Have you ever attended a yoga or Pilates class in a clinic or studio and noticed others warming up with various exercises on their mat prior to class beginning?
Have you wondered why warmup before a yogalates class is important and what you should do?
There a multiple reasons for the positive effects of incorporating a yogalates warm up sequence into your practice.
A warmup prepares you physically
Yoga and Pilates warm up poses help to prepare, activate and set up our muscles, joints and spine for the wide range of postures and exercises we encounter in yogalates practices.
By introducing gentle movement to the different areas of our body, eg. Wrists, spine, neck and hips. A yogalates warm up will enhance circulation, improving blood flow to cells, muscles and joints. This helps mobilise joints and relieve stiffness and tension in our connective tissue and muscles.
Gentle preparation exercises are especially important when first beginning to practice yogalates. As a physiotherapist I frequently include these at the beginning of a class. As beginners, our bodies are usually not yet familiarised to the physical demands of many exercises on joints and muscles so a yogalates warmup is paramount
Keep in mind that even younger, regular yogis, need yogalates warm up to reduce injury:
Prepare a Yogalates Mindset
Through engaging and lengthening joints and muscles slowly and gently, yogalates warm up exercises also allow a mind body connection. Creating body awareness way to see what area of your body needs. Enabling us to notice which particular areas require extra focus and which you need to go easy on. A great example of this is weak or stiff wrists which may struggle with arm weight bearing poses such as plank and downward facing dog if not warmed up properly.
Yogalates warm up poses provide the perfect starting point to get into focus and the right state of mind by reconnecting your breath , mind and body. This also helps to reduce cluttered thoughts and stress. Allowing you to be present in your yogalates practice.
Reduce chance of Injury
If, during your yogalates practice, you head directly into deeper stretches or demanding strengthening poses like warrior poses and Push-ups or side planks, without any warm up, your points muscles can be stiff, cold and tense, creating an increased risk of injury.
This is particularly true for both beginners and older participants. For example post menopausal women who have little or no estrogen creating dryer and stiffer joints and muscles
As we all age, our joints and muscles can lose strength and flexibility making them more prone to tears, strains and other injuries.
Yogalates warmup enhances performance
Not only does yoga and Pilates warm up sequences help you avoid injury, but they also help you to enhance optimise your performance.
Many of the benefits of yoga and Pilates come from the intelligent and mindful coordination of your breath with transitions and movement. Gently warming up the body and mind helps to focus on getting this coordination. With a yogalates warmup to heat and activated the muscles you may be able to go deeper into your strengthening and stretches have better balance and flowing transitions.
When thinking about how to tailor your yoga and Pilates warm up sequence, ask yourself these simple but important questions:
1. Have you been moving about actively today?
Perhaps you’ve just jumped out of bed or have not been active before your yogalates practice. If so, the more important the yogalates warm up and the longer it should be.
2. Are you managing an injury or problem areas that need extra care and attention?
If you have stiff or painful wrists or knees, injured shoulders, a tight back for example, it’s very important to nuture these problem areas mindfully warm them up. Remembering to choose the more gentle poses that will activate them without resulting in injury.
My recommendations for yogalates warm up poses.
- The Mindset – Child’s Pose with deep inhalations and exhalations
- Neck and Ankles – Hero Pose + Head Tilts (Virasana) , shoulder shrugs , chin tucks, clad raises, calf stretch, ankle circles
- Shoulders and Spine – Cat-Cow (Bitilasana Marjaryasana), gentle spinal twist, shoulder circles
- Wrists – Dynamic Table Top Pose (Bharmanasana), wrist circles, prayer pose
- Back and Side Torso – standing roll downs, gentle spinal twist in laying Wide Leg Side Stretch (Prasarita Padottanasana I)
There are indeed many options and many good reasons for to incorporate a yogalates warm up sequence into your practice.
Let’s get started and I’ll see you on the mat >> https://beyogalates.com.au/get-started/
