Appropriate Attire: Mastering Your Health Resolutions
When you are planning to start attending yoga or Pilates classes, there’s one important tool you need to ensure your success: appropriate attire.
In my opinion, there are 5 tools that you need in order to master your health resolutions. So far, we have discussed:
Today, our final tool is not anything from within. Unlike all our other tools, this one is superficial.
#5–Appropriate Attire
I really hate to suggest that anything physical is essential to you achieving your goals, however, if you are not comfortable while you are doing something, you will not continue to do it.
This, therefore, extends to attire. No matter what you are doing, I suggest you be comfortable in what you are wearing, on your whole body, including your feet.
Choosing Pilates and Yoga Clothes
In Pilates and yoga, people normally wear clothes that move easily and are relatively fitted. So what does this mean? You can wear sweats or yoga leggings, anything that doesn’t get in the way of your body moving. As you get used to your body moving, you will know what you like and don’t like in apparel.
For example, I don’t like my pants to be too long or have a boot cut at the bottom. Why? Because when I pick my leg up and move it to a new position, I sometimes end up standing on the inside of my pants leg, which then pulls my pants down as I stand up. Potentially showing everyone my behind does not make me comfortable.
In regards to tops, think about the different positions you plan to be in. You could be on your back, on your hands and knees, in an inversion like Downward Facing Dog or Handstand, on your stomach, or on your side. For all these positions, you need to be in a top where you feel comfortable.
For men, this is no big deal, but for women, please make sure that you select a good top. From personal (but private) experience, I can tell you that it’s really distracting to the self when you go into Down Dog and your shirt slides up to your ears like a really thick sweat band.
No Socks
Another tip about Pilates and yoga: People do not normally wear socks. More than anything else, this is a safety issue. Socks end up being rather slippery, even if you have a very sticky mat. The thing about slipping is that sometimes you can feel it coming and make corrections, but sometimes you don’t feel it coming and just end up falling. So, it’s best to ditch the socks. If it’s freezing, or your feet often end up getting cold, you can keep a pair of socks beside you for when you’re doing your ground work or a stretching series.
My Favorite Brand
The shirt and pants I wore yesterday, both by Prana.
Now, for my personal plug. I’m not getting paid for saying this, just simply giving my opinion, but I really love the clothes from Prana. You can shop in their stores, online, or you can find them in stores like REI. The clothes fit really nicely. They move with me but are forgiving/flattering enough that I can wear them in public.
I’m always shopping, though! What is your appropriate attire? What clothes make you feel comfortable when you’re working out? Please let me know below.
