What Are Pilates?

By Angela Winter


A type of exercise developed by Joseph Pilates of Germany, Pilates is being practiced by a lot of people already. It is also known as one of the most widely-practiced type of exercise. The main focus of this type of exercise is balanced development of the body that can be attained through core strength, awareness and flexibility and body conditioning. If done appropriately and regularly, Pilates can give a lot of benefits to the body.

Pilates and the effects that it has on one's body:

1. Pilates helps in toning the body and enhance its overall flexibility. But unlike other forms of exercises, Pilates is not focused on using weight lifting exercises to tone the muscles of the body. Instead, it makes use of other different apparatuses to achieve this goal.

2. Pilates also helps in developing agility and muscle strength which is important for a person to perform the activities that are expected for them to do.

3. Another benefit that one can get in doing Pilates is the pevention of injuries and opportunity to properly use correct body mechanics and appropriate posture.

4. Doing Pilates will not only make your heart and lungs healthier, it may also help you to improve your breathing efficiency.

5. Rehabilitation and recovery from injuries is also one of the benefits an individual can get from doing Pilates.

6. Practicing Pilates may also help in alleviating chronic pain sufferings. Thus people will be able to enjoy improved quality of life.

Same with any other kind of exercise, doing Pilates accurately and appropriately is vital to achieve the benefits that you want from the exercise. Proper body discipline also plays a major role in doing the Pilates exercise. When planning to engage in Pilates exercise, you might want to consult Pilates experts first especially for beginners just to make sure that you will be properly guided in doing the exercise and making use of the different materials used in Pilates.

Two students, Gail Eisen and Phillip Friedman outlined the important principles of Pilates. Here are those principles:

1. Centering-the center is the starting place in which an individual should have to achieve body control. This is central point in the method of Pilates.

2. Control is the second principle of Pilates which is focused on having the person gain control over his own body, most especially muscle control.Doing every aspect of the exercise properly and accurately will help to ensure achieving this goal of this principle.

3. Flow or moving with efficiency is the third principle of Pilates. This principle of Pilates can be easily attained by doing your exercises in a way that the movement of your body is well-coordinated. Increased stamina and stronger body as effect of body precision are just some of the benefits you get by following this principle of Pilates.

4. Breathing-this is one of the most important principle in Pilates. Once a person is practicing Pilates appropriately, breathing pattern is expected to improve and will improve oxygenation on the body.

5.The fifth principle of Pilates is Precision. This is mainly defined as having people who perform Pilates do the exercises with 100 accuracy to ensure that the benefits of doing the exercise will be maximized.

6. Concentration is the last principle of Pilates. This principle is emphasized since doing Pilates involves understanding your own body by concentrating and focusing on what part of the body needs more improvement.

Same with the different kinds of exercises, practicing Pilates appropriately is very essential for a person to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. Other than that, these principles of Pilates are important guidelines for individuals doing Pilates for them to attain the benefits that the exercise has to offer. Aside from doing the exercise and making these principles as guidelines, it is also advisable to seek help of a Pilates expert especially if you are a beginner.




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