What is Pilates?
What do you know about Pilates?
Most people have the impression it is an exercise class like yoga. In some ways they are correct. Both focus on breathing along with exercise, both connect the mind with the body, and both can be carried on a mat. However, unlike yoga which has been around for thousands of years, Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the early to mid-1900s.
Joseph had been a poorly child and by finding ways to improve his health and wellbeing he worked out what was most effective at helping him. He then worked with war veterans and developed rehabilitation programmes for them and had amazing success.
His wife was a dancer and he started to work with her to help dancers rehabilitate from injury. His training programmes became what we now call Pilates after the inventor.
How can Pilates help me?
By practising Pilates regularly, you will notice that you become stronger, especially your core strength, you will look taller and leaner as your posture improves, and it will help you feel less stressed and more focused.
If you have an injury that is healing or you are rehabilitating after a small operation for example on your knee, Pilates can help you recover quickly and safely. A good Pilates instructor will ensure that they only give you exercises that will help your injury and not aggravate it in any way.
If you are a sports person, practising Pilates helps strengthen your body in a uniform way which then protects you from injury when playing a sport. For example, if you are a runner, Pilates will strengthen your core muscles and improve your posture which will help protect your back and leg muscles when running.
What ailments can Pilates fix or improve?
Many common ailments in today's world are a result of some muscles being overused and others being underused. For instance, if you sit at a desk all day and do not exercise you may find that you suffer from a stiff lower back and maybe a sore neck. This can also result in regular headaches. Pain medicine may help for a while but your symptoms will just get worse if you don't work at obtaining a healthy spine and back. Pilates exercises will strengthen the muscles you don't use when sitting and you will eventually find that your headaches disappear and the aches and pains become far less frequent.
Another common ailment for those over 40 is a frozen shoulder. This is when you get pain in your shoulder and the mobility gets worse, sometimes to the point of it feeling stiff and frozen in place. Restricted movement in your shoulder can last for years before it improves but Pilates exercises can help improve the mobility of your shoulder.
Do you wonder why you get a sore knee when doing certain activities? It is possible the problem is due to weak leg muscles or even lower back and hip muscles. The knee is having to do more work than it should which results in swelling and pain. This is another area that Pilates can make a huge difference as it will strengthen your back, core, hip and leg muscles.
If you think Pilates may help you but you aren't sure, why not get in touch with Jane at Jane Hamilton Pilates. Jane's online Pilates classes are available wherever you may live.
