Pilates Exercises – The Hidden Benefit
When we think of Pilates Instruction we imagine people holding and moving through various poses; working their bodies through a well-balanced series of exercises. Many people are well aware of all the physical gains regular Pilates training can bring, but often forget (or aren’t aware) of some of the other, concealed, benefits which are just as important.
Joseph Pilates always intended that his exercise system was to be holistic and was designed to work not only the body but the mind as well. To attain the slow, controlled and accurate muscle control required to execute a Pilates move, you need to concentrate deeply and synchronise movement with breath.
All these aspects require you to become “mindful”; not by error has Pilates been called the “Thinking Person’s Exercise”. You cannot do Pilates Exercises well if you just throw your body about like you would in an aerobic exercise class. You need to concentrate on what is going on within your body so that you can first {learn} to activate and then control your deep stabilising muscles.
This deep concentration has another hidden side effect that effective Pilates instructors are well aware of. If you are focusing very deeply to execute a Pilates exercise in ideal form there can be no room in your mind for other things. Your mind is forced to give up its endless chit-chat as it focuses on the challenge at hand. This in turn causes your mind to relax and to “forget” (for a little time) about all the other things that were stressing you before the class started like “Did I lock the front door?”, “Is my boss going to fire me?”, “Does my bum look big in this tracksuit?”. You get the idea.
Most individuals have lost the power to relax their minds, even for a few seconds. Even when they are sleeping, the tensions of the day, week or year ooze through causing them to sleep restlessly, toss and turn, have bad dreams, and wake up feeling more tired than they did when they went to bed! This in turn has a knock-on effect the next day as more and more tension is piled upon them.
This concealed benefit of Pilates became apparent to me when many of my clients started telling me how well they slept at night after coming to class that day – often claiming they hadn’t slept so well in years!
The Pilates class was not only working out the body, but was allowing the mind to relax and “vent” some of the stress that had been building up during the day. When we consider how many people stress kills every year, anything that can help you to reduce your stress levels (even if it’s only for an hour) has to be a good thing.
The longer I teach Pilates the more hidden secrets I’m discovering. Joseph Pilates himself always believed Pilates to be a mind and body experience and who am I to disagree with the Boss? So what are you waiting for? Find a Pilates class and start to gain the benefits today.
Thank you Joseph Hubertus Pilates.
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Tags: joseph pilates, pilates exercise, pilates exercises, pilates instruction, pilates instructor
