What is Functional Pilates?

Functional movements include the actions and tasks that are important to you today, those you wish to maintain long term and those you wish to add in the future.

Your movement life evolves and changes and so does the ability of your body to adapt to these changes. As a teenager, you wanted to jump for the netball, in your 20s you explored the world carrying your heavy backpack and in your 30-40s you needed to sit for 8 hours each day for work.

Irrespective of your movement goals reflecting on these movements helps direct how we approach your personalised program.

Your Functional Pilates exercise program will include exercises developed especially for you to improve balance, control, strength and/or flexibility of the movements that are most important to you.

We also consider the impact of these movements on your overall movement health.

Movement involves the entire body not just the moving parts, so when lifting a heavy object with your arms we must consider the effects it is having elsewhere, such as your lower back. 

Functional Pilates has developed a movement methodology referred to as the ‘Functional Pilates- A Scientist’s Approach’. It consists of five movement principles that guide us in reviewing a client’s functional movements.

To find out more about how functional movement can be corrected and enhanced read the blog entry, ‘What is the functional Pilates Movement Methodology?’. 

Exercise examples

The following are examples of how well selected exercises in the Pilates studio can help train your functional movements.

This exercise, using the Pilates apparatus referred to as the Wunda chair, can be used to train the functional movements, climbing stairs or rock climbing.

This exercise, using the Pilates apparatus referred to as the Reformer, can be used to train the functional movements, pushing a pram or a supermarket trolley.