The Many Health Benefits of Pilates

Pilates was begun by Joseph Pilates. In 1965, when he was 86 years old, Joseph Pilates claimed he never needed an aspirin and was never injured during his life. Everyone in the world would be happier if they did his exercises, he concluded.

While no exercise can guarantee perfect health for its practitioner, Pilates comes close to delivering the pain-free body that its creator claimed. There are other health benefits associated with Pilates, too. Here are some of them.

Strengthening Your Body

Pilates focuses on strengthening the "core muscles" of the body. These muscles are said to be the basis for body strength; strength of limbs and extremities "stems" from a strong core. Pilates experts say that muscles should be strong, but flexible. Just getting hard muscles is not the point of Pilates, although muscle toning is said to be an effect. Strengthening key muscles and muscle groups is the basic idea.

Body Awareness

As core muscles gain strengthen, Pilates practitioners say you become more aware of your body's posture, movements, stance, and so forth. Pilates instructors teach this "body awareness," providing insight into your physical habits so that you take the concepts with you outside of class. Eventually, Pilates students may get to the point where they are continually aware of what their body is doing.

Pain Reduction

As noted above, Joseph Pilates claimed he never needed an aspirin. Pilates practitioners say there is a significant reduction in neck, shoulder, back and joint pain after doing Pilates exercises. Pilates is said to extend the spine, which may explain the decrease in pain. Many health professionals think that much of the body's pain originates in a misaligned spine.

Flexibility

Joseph Pilates contended that a strong muscle was also a flexible one. Thus, lengthening and stretching the muscles is part of his exercises. Participants usually enjoy enhanced flexibility as a result.

Improved Circulation

Pilates is a total-body workout, involving the whole person and every body system. Thus, circulation is said to increase as the muscles stretch and the body strengthens its core.

Stress Relief

One of the attractive things about Pilates is its reputation as a stress reliever. In order to perform Pilates, you need to be concentrating on what your body is doing, thus redirecting a stressed mind to something orderly and peaceful. The physical stretching and strengthening can help relieve the effects of stress, such as tight muscles and various tension-induced aches and pains. Most health experts agree that stress reduction is an important aspect of good health.

By Health Tips