Pilates

As I was thinking about what I wanted for Christmas this year I thought about wanting to start a new hobby.  My mother is really crafty, but I find crafts tedious and dull.  I was searching on Amazon.com to give me some gift ideas that I could give to others when I came across some Pilates mechandise.  This was the answer to what new hobby I wanted to start.  I had heard the word Pilates and I knew that it was a form of exercise but I didn't know exactly what it was.  So I looked up some information and decided that yes I was interested in pursing Pilates as a new activity.  For those of you who are like me and mostly out of touch with what everyone else is already doing I am going to fill you in on what Pilates is.

Pilates is a method of exercise and physical movement designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body.  It also focuses on your breathing while doing the exercises.  Pilates has been around for many years but only recently has it been in high demand.  Dancers  have been doing Pilates for years.

Pilates is even used in professional sports training, physical rehabilitations, and physical therapy.

When Pilates is done consistently it can have many benefits such as increased lung capacity, strength, flexibility, and coordination.   

After reading about Pilates and looking at some of the pictures on-line of the stretching exercises I figured that this is something that I could do and the benefits sounded just like what I was looking for.  The next step for me in my new quest was to look for any equipment that I might need to begin my new adventure and to my surprise I found out that I didn't need to spend too much money to get started.  I went to Amazon.com and clicked on the sports and outdoor category that they had, then I went to the Pilates category and clicked on that.  Then wa la there were plenty of pictures of merchandise that I could choose from.  Here is the link so that you wont have to go through all of that. 

As I was browsing through the list of items offered I discovered that all I really needed to get started in Pilates was a new outfit (of course that is a necessity, who doesn't want a new exercise outfit when they first start a new activity) and a mat to do my exercises on.  There were so many different types of mats in so many different colors!  The one that I chose and I am recommending to you is the Body Trends aeromat Pilates/Yoga mat 3/8"extra thick in blue.  When I clicked on the picture of it Amazon was so kind as to give me a list of what former customers had also bought, that is when I saw the books on Pilates.  I am holding off on purchasing the books because I am going to find a class to go to instead of reading the book.  If I want more information or be able to do the Pilates from my home I may go back and purchase the book.

So in the end I am back to square one, when asked by my friends and family what I want for Christmas I still won't know what to tell them because I already made my Pilates purchase.  So it you are looking for a good gift idea maybe you should consider Pilates, it this doesn't sound good to you then you can go to Amazon.com and get some good gift-giving ideas.