Pilates for home workers

Pilates has many benefits for home workers

by Clare Marie Thomas

As home workers we are generally connected to the world via our computers, through social media, websites, Youtube, Pinterest, whatever tickles your fancy. A lot of the time this is for both business and pleasure.

Posturally we home workers therefore have similar problems to the office worker, who is mainly sedentary and attached to some form of multimedia device!

Home workers will benefit from the multitude of positive outcomes of Pilates, as it:

improves posture
rehabilitates
increases core strength, flexibility & mobility
corrects muscle imbalances that can lead to injury
enhances functional fitness and ease of movement
is non-impact, easy on the joints
relaxes and focuses the mind
can be customised to suit everyone from complete beginners to elite athletes
complements other methods of exercise (yoga, gym etc)
enhances performance in other sports (golf, skiing, cycling, running etc)

Here is a little exercise for you to try whilst seated at your desk! This exercise lengthens and helps relieve tension of the neck, stretches your chest and releases your mid-back to help combat bad posture from sitting at your desk –

Desktop Pilates
Seated Thoracic Spine Extension (Upper Back Stretch)

1. Sit tall at your desk, towards the front of the chair, arms out to the sides.

2. Gently draw your lower abdominals in.

3. As you breathe in, lift your breast bone up to the ceiling turning the palms of your hands upwards, lengthening through the neck.

4. As you breathe out return.

5. Repeat x 4

Make sure you do not feel any discomfort in the lower back, this means you are arching too far back.

Clare offers custom-designed Pilates programmes in the comfort of your own home, office or studio, in and around Luxembourg City. She talked about the benefits of working in her own and students’ homes in a recent Unusual Home Working Jobs interview.

Photo credit: Joanne Cobbe

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