These 16 Benefits of Pilates Will Inspire You to Fire Up Your Core
What is Pilates?
Originally called “Contrology,” Pilates is a method of whole body exercise designed to improve daily activities and livelihood.
Though there is an emphasis on core work alone is not the end goal. Rather, using that core strength to develop functional and sustainable movement patterns throughout the body is the goal.
Created in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, the exercises coordinate movement and breath together to work the smaller and deeper stabilizing muscles of the body as much as your prime movers.
Pilates aligns your entire body’s overall structure and supports its joints. What appears to look simple can be deceptively challenging and incredibly effective when done correctly with good form.
Pilates is a low impact exercise that creates optimal strength through muscle balance and fine-tuning neuromuscular patterns.
The optimal strength gained from a consistent Pilates practice is nonrigid, balancing strength with mobility and flexibility. It helps you move and breathe through your daily activities with more freedom and power and less pain.
1. It increases core strength
Pilates is famously known for its emphasis on the core — the centre 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 stabilise 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.”
2. It improves posture
Your parents had the right idea when they told you to stop slouching and sit up straight.
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.
3. 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 stabilise the back.
4. It prevents injuries
Pilates balances the muscular structure 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 stabilise your joints while moving. Research has suggested that Pilates is an effective method for reducing injury risk in sport.
5. 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.
6. It enhances body awareness
Pilates is a mind-body practice that enhances proprioception, or body awareness. The attention inward and ability to focus on the sensations in your body heightens your awareness of comfort or pain, your emotions, and your surrounding environment.
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.
7. 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.
8. It reduces menstrual pain
Dysmenorrhea is the condition of painful menstrual periods, and if you’re someone who’s experienced it, you know how debilitating it can be. Research has suggested that Pilates can help reduce menstrual pain.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. It can improve motivation
Along with improved cognition, one study found Pilates was effective for improving motivation in a student population.
Another study explored the type of motivation that drives those who practice Pilates, and found that Pilates practitioners are more driven by intrinsic motivation rather than external validation.
14. It improves your sex life
First, it builds endurance, strength, mobility, and flexibility that can enhance your bedroom adventures by allowing you to get into and hold positions longer.
But also, Pilates is an effective tool for improving pelvic floor strength and function, and a strong pelvic floor correlates with increased sexual pleasure.
15. 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, mobilising 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.
16. 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.
