Nia and Pilates
Fulcrum Yoga is not just about yoga! I offer Nia and Pilates classes too.What is Nia?
NIA (Neuromuscular Integrative Action) is a mind-body fitness class that aims to bring about whole body functional fitness. Influenced by movement forms such as dance, Tai Chi, Aikido, Yoga and the Alexander Technique, NIA classes guide you to move your body the way it is designed to move thus avoiding the stresses that other exercise forms can impose.
Using original music from around the world, NIA classes start with a slow warm up which builds up to a rhythmic dance pace before slowing down again leaving you feeling energised but peaceful and calm when the workout is finished. The easy to follow choreography can be done on different levels depending on your degree of fitness. The levels vary the amount of stretch or how deep you go into the movement and at no time are you encouraged to go faster or cover greater distances.
NIA was developed by Debbie and Carlos Rosas, both aerobics and fitness instructors in the USA who wanted to find an alternative to "the repetitive jumping and jogging" movements of traditional aerobics. Sports medicine institutes in America have determined that NIA offers a phenomenal level of cardiovascular fitness in spite of the lack of jumping and jogging or distance covered.
The benefits of Nia include cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, strength, balance, endurance and relaxation. Nia engages the spirit and touches people's hearts, giving them permission to play and more intimately connect with themselves and with others.
For more information on Nia go to www.uknia.com
What is Pilates?
Pilates is a form of exercise which builds your body’s core strength and posture. This is done through a series of stretching and conditioning exercises. Primarily using exercises performed on the mat, Pilates aims to build strength and stability slowly and safely. Each exercise is coached at a base level and participants are encouraged to work with the principle of 'less is more'. Alternatives and progressions are offered to enable you to work at a level that suits you.
Pilates was the idea of Joseph Pilates who was born in Germany in 1880. As a child he was frequently ill and decided to train himself using gymnastics to improve his health. He studied many disciplines, including Yoga and Tai Chi, before inventing his own brand of exercise in the early 1900s.
Pilates is enjoying increased popularity due to the focus on preventing lower back problems. However, as an exercise form it does much more than that. Pilates develops core abdominal strength, improves balance, poise, stability and flexibility, reduces stress and fatigue, improves mind/body awareness and works with the deepest muscles of the body to build strength and control without causing tension.
So what is the difference between Yoga and Pilates?
This is hotly debated and there are many websites offering answers to this question. It is very clear that Joseph Pilates was heavily influenced by Yoga as so many of the Pilates exercises look like Yoga postures. However in Pilates the focus is usually different and is more concerned with the engagement of core muscles and then adding the principle of overload (or challenge) to test the muscles. The exercises are often repeated in flowing movements and don’t usually take the joints through their full range of movement. Pilates classes do not usually contain the strong standing and balancing postures that we see in Yoga such as the Warrior postures, Triangle or Tree.
However, it is important to understand that the two disciplines can and do cross over. I read a useful definition of the difference between Yoga and Pilates once - I can’t remember where:
Pilates is a mind/body discipline
Yoga is a mind/body and spirit discipline
I found this helpful. Yoga’s aim is to ‘still the thought waves of the mind’. Pilates makes no such claim.