Benefits of Pilates

“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old.  IF it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”                                                                                                          -Joseph H. Pilates  

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The phone rings and I answer. “Hello?” On the other end is my good friend whose mouth is going a mile a minute with minimal breaths. In the back of my mind I am thinking, “I wonder how she does it?” I interject, “What’s that you say?” She is going on and on about how healthy I look, how she saw new pictures on my social sites, and that I must spill all of my secrets.

Stop! What do you say that?

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Breathing- “It’s all about the foundation. Breathe, breathe, breathe!” Breaths are taken in through the nose and out through the mouth. Diaphragmatic patterns of inhales and exhales are utilized to initiate movement and to activate deeper muscles (Swann, 2009). This means that how you breathe will affect how you live and move.  Holding your breath without realizing it can cause pain and eventually create chronic pains. Ouch! Pilates helps to properly generate and sustain those breaths.

Concentration.-“I’m focused!” Classical pilates, and other traditions of pilates, seeks to achieve the highest level of concentration and movement.  Relax, move, center!

Centering-“Core is key”. I always thought that the powerhouse was the cheesiest way to suck me into tube socks, a high cut one piece, and big 80’s hair, but I learned that it rocks! Exercises center on the core muscles of the body, called the ‘powerhouse’ (the abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles). The core muscles:

            -  serve as postural muscles and help the body to balance

            -  elongate and strengthen deep torso muscles

            -   work in tandem with the more superficial muscles of the trunk

            -  support the spine, thus increasing flexibility, agility and stability 

              (Swann, 2009)

Contrology- “Control those buns girl!” The only unchanging rules you must conscientiously obey are that you must always faithfully and without deviation follow the instructions accompanying the exercises and always keep your mind wholly concentrated on the purpose of the exercises as you perform them (Pilates, 1945; 1998, pg. 10). 

                                                                               

                Awareness- “My teacher says I need to learn me. Be precise.” Pilates is low impact. It is also a total body workout that develops body awareness. Testimonies  prove:

-  According to Hoyte Pyle, MD, "Pilates works the whole body in synergy, which is how we should be moving on a daily basis.”

- According to Aliesa George, a pilates instructor says, “The biggest benefit in my eyes would be personal awareness -- awareness of how you sit or how you stand or how you move and being able to relate those habits to the aches and pains and injuries you have or have had in the past” (Sarnataro, 2013).

- According to Richie Mastascusa, a choreographer and pilates instructor, “Pilates is an excellent way to work out. It strengthens your core and muscles. After class, your body just feels so good!”

                

             Fluidity- “Unlock those knees and elbows! Keep it all fluid and moving.” Joseph Pilates, himself, compares it to a slightly swaying graceful motion comparable to the effect created by a gentle breeze blowing over a field of growing wheat ready for harvest, causing it to gracefully sway in "waves" from its roots to its tips (Pilates, 1945; 1998, pg. 21).

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 I stopped and said, “Hello, are you there?” My friend says she is speechless because she never knew how great pilates was for her and her family’s life. With the right research of studios, technique, and a determination to have a better life, you can move your way into the strongest position ever!  

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Remember, too, that "Rome was not built in a day," and that PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.  -Joseph H. Pilates

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to World Fit Foundation and Richie Mastascusa of Reforming NY

Pilates J H, Miller W J (1945; reprinted 1998). Pilates’ Return to Life Through Contrology. Presentation Dynamics, USA

Sarnataro, B R (2013).The Benefits of Pilates: Just what can Pilates exercises do for you?. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/the-benefits-of-pilates

Swann, J. (2009). The Power of Pilates. Nursing & Residential Care, 11(10), 520-523.