All over the world, Pilates is an exercise and mindfulness practice that has significant appeal and proven staying power. And for good reason too. Pilates is a full-body exercise method that will basically help you do everything better! It strengthens and stabilizes your core which then allows you to efficiently improve your posture, flexibility, strength and mobility.
If you’ve never taken a Pilates class before (or even if you have), it can feel a little intimidating at first. While many people tend to equate Pilates and Yoga, these two practices are actually very different, and Pilates has its own unique range of exercises, equipment and language. However, after a class or two you are sure to start to find your flow and will certainly start feeling some of the terrific benefits of this popular practice.
Many of the common Pilates benefits are well known, these include:
- Reducing lower back pain
- Improving mobility
- Strengthening core muscles
- Increasing flexibility
- Improving posture
- Reducing anxiety
- Improving balance
However, Pilates also has a range of benefits that are lesser known, and just as important, especially for certain sub sections of the population who have unique health goals in mind.
Let’s explore some of these lesser known benefits of Pilates.
Pilates Helps to Avoid Injury
If you’ve faced injury doing other, higher-intensity exercise, you might be pleased to hear that daily Pilates is an excellent way to work out while keeping your risk of injury at a minimum. Pilates is a low-impact practice where flexibility, muscular strength and endurance movements are combined. The emphasis on correct postural alignment, core strength and muscle balance means it is great for ironing out muscular imbalances whilst also supporting injury rehabilitation and also injury prevention.
If you are someone who does other cardiovascular activities regularly, or even plenty of yoga, Pilates can be a great addition to your wellness routine to help support your physical body, build muscle awareness and prevent injury. Movements in Pilates are all about extensions, meaning that the muscles have time to stretch out and relax. Muscles need to do this to heal themselves. Pilates also help to stabilise joints to prevent displacement.
If you already are dealing with an injury, Pilates offers some good news for you too! Many studies have demonstrated Pilates’ ability to help with injury or pain recovery. It has been shown to be particularly effective in aiding recovery, with the researchers recommending Pilates for athletes to support injury rehabilitation especially in the area of lower back issues.
Mental Awareness and Cognitive Support
Sure, normally when we are working out or doing exercise, the focus is on the physical body! However, it’s a win-win situation when your physical exercise can also help to support and improve mental functioning at the same time.
When you are on a treadmill or lifting weights, you tend to zone out and turn off the brain.
However, this isn’t really possible with Pilates, rather you need to stay focused on the movements. Pilates also asks you to pay close attention to your breath while working through every movement to ensure proper form and to gain the maximum benefits.
Synchronising movements, breath and muscle contraction invites you to stimulate your physical body and your brain, ensuring you stay present and focused for the whole duration of class. No worrying about that inbox or making a mental grocery list during Pilates! This means you walk out of class with the benefits for your body, and a clear fresh headspace too.
Say Farewell to Stress & Hello to a Brighter Mood
It’s not new news that stress levels are higher than ever. Any form of exercise is an excellent way to lower your stress. However as Pilates has a strong focus on breathing, connecting to your body and improving how you carry yourself, it is an ideal program for stress relief.
Pilates acts as a distraction from daily worries and offers you a chance to focus more on your body and well-being. As mentioned above, it requires a lot of concentration to successfully perform many of the Pilates exercises. A ‘Mind Body Connection’ is much more than a spiritual phrase when it comes to Pilates. You must be fully in tune with your body, where it is in space, how you are moving to effectively recruit those deep abdominals and pelvic floor muscles.
If you are someone who has never been able to achieve the ‘mindful’ state so many yogi’s seem to thrive on, Pilates provides a great alternate stress reliever.
Furthermore, the breathing performed in Pilates has been shown to cause a reduction in stress and blood pressure. It also releases endorphins which contributes to a better mood and greater positivity.
Pilates Can Help Improve Sleep
More good news- these stress-relieving benefits can also translate to better sleep. A recent study with previously sedentary people who practised Pilates twice a week for 12 weeks reported improvements in sleep quality and overall quality of life.
This is partly due to the fact that Pilates helps you focus on the present, instead of ruminating on life’s past and future stressors. Playing mobile games and scrolling through social media platforms may be the usual routine for many of us before we fall asleep at night. In fact, studies are showing that many people have become light sleepers or suffer from insomnia nowadays due to stress, a busy mind and screen addiction. Pilates can support better and deeper sleep for a few reasons. Pilates is one of the most highly recommended types of movement to help center and calm the mind. We know that breathing is the core essence of Pilates. It not only helps us to facilitate our deep core muscles, but also rewinds our mind.
Secondly, we live more sedentary lifestyle that our bodies are designed to- sitting at our desks or in our cars all day tightens the body, making it more difficult to physically release and be comfortable. Pilates involves stretching and rolling which helps to lengthen out every part of your body, opening up the joints, stretching the muscles and improving circulation. Hence it boosts your sleep duration and quality of sleep.
A study carried out by Appalachian State University showed that participants that practiced 75-minute Pilates workouts for at least two times a week over the span of 15 weeks were less likely to experience sleeping difficulties. A head researcher of the study noted how the notion of being more connected to yourself through Pilates could be a large influence in being able to relax more.
Pilates Can Help Relieve Headache
More often than not the cause of your headache is what Physios refer to as ‘cervicogenic’, in simple terms, stemming from the neck. Our modern lifestyle often results in the chin poking forward, shoulders up around the ears, slumped upper back- all signs of less than ideal postural habits! These lead to increased muscle tension around the neck and shoulders resulting in neck stiffness and jamming of the upper cervical vertebra which commonly refers pain to the head.
Pilates addresses such postural dysfunction and helps to lengthen these overworked muscles and strengthen those underworked muscles lying beneath. The end result? Less tension in the neck and shoulders, decompression of the cervical spine (neck) and all in all less headaches!
If you find yourself reaching for pain killers at the end of a long day, try booking yourself into a few Pilates classes a week instead and see the difference it can make.
In Preparation for Pregnancy
Pre- and post-natal Clinical Pilates are designed to help your body cope with the changes and stresses of pregnancy. Building up strength in abdominal and pelvic floor muscles can help to reduce pain and combat the risk of abdominal muscle separation.
Furthermore. pregnancy can be a huge change in your life, and with that change can naturally come increased levels of stress. Finding ways to manage this during pregnancy is important, and Pilates is a wonderful way to reduce these symptoms of stress and anxiety and leave you feeling more relaxed, balanced, confident and grounded.
This was shown in a review of studies that looked at the effects of both Pilates and muscle relaxation therapy on stress and anxiety during pregnancy. The review found positive correlations between Pilates and stress reduction, noting that even a single session of Pilates can result in an increased mood. Pilates is well suited for pregnant women as it involves low impact exercise that offers emotional, mental and physical benefits. If you’ve never done Pilates before and want to start during pregnancy, be sure to let the instructor know about your pregnancy, and ideally, seek out pre and post natal classes where possible for that additional support.
A Whole Body Workout
We saved the best point to last! Much of the appeal of Pilates is due to it being a gentler form of exercise that can be done at any skill or fitness level. And while that’s certainly the case, that’s no reason to discount the fact that a daily Pilates regimen is a very good form of working out.
Pilates is most definitely exercise and when performed correctly it’s actually very challenging. As an exercise, it counts as a muscle-strengthening workout. Plus, you’re able to work the whole body through Pilates. It challenges your lower and upper body and demands core strength. Moving between exercises quickly and decreasing resting time works best if you want to boost your cardio.
Like most workouts, the aerobic benefits of Pilates depend on your intensity. Advanced moves are often intense enough to boost your heart rate well within the target zone. In a Pilates mat routine, you don’t stop moving, meaning it can definitely count as cardiovascular work at a mild aerobic level, similar to a brisk walk or steady walk up a hill.
Ready to Give Pilates a try?! Join us for a Luxury Pilates Retreat!
So there you have it! How many of those benefits of Pilates did you know about? Pilates is a wonderful practice, suited to all levels of physical fitness and a practice that supports both physical and mental wellbeing.
Our Luxury Pilates Retreat in Bali is the ideal way to either start your own journey with Pilates, or take your Pilates experience to the next level. The retreat week includes 5 Pilates sessions at our luxury partner gym that has a custom built pilates studio and class sizes are limited to ensure personalised attention from the experienced advanced instructors.
Support your Pilates retreat week with daily yoga, delicious cuisine, luxurious accommodation and facilities and all the perks that a Signature Escape Haven Bali retreat includes!