10 Minute Pilates Workout for Stress and Anxiety

A Pilates-Based Routine for Stress and Anxiety

This is designed to help calm the body and reduce . Movement is a great tool for those areas, and this gentle routine aims to help you feel a little calmer.

Establishing the Breath

Sit comfortably, either cross-legged, on a stool, or in a chair—whatever feels best for you. Rest your arms at your sides and take a deep breath.

Breathe in and out through your nose and mouth. Take about three breaths to get your body ready.

One thing to focus on that will help with that calming aspect is . It gives the body a rhythmic pattern to follow, which can help calm us.

Seated Side Stretches

On your next inhale, raise the right arm and exhale to reach it over as you side stretch. The next inhale will bring you back up, and then you exhale the arm down to switch sides. Inhale the left arm up, exhale to reach, inhale restack, and exhale down. Continue at your own pace here.

By following the breath and connecting a breath to the movement, it helps your body feel that something predictable is happening. That is how our bodies start to feel safe. The body likes to feel that it knows what is coming, that it can trust itself, and that you can listen to it and understand what it is saying. Those kinds of things help us feel safe.

Repetition is another element that helps. We repeat movements quite a bit because that helps regulate our nervous system, which is important for decreasing stress and helping us feel a little calmer.

Seated Twists

Inhale both arms up and then exhale to twist to the right. Take one hand behind you and one to your knee. Just follow your breath: inhale up and exhale the other way.

An important thing to remember is that if you get off on your breathing, that is OK. It really doesn’t matter where the inhale is and where the exhale is. Do not let it increase your stress; just make sure you match a breath to a movement. If it is all through your nose, that is OK, and if it is the opposite of the instructions, that is OK. It is the pattern that matters—simply that you have a rhythmic breath is what matters to your body right now.

Both arms come back up, then come back down. One more time: reach your arms up, exhale to fold forward, and just reach your arms forward. Sink into your hips and slowly restack.

Upper Back Circles

Bring the legs out in front, about mat distance apart. This can also be done seated, so if you are at your desk at work right now, you can do this right here. Bring your hands behind your head and sit up nice and tall. Inhale, and side bend to the right—the same movement as before—and then lift back up and do the other side.

Another piece to helping us feel calmer—actually, anatomically and physiologically—is something like massage. Massage can help by releasing endorphins and regulating the , which is your . We are going to do something similar, but with movement. We are not doing an actual massage; think of it as massaging your own back muscles.

Go over to the right, then fold forward and round forward. You're kind of right in between your legs. Then keep going left and restack. Switch directions: go left, then round forward, right, and back up. This is just drawing a nice big circle, really, from the upper back. Do one more and then come back up.

Floor Routine: Bridges and Breath

Bring the legs together and arms out in front. Inhale, then exhale to curl your tailbone and roll yourself down one vertebra at a time. Sweep your arms around to your sides and bend your knees so your feet are flat.

Inhale, then exhale to curl your tailbone and roll up into a bridge, articulating your spine as much as you can. Inhale at the top and then exhale to curl and roll back down. Feel like the exhale is your signal to move, while your inhale makes you pause for a moment. Exhale back down.

Research shows that movement is imperative for helping us get out of the stress cycle. To help us relieve stress and release it from our bodies, so we don't feel that actual bodily feeling of stress, we need to help our bodies complete the stress cycle.

One way to do that is through movement, and there is no rule as to what that movement can be. It can be an exercise class, a walk, a cleaning of your house, raking leaves, or a dance party in your living room. There are lots of ways to get that movement, but physical movement is really important for helping us feel calm and relieve stress in our bodies.

Hang on to the next one and roll up to stay there. Inhale to reach the arms back, then exhale to roll down. Inhale arms to your sides, exhale, roll up, inhale arms reach back, exhale, roll down.

We are doing the breath patterning and following repetition, which makes your body feel safe. Again, it knows what’s coming, and we are just simply moving. On this one, just the arms are going to reach back and come back down for the last two.

Cool Down Stretches

Inhale, pause, and exhale to roll down. Reach your left leg out straight and hug your right knee in, giving it a really good squeeze. Keep your left hand on your knee, bring it over to the left, and have your right arm go to the right. Look to the right and slowly come back in. Give it one more good squeeze and switch legs.

Giving that joint a really big squeeze helps compress it, relieve fluid buildup, and support , which in turn can definitely help calm our bodies down.

Bring the leg over to the right and your left arm to the left, and then back to center. Hug that knee in one more time, then hug both knees in, and just let yourself rock side to side. Bring the bottoms of your feet together, then spread your knees apart. Bring your hands to your low belly, give yourself one more deep breath in and exhale, and stay here as long as you need.