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5 Benefits of Pilates that you may not know

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  • Pilates can correct faulty movement patterns

The human brain is very efficient.  One of it's aims is to lay down movement patterns that make life easier allowing it more capacity to deal with life's anomalies.

Throughout life however, faulty or imperfect movement patterns can develop in response to pain, injury, poor technique, tight muscles, weak or inhibited muscles, repetition of incorrect movement or posture and the list goes on.

When movement patterns are altered, loss of strength and function can develop.  Movements become less efficient and injury, pain and dysfunction can occur.
 
Pilates is a sequence of movements designed to train and strengthen muscle, but also to train  and strengthen movement and movement patterns. Once movement patterns are improved, movement becomes more efficient. Efficiency of movement  improves performance and decreases the likelihood of injury.
If you learn to move well you will be well and progress through life with greater ease and freedom of movement.

  • The Pilates breath helps to down-regulate the nervous system

    A long slow exhale helps to stimulate the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve has connections between brain and body and when stimulated can decrease heart rate, help with calmness, relaxation and digestion.
     
    By focussing on the pilates breath, we can easily influence the nervous system and stimulate our "rest and digest" centres in our brain.

  • Pilates sequences involve eccentric components which are good for tendons

A well designed pilates class will incorporate eccentric exercises as part of it's routine.  Eccentric exercises lengthen muscles under load.  In doing this, eccentric exercises also load the tendons  therefore help to build strength and resilience in the tendon tissue.

  • The design of the Pilates exercises helps to train and mobilise your fascia

Fascia is an important tissue within your body that influences how your body creates and transfers tissue, is involved in tissue healing and resilience and helps maintain the structural integrity of the skeleton.

Fascia responds well to the whole body movements that Pilates training offers.  Pilates also puts emphasis on moving in multiple directions with varied speed and moving with control. When you move in this way you are stimulating your fascia which in turn has an effect on your whole body.

  • Pilates helps protect your back by teaching you about your pelvic floor and about core control

Everyone has heard of core strength but what is more important is the concept of core control.  Core control is about muscle stability around your pelvis and spine.  Training muscles for stability differs to traditional strength training.  Most of the stability that makes you do what you do, aligns your joints, creates dynamic posture and enables you to move with power and efficiency occurs at a low threshold.  Pilates exercises target the stability muscles of your abdominal wall, pelvic floor, lower back and diaphragm that form the basis of core control.