What Are The Benefits Of Pilates?
So you’ve heard about Pilates! This form of exercise has quickly grown in popularity, a favourite of celebrities and dancers. However, if you’ve never taken a class, you might be wondering what are the benefits of Pilates?
Well, where do we start? There are just so many health benefits that come with a regular Pilates practice, from physical to mental. Discover more about Pilates and why it’s not simply a trend but a beautiful new way of life.
What is Pilates?
The Pilates Method is a Mind, Body and Spirit modality.
Created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s, it is a unique system of exercise designed to utilise the body more efficiently, working from an ideal postural alignment as the base of all physical movement. The body is strengthened and lengthened to its potential by avoiding compensation of overused muscles.
This is what makes Pilates a kind, safe, full body conditioning program that can be adapted to any age or fitness level. It truly is for everyone which is what makes teaching it such a joy!
With regular Pilates practice, the body will grow strong and supple, the mind will gain focus and concentration, and the spirit will be uplifted. What’s not to love about that?
The Pilates Principles
There are six key Pilates Principles that make up this powerful exercise system.
Those Principals include:
Concentration
Centring
Control
Breathing
Precision
Flowing Movement
A qualified instructor will guide your Pilates practice with these principles in mind, helping you to achieve the best results for you.
What are the health benefits of Pilates?
There are so many health benefits to taking regular Pilates classes! Most people understand that exercise will make their bodies stronger but just as important is a strong mind and a hopeful spirit - and Pilates aims to help with all three.
At a glance, the health benefits of Pilates include:
Prevents injury and promotes healing of injury.
Promotes relaxation with a workout that is flowing, functional and fun.
Improves posture and overall muscle tone.
Improves muscular strength and stabilisation.
Firmer and flatter abdominal muscles.
Improves flexibility and balance.
Increases joint mobility.
Improves mental concentration.
Increases feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem
Reduces stress.
Physical Benefits
You may begin your Pilates journey because you want to improve your physical health – and there is no doubt that taking regular Pilates classes will benefit your physical health. You can expect to experience physical changes including improved flexibility, increased muscle strength, enhanced muscle control, improved posture and stabilisation of your spine. Pilates is also an incredible tool for the rehabilitation of injuries, weight reduction, cardio and circulatory health and more.
Put simply, these exercises can be life-changing for your body.
Mental Benefits
Pilates can be life changing for your mind, too! From beginners to advanced participants, every single person can use these low impact exercises for a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. Pilates helps to create a body and mind relationship, where concentration, focus and meditation come together to help boost your mental health.
If you’ve ever taken a Pilates class, you’ll know there is a strong focus on breathing exercises. This has an incredible effect on our mental wellbeing as it helps bring our awareness back to the moment. We also use breathing techniques to calm the mind and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps stimulate the relaxation response.
Pilates also assists in the treatment of depression and anxiety by offering an opportunity to socialise, changing the levels of chemicals in the brain (serotonin, cortisol and endorphins), providing a distraction from negative thoughts, releasing stress, enhancing mindfulness and helping to create a self-care routine.
A Pilates class can assist with:
Decreasing stress hormones like cortisol
Increasing endorphins which are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals
Encouraging mindfulness and relaxation
Improving focus and concentration
Promoting a connection to community
Benefits for your brain and memory
Did you know that as we age our brains decreases quite significantly in size? This can affect a lot of things including our memory, and it increases our chance of having a stroke and developing dementia. The best chance to prevent these are to eat a healthy diet, reduce your alcohol intake, and reduce cardiovascular risk through regular exercise.
Pilates has been proven to help brain function. The exercises strengthen the part of the brain responsible for memory, planning, and cognitive function. When practiced correctly by tuning into the Pilates principles, the whole purpose is to help strengthen the body’s biggest and most powerful muscle: the mind.
Getting started with Pilates
Here’s one thing we all learn as we go through life: self-care is a non-negotiable. No matter how busy or under pressure we feel, scheduling in time for exercise is crucial to maintaining our physical and mental health. Otherwise, we are headed for burnout.
Self-care means different things for different people. Whatever type of self-care you prefer, it’s an important component in mental health. Many choose Pilates and Yoga for this purpose as both practices help you on a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. They both give tools to help balance our emotional state through breathing, meditation and other exercises.
We recommend starting with 1 – 2 sessions a week, then building up to 3 - 4 times per week when you can. You’ll feel stronger and more balanced – both mentally and physically. Creating a regular routine is also wonderful for your mental well-being. Your mind and body will thank you for it!
If you’d like further inspiration on your Pilates journey, the Viva team are here to help. Drop us a line at HELLO@VIVALIFEPILATES.COM.AU
We are currently offering online Pilates classes along with yoga, HIIT and more. Sign up and get started today!