Butt Exercise Mini Series – Yoga and Pilates

Butt Exercise Mini Series – Yoga and Pilates


Yoga

Yoga has been called a science or technology of liberation for many years however there is more to this art than just “inner peace” it is a great for developing muscles too! Yoga seeks to provide the student with a practical path towards the common goal of liberation and inner peace As explained above, Yoga is a diverse tradition, which makes it quite difficult to provide a concise summary of the philosophy and art. One approach is to consider common elements that are found in all (or nearly all) branches of the tradition.

Without boring you with the history of yoga, the main premise in which yoga works is that you must find inner peace with all you elements and yoga is the practical means in which you can do that.

Returning to the practical side, the first step for any yoga student is to find a suitable teacher which is able to put forward his teachings so you can find the inner peace yourself. Traditionally, this relationship would be with a guru who is seen as an embodiment of the Divine who has spent his whole life perfecting his yoga skills. The student’s life would often involve manual service to the guru as a form of payment for instruction. A guru may also found an ashram or order of monks. Many gurus of the past have written modern translations of classical texts, explaining how their particular teachings should be followed and interpreted.

In practice, the modern western student is much more likely to attend a local yoga course and receive instruction from a teacher who are themselves practicing the style of a particular school founded by a guru so you won’t actually be learning from a guru, rather you’ll be going through the motions of another student’s interpretation of the guru’s work.

For our purposes, yoga in its most basic teaches all the basic movements and techniques such as proper breathing, relaxation and pin-pointing and above all concentration in the form of meditation. Although it isn’t directly related to having a great butt, many of the practices of yoga has the benefit of balancing muscle distribution. Thus, if you are imbalanced in the butt region joining yoga will have the benefit of helping to indirectly re-distribute muscles to areas more in-need and reducing in areas which aren’t needed for a overall better shape.

Yoga, as far as I’m concern has the most beneficial side-effects too, it is extremely calming and creates “peace” in the daily hustle and bustle of life. It creates a very proportioned physique and in the process makes you look much more attractive by giving you a neutral butt.

Pilates

Pilates is a physical fitness system that was developed in the early 20th century by a fitness expert called Joseph Pilates. Pilates called his exercises a form of contrology which refers to the way the method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. The program focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine and any other outer regions of the body. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breathing and alignment of the spine, and to strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help build core muscles such as lower back muscles which prevent back pain.

Of late, Pilates as grown in popularity as the trend is to have long lean muscles rather than bulky large muscles and this bring us to how it benefits the butt especially when you are trying to lean out the butt muscles, get better definition and even loose some fat in the butt region.

The general goals of Pilates are as follows according to Joseph Pilates published books:
• Enhances body alignment
• Strengthens the abs, back and stabilizer muscles
• Stretches, strengthens and relaxes your body
• When modified, is gentle enough for pregnant women, yet challenging enough for advanced exercisers.
• Incorporates exercises that target your abs, back and legs, making your body strong and flexible.

Some may mistake Pilates as a form of Yoga, rather what makes Pilates different from Yoga is that it’s more dynamic. In many moves, you hold your torso in place while moving your limbs in different directions, which challenges your balance, core strength, stability and flexibility.

There are a whole host of exercises for the butt which Pilates is great for, however for the most part, I believe them to be sub-standard when it comes to sheer muscle development. Pilates should be used to lengthen and define muscles rather than build them. As an added benefit, the majority of Pilates exercises are very high reps (50-100 reps) which is also very good for burning fat and adding definition.

More articles from the Butt Exercise Series:

Can A Workout Guide Help Guide You In The Right Direction?

You’ve decided to start working out. However, when you look into the best types of exercise to suit your purpose, you’re faced with an overwhelming plethora of choices! Do you join a gym, do aerobics or just start jogging around the block every day?

Different types of exercises suit different people and different weight loss / fitness goals. You also need to factor in things like – what type of exercise do you most enjoy doing. Or to put it another way – what type of exercise is going to be sustainable for you in the long term. There is no point deciding to take up running if you hate running or have health issues that would make running unfeasible. Likewise, joining a gym is out if you can’t afford the membership fees or there isn’t one convenient for you.

The Walking Workout – Walking Your Way To Better Fitness

One of the most convenient, easiest and popular ways to exercise is walking. Walking is an excellent form of exercise and suits pretty much every level of fitness. Additionally, nearly everyone can fit some walk time into their daily routine, even if it’s just walking the dog on a daily basis. It’s relatively easy to find an exercise partner to go walking with you, which provides added incentive to keep doing it. As you get fitter, you can increase the distance and intensity at which you walk too.

Aerobics – A Great Fitness Workout Option

Another very popular type of exercise, especially for women, is aerobics. In some countries, free or cheap council-run aerobics classes are a popular alternative to joining an aerobics club. If you think aerobics might be something you’d like to try, be sure to get hold of an aerobics for fitness guide. This will show you how the various types of exercises will benefit you and importantly, how to do them correctly.

Joining A Gym To Work Out

Yet another option is joining a fitness center or a gym. This gives you the option of having a variety of workout programs and equipment available to suit. Most also have trainers who can help you plan an appropriate workout and answer any questions. When choosing a fitness center, there are a couple of things to bear in mind. Good service is essential and well-maintained equipment of paramount importance. Exercise equipment in good condition and maintained correctly doesn’t generally squeak, rattle or make a lot of noise when used!

The Ultimate Convenience – Working Out At Home

You may even decide to purchase your own exercise equipment to set up at home. That’s the ultimate in convenience! However, it is an expensive outlay so be sure to select the best equipment for losing weight the way you want to lose it. If you don’t plan to do much strength training, don’t go overboard buying a ton of strength building equipment.

Choose The Right Exercises With A Workout Guide

Regardless of the type of exercise you choose, most workout guides advise you to start out the same way. Begin with a low level of intensity then build up to higher levels of intensity as your strength and fitness improves. If you start out by doing too much too soon you’ll run the risk of injuring yourself, possibly seriously. Also, bear in mind that depending on the type of exercise being done, workout guides written for women may differ from those for men simply because of differences in muscle bulk and strength.


About Linda Bell

Linda Bell is in the fortunate position of being able to combine doing something she loves with spending a lot more time with those she loves. She and her family occupy an unassuming cottage in the midst of splendid chaos AKA ‘the garden’ in England. Somewhere in that garden lurks the family dog and a feline with a penchant for getting into trouble. Linda loves researching and writing about health and fitness, something that is dear to her heart after some years spent working in a fitness centre overseas.