The Long-Term Benefits of Pilates

Breath Control, Flexibility, Fewer Injuries and Enhanced Posture

Aug 17, 2009

Pilates gives one short term results but over the years will provide even more benefits for one's health and one's appearance.

Pilates was created in the 1920s to help dancers and other highly active athletes recover from physical injuries. Over the past twenty years or so, this system of focused stretches, attending to the core of the body and the depth of breath, has become popular among the general population. Over the short-term, performing a regularly-scheduled Pilates routine, for 30-60 minutes at least every other day, will enable one to lose inches, increase the length of one's muscles, concentrate the mind and leave one calmer, more graceful and better able to cope with daily stresses. The long term benefits of Pilates are even more impressive.

Breath Control and Pilates

Pilates makes one increasingly aware of the core muscles that ring the abdominal region and support the chest cavity. To perform Pilates effectively, one must be able to breathe deeply and to focus on where one's breath is stemming from. Over the long term, not only does one's attention to where breath emerges from grows, but also the lungs expand, the diaphragm strengthens and the muscles that prevent one from inhaling fully relax.

For dancers, Pilates is very important but also, research has shown, for singers too. The exercise routine provides those who use their voices the principles of breath control, thereby enhancing their ability to sing clearly and at length without huffing and puffing.

Flexibility and Pilates

Over the short term, Pilates enables one to learn how to touch one's toes or put one's head on one's knees. When Pilates is undertaken over many years, one reaps the benefits of such flexibility. Coordination is improved. Circulation increases. As one ages, doing Pilates helps one to continue to be able to dance or play sports with less likelihood of injury. Sexual flexibilty is also enhanced with Pilates, encouraging one to be more experimental in bed, improving one's erotic encounters and extending the chances of having a viable sex life into older age.

Diminished Chances of Injury and Pilates

Pilates is used to both prevent injury and to heal it when it occurs. Regular stretches and attention to core strength keeps one resistant to being hurt while undertaking vigorous activities. A rise in coordination makes one more graceful and fluid and thus less likely to become injured. The surge in circulation also provides a barrier to many injuries.

If one does become injured, Pilates contributes to long term healing, fusing wounded back muscles and aiding in restoring the limber quality of one's muscles and joints.

Enhanced Posture and Pilates

Over the short term, Pilates makes one more aware of the body in general. With long term application, Pilates lengthens the spine, enabling one to stand straighter and to re-align one's shoulders and back. This reconfiguration of posture not only diminishes back, neck and shoulder pain but gives one a dancer's physique. The torso extends, the neck is upright, the stomach is tucked in and the body's entire line is re-shaped into a graceful, lithe design.

One stays not only healthier with Pilates, but, over a period of years, younger looking and more likely to resist debilitating injury.

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