Top 6 health benefits of Pilates revealed
We all know regular exercise is good for our health, but with so many exercise classes and options available, it's difficult to know what will reap the most rewards in terms of health and fitness. Here are six great health benefits of Pilates.
Pilates improves your posture
If you suffer from backache, neck ache, headaches, and even stomach aches, the root cause is likely poor posture. In Pilates, we call this alignment. Practising Pilates can improve your posture by ensuring your muscles do not strain in order to hold up your body. Instead, your body is carefully positioned to ensure your feet, hips, and head are aligned in the best way possible, allowing your muscles to work effectively without causing strain and the resultant pain.
Pilates improves your flexibility
Yoga may be renowned for its ability to improve your flexibility, but Pilates can prove to be as effective, if not more effective, for certain people. Unlike yoga, which employs static stretches, Pilates utilises movement while stretching. This effectively warms your muscles as you stretch, enabling you to stretch more, while experiencing less pain.
Pilates boosts your stamina
Pilates is performed in sequences, using several different repetitions. This allows your body to learn endurance, enabling it to exercise for increasing lengths of time. Certain exercises may tire you out at first, but the more you continue to work on your Pilates and practice different sequences, the more endurance you will develop.
Pilates can increase your muscle power
Using the deliberate and slow movements of Pilates may not appear to be the best way to build muscle strength. It's a far cry from weight lifting, but despite appearances, Pilates is an effective way of strengthening your body and is especially good at strengthening your abdominal obliques (your stomach muscles). This is very hard to achieve in other ways. In addition, Pilates strengthens the core muscles in your body, as well as in your legs and arms, ensuring you are stronger overall.
Pilates sculpts your body
Pilates will sculpt your body, straightening your back, tightening your tummy, and ensuring you look generally taller and leaner. Because Pilates focuses on your whole body, rather than specific areas, you will see a change all over.
Pilates reduces stress
Many things exacerbate stress, but poor posture and pain are known to increase stress levels. Pilates is effective in relieving these stress triggers, as well as helping you to gain confidence, grow more mindful, and focus on your breathing. The combination of focus on your breath, muscles, and body, becomes a form of meditation that is excellent at relieving stress.
Why not join our Facebook Group: Foundry Nation
At Foundry Life we offer online courses, Pilates classes and our wellness membership. And through our Facebook Group Foundry Nation, we are introducing an international community of people like you to the benefits of moving better to feel better and live better.
