What is Pilates?
Pilates is a method of exercise that emphasizes the balance of strength, stretch and control throughout the body. It is a workout that will keep your body functioning as it ages, and will enable you to keep doing what you love in life for longer.
Pilates focuses on six principles: breathing, concentration, centring, control, precision and flow. You will notice that all of these things come into play during your Pilates practice.
Pilates is much more than the oversimplified marketing that promotes a “long and lean” figure, and more than the misconception that it’s primarily for women.
Pilates is for everybody, regardless of gender, age, race, size, ability, or current fitness level.
The Pilates repertoire, which includes mat and specialized equipment exercises, is made up of over 600 exercises and variations. There’s something for everyone, whether you have a sedentary lifestyle, are a weekend warrior, are pregnant, are undergoing rehab, have anxiety, or if you’re a professional athlete.
Who created Pilates?
Pilates, originally named Contrology, was developed by a well-known physical trainer named Joseph Pilates. Joseph described Pilates as the science and art of coordinated body-mind-spirit development through a sequence of moves.
Benefits of Pilates
It increases core strength
Pilates is famously known for its emphasis on the core — the center of the body from which all movement stems. The core is all of the surrounding muscles of the trunk that when strengthened and pliable, support and stabilize the body.
Pilates improves core strength and function. Core strength is a key factor in decreasing back and hip pain, decreasing pelvic floor dysfunction, and is the area from which explosive movement derives, hence its nickname “the powerhouse.”
It improves posture
Improved posture is the difference between weak, imbalanced muscles, headaches, shoulder or back pain, and sitting or standing tall with ease.
Pilates focuses on the full body’s alignment, ideal range of motion at the joints, and a balance of all opposing muscles. It improves posture by bringing awareness to your alignment and strengthening neglected postural muscles (6, 7).
It decreases back pain
Pilates targets the deeper abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor to both contract and release — a true sign of strength. These muscles work like a brace to lift and support the organs and protect and stabilize the back.
It prevents injuries
Pilates balances the muscles of the body so that they are neither loose and weak nor tight and rigid. Muscles that are too loose and weak or too tight and rigid can make the body more susceptible to injury.
Pilates focuses on developing dynamic strength, which means you are better able to support and stabilize your joints while moving. Research has suggested that Pilates is an effective method for reducing injury risk in sport.
It increases energy
By focusing on breath, Pilates improves cardiorespiratory capacity. This stimulates feel-good hormones, oxygen flow, and blood circulation.
Pilates achieves all of this and, due to its low impact nature, rarely leaves you feeling fatigued. Instead, it gives you a boost of energy.
It enhances body awareness
Pilates is a mind-body practice that enhances proprioception.
With enhanced proprioception, the body is better able to respond to stimulus, which can prevent injuries and falls. Better body awareness may even help you prevent overeating, as you’ll be more in tune with your body’s hunger signals.
It decreases stress
Continuing from the benefit of body awareness, the inward focus and use of breath from Pilates can down-regulate the nervous system. This, in turn, can take you out of fight-or-flight mode, lower cortisol, and decrease stress over time.
It improves flexibility and mobility
First, let’s define the difference between flexibility and mobility.
Flexibility is the amount of passive stretch in a muscle. Mobility is the range of motion at a joint. Good mobility requires flexibility but also strength.
Mobility is something you should strive for, while flexibility in and of itself isn’t functional. You need a balance of strength and flexibility to optimize mobility.
A Pilates practice keeps moving with smooth transitions between precise and slow, controlled movements. Instead of stretching after a strengthening exercise, most Pilates exercises are a combination of the two, which improves strength, flexibility, and mobility.
It improves balance
Balance is important at any age and necessary for everyday activities involving coordination, like walking, or any of life’s nonlinear movements, such as reaching up and twisting.
Pilates improves balance and gait not only through core strengthening but because of its focus on alignment and whole body exercises.
It boosts your immunity
Research shows that Pilates helps boost immune system functioning, especially in older adults.
But while much research has been done on older adults, these findings suggest all ages could experience a boost to immunity through Pilates, mainly because of improved circulation.
Along with improved circulation comes improved immune system function. A good immune system is a function of properly flowing blood and lymph — both of which are boosted by Pilates.
It improves cognitive functioning
Studies have shown improved cognitive functioning after Pilates training.
Several markers were assessed, such as new neuron development, blood flow to the brain, increased neurotransmitters, and longevity of neurons responsible for learning, memory, and executive thinking.
It enhances sports performance
Whether you’re a professional athlete or weekend warrior, Pilates can elevate your sport or activity.
Pilates balances the body by strengthening muscles, mobilizing what’s rigid, and lengthening tight areas. This, in turn, enables you to react quicker and prevent injury.
Research performed on athletes in multiple sports demonstrates improved speed, gains in muscle mass and trunk strength, a more stable core, improved vertical jump, and better flexibility when kicking.
It strengthens your bones
The current lifestyle of more sitting and less moving is detrimental to our health and our bone density. Strong bone density prevents osteoporosis and osteoarthritis and can affect people of any age.
Studies have shown Pilates to be effective in increasing quality of life, relieving pain, and increasing bone density.
It boosts your mood
Exercise of any sort offers that magical elixir of endorphins.
But studies that specifically explored the mood-boosting benefits of Pilates have found that subjects experienced a reduction in anxiety, fatigue, and depressive symptoms, and a release of negative thought patterns.
It encourages playfulness
Last but not least, many people think Pilates is a fun change of pace from other workouts.
Where else can you “roll like a ball,” be a “seal,” hang like a “monkey,” or just play with trying new positions? Finding a sense of play can enhance your physical health in several ways (49).
Not to mention, the most beneficial exercise regimes are those that you enjoy doing — because then you’ll keep exercising.