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. Despite the fact that one of the effect of Pilates on the body is toning and enhancing its overall flexibility, people who practice Pilates do not make use of weight lifting exercisies to achieve this effect. There are other kinds of equipment that are used by people who practice Pilates to achieve a well-toned and enhanced overall flexibility.

2. Pilates also helps in developing agility and muscle strength which is important for a person to perform the activities that are expected for them to do.

3. This kind of exercise also aids in preventing injuries and promotes proper use of body mechanics and correct posture.

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

5. Practicing Pilates can also help in a person's rehabilitation and recovery from injuries.

6. Practicing Pilates may also help in alleviating chronic pain sufferings. Thus people will be able to enjoy improved quality of life.

To attain the benefits that you want for your body when doing Pilates exercise, it is essential to do it properly and appropriately. Another factor that plays a major role in the success of your Pilates exercise is Body discipline. It is also advisable to seek help and guidance from a Pilates expert if you want to start doing Pilates exercises. That way you will be sure to do the exercise properly and use all the Pilates equipment effectively.

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. Control-Pilates method of exercise also emphasizes the importance of gaining control over your own body, mainly muscle control. A person wanting to do Pilates should be focused in doing it properly to achieve the goal of having control in every aspects of the exercise.

3. The third principle of Pilates is Flow which is also known as moving with efficiency. This principle of the Pilates exercise is focused on attaining a well-coordinated movement of the body which may be attained if a person has proper flow of exercises. In effect, the body will have increased stamina and become stronger because of the body precision that you have gained by doing the Pilates exercises making the principle of flow as your guideline.

4. Breathing is the fourth principle of Pilates which is also one of the most important principle of Pilates. Doing the Pilates exercise is observed to improve breathing pattern as well as oxygenation.

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.

As with any other kinds of exercises, one must do Pilates properly and accurately to obtain the result that they are looking forward to. Aside from that, an individual must have proper discipline for them to actively participate in doing Pilates exercises. Also, for beginners, they might want to consult or ask help from Pilates experts before performing the different kinds of Pilates exercises and making use of different Pilates exercise tools for safety purposes.




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