Health Benefits of Pilates to Your Body and Mind
Body awareness
The teachings of Pilates allow one to have a better awareness of the body and its movement, and in the long term, the educational aspects of Pilates promote consciousness of how the body moves and stands. While performing daily tasks, such as washing dishes or cooking, one becomes increasingly aware of posture, and small adjustments are consciously made to pull in abdominal muscles and relax the shoulders, in order to have better posture to support the body.
The exercises performed in Pilates classes function as an educational system that makes the person more aware of how to move productively to actively maintain the overall wellbeing of the musculature. It also teaches the person how everyday aches and pains relate to their movements and posture, and provides a manner of correcting these through posture. Even people who regularly exercise can sometimes exacerbate injuries or pain by exercising incorrectly, and teaching them to focus on the core can vastly improve the way in which they perform other exercises while reducing pain.
Strengthened core muscles
Unlike other exercise forms where certain muscles are worked on in isolation or in combined groups, Pilates exercises are designed to use all the muscles in the body, and also involves the connective tissue. This not only strengthens the body, but it also results in more flexibility and a better range of movement. It is aimed at lengthening muscles, rather than adding bulk, resulting in long, lean, strong muscles.
Attractive physique
Because the exercises used in Pilates are designed to elongate muscles rather than bulk them up, the results are a leaner appearance with a correct posture. The body shape combined with better posture results in an appearance that is overall more attractive and better.[/vc_column_text]
Body symmetry
Pilates teaches a person how to move correctly, and makes it easier to achieve body symmetry. By discussing the blockages in your body with your Pilates instructor, such as carrying shoulders too high or relaxing stomach muscles, Pilates exercises can teach the person better control of the body, resulting in the various parts of the body working in synergy. Pilates works with the entire body, instead of just exercising isolated muscle groups, and the coordination and synergy of how all the skeletal musculature function as a unit are more pronounced.
Connection between mind and body
One of the key factors in Pilates is breathing, and a very specific method of breathing is used while exercises are performed. Concentration is vital to achieve correct power breathing while the movements take place, and as a result the person becomes more aware of their body and the muscle groups, in order to achieve certain movements. The concentration and breathing are also relaxing, resulting in a more peaceful state of mind and better ability to deal with stress.
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