[Beentheredonethat]

I've got a 24 hour fitness membership which I use for classes. (I hate machines, but classes are good because it keeps me motivated.) I've done some kickboxing and various dancing and stuff and yoga, but I find I'm hooked on pilates. It was also the only thing I could do with my perpetual bronchitis.

I find I crave it because it gives me such wonderful back and hip cracks and it SEEMS really easy, but it's really hard and focused. It's amazing how you can be so strong in one area and weak in another. I always liked yoga because it evens you out, and I just like this more.

I got twice a week massages for a year and a half and that really helped fix my back and hips, which I didn't really know I couldn't move. Pilates seems to be that next step for me. I get a lesson every few months and had one yesterday, and she noticed my posture had really improved. (I'm a tall person, so a sloucher.)

Has anyone else noticed this? I think pilates and dressage go well together because it's so concentrated on moving one part of your body with great control and always breathing so you don't tense. I think the breathing is another big part of it. Learning to STAY breathing keeps you focused and not tense, and is something I always need to work on in riding.

[SnicklefritzG]

I've found that pilates helps me as well for posture, balance and overall toning. More importantly though, it helped me gain some flexibility and suppleness in my hip flexors which has also helped with my balance in the tack, particularly when I'm constantly switching between dressage and jump saddles.

I think Betsy Steiner does dressage/pilates and even has programs for both??

[TequilaMockingbird]

I also do pilates. In fact, I just got back in to it this week after taking a hiatus for a couple months. I have to switch up my workout routine or I get really bored with it. I'm pretty sore from doing it Monday still, mainly in my thighs and abs.

The main thing it's helped me with is core strength, which is the primary target of most pilates moves. It's also thing I was most lacking while riding. Not so much brute strength in those muscles as much as stamina and tone. I need to keep my core engaged the whole time I ride, not just small bursts!

Yoga and pilates both help with riding but ime, it takes several weeks of doing it before you notice any real difference. But I enjoy doing them just for their own sake too.

[islgrl]

I have found Pilates to help me in my riding. I find I sit taller and lighter, I am more flexible and I am stronger in my core, which is all helpful in dressage. I notice when I miss a week of class that I get very stiff. If I had thetime and money I would take class a few days a week.

[dalpal]

Just Joined the Y last week. Took my first Pilates last week. I'll let you know

[Beentheredonethat]

Snickle--Yeah, I think that's what I'm really noticing is in the hip flexors. Even more than yoga you are really working those little muscles down in your lower abdomen you didn't know were there and stretching.

I cannot sit cross legged because I cannot let my left hip down without pain, which is really obvious in pilates. I'm hoping working on this in pilates and opening up the hip will help me with my perpetual problem with left half passes, which I know is all me.

It's interesting what's hard and not to do. The exercises for inner thigh and back that are hard for everyone else are not so bad for me, but boy the back of the arm ones I feel like a weakling! I thought I had strong arms.

My one problem is I have really bad knees and joints (I was on prednisone for two years) and I can't do some of the exercises not for lack of strength, but it hurts my joints too much. Anything putting weight on wrists or knees kills me.

[RedmondDressage]

I haven't done pilates but I did do Bikram yoga for a long time (and hope to get back to it soon!) and I definitely found it helped. The poses really help elongate the spine and build long, lean muscle while keeping you flexible which I think is a HUGE asset when it comes to riding in general and dressage in particular. I would assume pilates is very similar as it seems to be developing the same type of strength and flexibility.

[belgianWBLuver]

Has anyone else noticed this? I think pilates and dressage go well together because it's so concentrated on moving one part of your body with great control and always breathing so you don't tense. I think the breathing is another big part of it. Learning to STAY breathing keeps you focused and not tense, and is something I always need to work on in riding.

I completely agree - I'm so excited; down here in El Paso we have Sarah Martin (Colorado) come ocassionally to do dressage clinics. She is offereing a "Pilates for Dressage" Clinic in December. I'm going to sign up! Its going to teach the Pilates exercises for helping our dressage positions and effectiveness and it will be taught on and off our own horses - It will do me a world of good and I can't wait to attend

[Velvet]

I think Betsy Steiner did a series of DVDs on pilates for dressage.

[KateKat]

there is definitely a benefit in doing pilates when it comes to riding. Pilates requires you to make such small adjustments to your body while keeping other parts stable that you develop a really fine tuned sense of body awareness. This, obviously, is great for when you're in the saddle! I didn't find pilates doing much for my strength overall, it was more for stretching and body awareness. I also really liked that my pilates instructor was also a rider, so she knew what to focus on.

[MysticOakRanch]

Yes, yes, yes! I spent almost a year doing one-on-one sessions with a pilates instructor, and it made a world of difference in my body. Now I do it on my own, at home, even bought my own reformer. I have some back issues, and several old injuries, and without it, I'm a wreck anyway. But we've got an instructor in this area that specializes in pilates for equestrians, and it really does make a difference. Her business is booming

I'd say, any system that helps you develop flexibility and core strength, whether it is Yoga, Pilates, or ??? is going to help the rider.

[Velvet]

I just remembered, it was called equilates.

[Tonkafriend]

Oh, Yes! I'm a convert now after a trainer at our old barn lined up some classes for us. What a difference! And once I had a few weeks of pilates, my horse was like, "wow--she's got abs now "

There are lots of really good DVD's available for in between classes, too.

[Blkarab]

Absolutely!

I started with a pilates instructor a year ago, first with one-on-one sessions, now with a class and one-on-one sessions combined. It has made a huge difference in my riding!

So much so, that an instructor I used to clinic with, was here last weekend. I haven't ridden with her in a couple of years. She was blown away by the difference in my riding, and she is not one to compliment lightly.
She didn't even recognize me as a rider I have improved that much. She specifically noticed how much better my core strength is, along with my balance and coordination.

Pilates is the closest thing I have found to riding on the ground. I have done everything from yoga, crossfit to working with a personal trainer. I absolutely love how much better I feel since I started and how much better my riding has become.

Janice Dulack has an excellent book called "Pilates for Dressage Riders". She has some wonderful exercises that target the main areas for riding. She's a certified pilates instructor and does a fabulous job of correlating where the pilates exercise targets you and what you are trying to accomplish with the horse.