There may still be a few folk out there amongst you
that haven’t yet got into the swing of things on the exercise front for the New
Year. Delaying that trip to the gym or exercise studio may even be a wise move
as by now those New Years resolution people will be starting to fall by the
wayside so creating more space.
It’s also possible that you’re simply not sure what
sort of exercise to go for. Whatever it is you choose it has to be
enjoyable. There is no way you’ll keep
it up week after week if you really don’t want to be there.
As an osteopath I am very keen to get my patients
involved in their own recovery and that will include not just specific
prescribed exercises but also encouragement to start or restart general
exercise. I’ll often be asked whether I’d recommend Yoga or Pilates. If you ask Google the same question you’ll
get numerous articles full of ‘useful’ information and celebrity advice. If you
want to get confused take a look through these:
As a huge generalisation I’ll often suggest that if
you need to improve your flexibility go for yoga whereas if you’re looking for
more strength and stability opt for the Pilates. Having said that there are plenty of toning
and strengthening poses used in yoga and Pilates will also help with your
flexibility. The bottom line is that if
you get a good teacher and they manage to provide a good combination of
exercises you’ll end up being a bit more bendy and a bit stronger regardless of
what you call the class. And this is where we come back to the need to enjoy
the exercise. If you like and trust the teacher you’ll enjoy it more.
Why not try both, have a test run and see which you
like best and stick to that? Of course it may also be the case that neither
yoga or Pilates is your cup of tea in which case pick something else . .
.running, cycling, dancing, hillwalking, tennis, swimming. The list is endless and if you do nothing
else think about breathing! If you do it properly even breathing is an exercise
and there is never an excuse not to breath.
