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. Toning and enhancing the body's overall flexibility is one effect that Pilates has on your body. Unlike many forms of exercise, Pilates does not make use of weights and weight lifting exercises to tone the muscles, it uses many other kinds of materials and equipment instead to attain this goal.

2. Developing muscle strength and agility is another effect of Pilates on the one's body. These characteristics or development that is achieved when practicing Pilates is important for a person to do activities that needs the use of muscle strength and agility.

3. Prevention from injuries and practicing the appropriate use of proper body mechanics and proper posture is another effect of Pilates.

4. Practicing Pilates also helps an individual to develop and improve breathing efficiency, making your heart and lungs healthier.

5. If you are suffering from injuries, practicing Pilates will also aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of that injury.

6. For people that is suffering from chronic pains, practicing may help alleviate their experience of pain in effect they experience 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. Another good thing about Pilates exercise is that pregnant women can also perform this kind of exercise but before doing the exercise, pregnant women should first inform and ask for their doctor's approval and should do this exercise with the guidance of a trainer.

Now there are 6 important principles of Pilates as outlined by two students, Philip Friedman and Gail Eisen. These principles are as follows:

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. The second principle of Pilates is control which makes a person concentrate on achieving control, specifically muscle control, over his own body. This principle can be achieved by properly doing every aspect of the Pilates exercise.

3. Flow or moving with efficiency-One goal to be achieved when doing the Pilates exercise is to attain the proper flow of exercises in a way that the movement of the body should be well-coordinated. In this way, body precision will be achieved resulting in increased stamina and stronger body.

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. Precision is the fifth principle of Pilates. In this principle, what is emphasized is doing the exercises with 100% accuracy. By doing so, people doing Pilates exercise appropriately will get the maximum benefits that Pilates has to offer.

6. Concentration-extreme focus is also one important principle in Pilates exercise. An individual practicing Pilates need to fully concentrate on their body while doing the exercise to achieve smooth transition of movements.

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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