyond.

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You don't have to wait until you're older

It's easy to think about mobility, balance and functional strength as things we'll worry about later.

But the best time to build physical capacity is before you need it.

If you're 35, you may want to keep hiking, skiing, traveling, chasing after your kids or getting down on the floor without thinking twice.

If you're 55, you may want to keep doing all of those things while adding new adventures.

And if you're 75, you may care less about how much you can lift and much more about being able to get up from the floor independently, carry your groceries or keep up with the people you love.

The goal isn't to move like you're 30 forever.

The goal is to keep developing the strength, mobility and confidence to move well at every stage of life.

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What does Pilates have to do with it?

Quite a lot.

A Pilates session might have you practicing:

• controlled squats and lunges

• hip mobility

• spinal articulation

• weight shifting

• balance

• core control

• transitions between different positions

• pushing and pulling

• moving your body through space with awareness

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You may not realize it at the time, but you're developing a toolkit of physical skills that you can take with you everywhere.

That's what we mean by Pilates Beyond the Studio.

We're not just interested in how you move during your 50-minute class.

We're interested in whether you leave the studio feeling more confident in your ability to move through your life.

Try it yourself

The next time you're at home, take a moment to notice how you get down to the floor and back up.

Don't turn it into a test. Don't worry about doing it without your hands.

Instead, ask yourself:

Where do I feel strong?

Where do I feel restricted?

Do I feel balanced?

Do I feel confident?

Is there a part of the movement I tend to avoid?

There's no right or wrong answer.

It's simply information—and awareness is often the first step toward improving movement.