Pilates for your Body

There has been increased knowledge about Pilates and its promising benefits to those who practice it. It has successfully reached out to and helped a number of people throughout the globe get healthier and leaner. Pilates exercises and routines are said to be mainly based on principles of constructing and reinforcing body strength and flexibility. These two factors are thought to result from body efficiency and maximization. This is all achieved through the use of equipment and mats that are specifically designed for doing Pilates. With this, it is essential to examine and understand different benefits and outcomes of Pilates.

The Proponent of the Routine

Before starting with discovering the promises of Pilates exercises, it is only reasonable to first thank the man who started and formulated it. It was Joseph H. Pilates, a German citizen who, at an early age, got exposed and suffered from unwanted diseases and conditions that motivated him to aim for a healthier and stronger body. In order to achieve his dream body, he came up with a system of exercise that focused on providing connections with the body and mind through his previous knowledge regarding medical practices of other nations.

Pilates benefits were first experienced by soldiers of the World War I. Joseph Pilates applied his theories to help soldiers amplify their strengths and potentials, cure injuries, and diminish weaknesses of the body. He further created equipment that aided in the practice of the principles of Pilates. These enabled the soldiers to apply the teachings of Joseph Pilates even if he wasn’t around to personally instruct them.

Later on, Joseph Pilates allowed the people of the United States of America to experience what his routines can bring. Some of the first lucky beneficiaries included participants of activities that required extensive movements such as those in the boxing and ballet dancing fields. It was also said the Pilates’ practice was provided individually so as to address the person depending on his or her strengths and weaknesses.

Nowadays, the theories and routines of Joseph Pilates are administered to various individuals from different nations and culture. This is made possible because of the creation and production of the equipment that applies the principles of Pilates. Knowing the past and present conditions of the Pilates exercise, this leads us to finally understand the advantages of this type of exercise, which comprises of reinforcing attention to, strengthening of, and enabling the ability to direct and manage the body and its movements and activities.

Focus and Attention to the Body and to Unhealthy Habits

Pilates benefits includes making the person realize and take note of his or her body. This is similar to examining the body through the use of the mirror. With this practice, the person is able to be familiar with his or her body’s current look, conditions, strengths, and flaws. Also, this enable the identification of pain experienced in the body. This further leads to recognizing unhealthy body habits such as wrong posture, hand position etc. Moreover, through this closer attention to the body, identifying possible causes of the unhealthy body habits and their consequences can be achieved. An example is when a secretary realizes that the root cause of her carpal tunnel syndrome is the wrong positions of her hands during typing. The most important implication of this benefit is the interventions of these destructive activities. This might include changing equipment that reinforce the unhealthy activities or correcting one’s self upon the exhibition of the habits.

This positive outcome of the Pilates routine can be explained as the creation of the connection of the mind and the body. There is a need to first realize the necessity of improvement and the particular needs in order to successfully devise and carry out solutions.

Power to the Body

Experts suggest that one of the causes of the bad consequences of exercise such as injuries and unsatisfactory results is wrong exercise beliefs and procedures. People mainly focus on achieving flattery body parts for the praise of the public. Of course, because of this longing for approval, people mainly exercise for the improvement of their abs, thighs, legs, and arms- body parts that the society dote with much attention. However, according to the advocates of Pilates, this is a harmful and unproductive practice because it ignores the more important parts of the body. As one can see, the Pilates exercises emphasize the building of the strength of the abdomen and muscles. This is because creating a powerful abdomen and muscles, allows the body to be more efficient and balanced.

There is also need for clarification about the outcomes of the practice of this type of exercise. The benefits of Pilates do not readily include the fulfillment of the desires for a flattering body. As mentioned before, this is not the focus of this exercise. However, it is said that these aspirations can be attained after establishing the required strength in the abdomen and muscles.

Ability to Manage the Body

Pilates benefits also includes allowing the person to manage and direct his or her body movements. This can be achieved by practicing body coordination through the use of the Pilates exercises and equipment. This body coordination and management allows the person to maximize his or her body energy and movements and eliminate unnecessary and unhealthy activities that only waste energy and potential. Furthermore, to achieve this ability to manage one’s body movements, it is important to include the whole body in routines during exercise. This further puts emphasis on the discouragement of exercising for the purpose of improving the appearance of only specific parts of the body.