Pilates and the Top 10 Reasons you should begin Pilates

1 Pilates makes you smarter

Studies have shown that Pilates can quite literally make you smarter.
Declining changes begin to occur in the brain once we enter our late 20’s and the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, parts of the brain that are vital for memory and performing of skilled tasks and complex mental activities, begin to actually shrink. (National Institute on Aging – NIA.gov)

However, lucky for all of us, we can stop our brains from shrinking, create new brain cells, and protect our current ones through the implementation of regular exercise and more specifically through the practice of mind body forms of exercise such as Pilates or yoga.
It has been researched and sited in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health that people have a significant boost in brain function capabilities following Pilates or yoga compared to other non mindful forms of exercise such as aerobic activity and weight lifting.

It is important to note that this boost in brain function is highly beneficial as it translates far beyond your practice of Pilates and improves cognitive performance in your overall daily life. (Medicalnewstoday.com)

2 Pilates helps you breathe better
Breath is one of the 6 key Pilates principles and it is an integral part of Pilates exercise.
Learning to breathe deeply in Pilates will in crease your lung capacity and improve your overall health and well being.

In his book, Return to Life Through Contrology, Joseph Pilates stated “Lazy breathing converts the lungs, both literally and figuratively speaking, into a cemetery for the deposition of diseased, dying and dead germs as well as supplying an ideal haven for the multiplication of other harmful germs.”
WOW! Now we see why breathing is so vital to healthy living.

Conscious deep breathing offers many health benefits including the promotion of better blood flow, the reduction of stress and blood pressure, encourages better sleep, it allows for the release of tension and toxins in the body, and it will also help strengthen your abdominals quicker and more effectively through out your workouts and daily lives.

3 Pilates will help you sleep better
Regular exercise is one of the best natural ways to overcome insomnia or simply help you get fuller and deeper sleep.

My clients and I know first hand that we always sleep better if we’ve had a Pilates session that day.
This is largely due to the fact that Pilates helps you breath more deeply, it alleviates a troubled nervous system, helps to realign the body, reduces stress levels. All of these are important aspects needed to achieve better quality sleep.

4 Pilates will give you a strong core and beautiful abs
Pilates has a reputation for giving people a strong core and flat abs.
This is due to the fact that there is constant and repetitive focus on core control and stabilization in all Pilates classes. Whether you’re using your own body weight or the assistance of the springs on the apparatus you are stimulating deep muscle development, activating your metabolism, and burning fat. All of which offer both a stronger core and a more aesthetically pleasing mid section.

5 Pilates will help you prevent injuries
Pilates focuses on core strength, stability, mobility, and flexibility. These are fundamentals that are also applied in conditioning and rehabilitation centers.
Pilates exercises work to strengthen muscles in a balanced way both concentrically and eccentrically, which contributes towards obtaining muscular control and injury prevention.

Pilates is truly for every body. From the injured to the professional athlete.
Today, many professional athletes enhance their performance by participating in Pilates because it has become one of the leading forms of exercise in which you can strengthen your core and deep intercostal muscles while simultaneously increasing your flexibility without the fear of injury.

6 Pilates will make you look taller
It is completely true that Pilates has been known to make people appear taller.
The majority of people either sit at a desk all day or unknowingly walk around with hunched shoulders, compressed spines, and loose abdominals.
Poor posture creates imbalances in the body that can cause pain, contributes towards a weak core, and will make you look much shorter than you were intended to be in life.

So how can Pilates help you?
Pilates focuses on simultaneously lengthening and strengthening the muscles in the body and has been proven to strengthen bones, correct alignment issues, correct posture problems, and preserve the health of the spine.
This means that you can correct current damage that has been done to the spine as well as prevent skeletal shrinkage.

7 Pilates will help you become more flexible
Every exercise in Pilates offers a complimentary stretch. There is no other form of exercise that allows you to strengthen your body while simultaneously stretching it out. Pilates movements inately allow you to keep your muscles flexible and supple. In Pilates we understand that a flexible muscle is a healthy muscle. Regular Pilates practice makes something as simple as a daily task like walking up and down stairs to your favorite intense sport all the more comfortable to accomplish and less strenuous on the body.

8 Pilates will boost your self esteem
Joseph Pilates said “Contrology (aka Pilates) develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit”.

Posture and proper body alignment, two very key components of Pilates that are important for your health, but even more so feeling and seeing the changes that Pilates brings about emotionally and physcially will bring a new found spirit and confidence into your life.

9 Pilates is anti-aging and can help you look younger.
Joseph Pilates said “You are only as young as your spine is flexible.
If your spin is inflexible and stiff at 30, you are old. If your spine is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”
The age of our body is directly linked to the age of our spine.
In order to have a healthy spine we need a strong core, a flexible body, and musculoskeletal balance.
A healthy spine, just like the young, will allow your to look lean, stand tall, and be happy and healthy.
Pilates can help you get there.

10 Pilates is FUN!
I love Pilates! There are so many accessories and toys to play with in a mat class, while the apparatus classes offer fun and exciting equipment to explore. In Pilates you can lift, hang, stretch, jump on boards that are similar to trampolines, and work on multi level surfaces with ropes, straps, and pulleys .
What other workout offers all the benefits mentioned above while getting to enjoy a private workout especially designed for you, or a fun fitness regimen with friends.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]