Pilates is all about controlled movements that engage your core muscles while promoting body awareness and alignment. This makes Pilates accessible to everyone. No matter, whether you are a beginner, recovering from an injury or need a low impact workout option. Here is the next set of exercises that are covered in this blog series of Pilates for beginners. Let’s begin!

Spine Stretch Forward

It’s a great exercise to mobilize the back . So, here’s how you can do this Pilates exercise:

1. Sit straight with legs forward and toes facing up 
2. Extend your arms forward up to your shoulder width and height
3. Curl your chin to the chest and nose to the belly button
4. Try reaching the crown of your head to the mat while exhaling
5. Roll to the upright position while inhaling 

You can try three to five repetitions of this exercise.

Shoulder Bridge Prep

This is an exercise of Pilates for beginners that is worth incorporating in your routine. Here are the steps to do this exercise:

1. Lie down on your back. 
2. Place feet hip distance apart and parallel to each other
3. Extend your arms along your body 
4. Curl your tailbone and articulate the spine up from the sacrum to the shoulders
5. Hold and then roll down (vertebra by vertebra)

You can try two to four articulations of this exercise.

Mermaid

It is a Pilates exercise for beginners that provides a nice side stretch of the body . Here is how you do this movement:

1. Sit in the middle 
2. Fold your knees and one foot against the inner thigh 
3. Lift the arm by your ear and hold your ankles with the other
4. Stretch up and bend over while keeping your arm and head together

You can try repeating this exercise three times.

Front Support

It is one of the exercises of Pilates for beginners that engages all the muscles of your body and improves your stability. Here is how you can do this exercise:

1. Get on your knees in a pushup position
2. Extend one leg and then the second in line with first 
3. Hold the push up position for five counts
4. Lower the knees down and sit back to your heels to rest 

Try this exercise 3 to 5 times.

Wall

It is a unique Pilates for beginners exercise that utilizes support and resistance of a vertical surface. Here’s how you can perform this exercise:

1. Stand with your back against the wall
2. Place your feet at least a foot length away from the base of the wall so that your sacrum and back of the ribs are on the wall, bent knees if needed
3. lift your arms to shoulder height
4. Circle arms in both directions
5. Round forward and peel the spine off the wall one joint at the time 
6. Now, roll back up to a full standing position

You can try repeating arm circles three to five times in each direction and three to five repetitions of roll down.

The Final Words

If you are new to the world of fitness or seeking an effective way to start, this set of exercises for Pilates for beginners can help you. They offer a gentle and transformative path towards achieving your wellness goals. You can opt for a private session or virtual mat class or book your first free trial at Pilates Lifetime!