According to Balanced Body, a manufacturer of Pilates equipment, in 2006 more than 10 million people around the world exercised by performing Pilates, a 600 percent increase over the year 2000. A number of levels of the exercise can be modified for anyone, from beginner to advanced. Pilates exercises can be performed by anyone, regardless of age, with use of a floor mat or more complicated equipment.
History
Pilates is named after its founder, Joseph Pilates, who was a self-defense instructor in England for Scotland Yard agents and later worked with patients interned during World War I. He taught patients how to perform resistance exercises by rigging up pulleys to their hospital beds. In 1926, after emigrating to the United States, Pilates and his wife, Clara, opened a fitness studio that attracted numerous dancers in New York City. The Pilates style of exercise helped ballerinas and other dancers to remain limber during their dance routines and practice.
Benefits
Pilates is meant to improve flexibility through a combination of mind and body techniques. Body awareness allows students to develop poise, good posture and ease in their body movements. The exercise builds muscles without adding bulk, creating firmer, toned bodies and firm thighs and abdomens. According to the Pilates Method Alliance, the exercise techniques can improve lung capacity and circulation and increase bone density.
Features
Initially, Pilates teaches students to pay attention to their breathing and spinal alignment. Students are taught in the beginning how to be aware of their body and its movements, tools that will remain with the student. Pilates movements concentrate on stretching and elongating muscles, increasing joint mobility. Many newcomers to Pilates find relief from years of back pain after a few sessions. Emphasis on building the muscles in the abdomen help with core strengthening. The entire body receives a workout, resulting in a balanced increase in muscle tone.
Considerations
Pilates can be performed using a mat on the floor or a machine called a Reformer that provides resistance from a moving carriage. Springs and ropes provide resistance and assist beginners as they build their balance and ease into the routines. Pilates can be performed in groups through a number of specialized Pilates studios, rehabilitation programs or fitness centers. Home videos and books are available for those who prefer to work out alone at home. Beginners should consider which atmosphere would provide the kind of environment most conducive to relaxation, to experience the mind and body transformation that Pilates is meant to give.
Potential
According to doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, the beginning level of Pilates is safe for pregnant women and the elderly. With the emphasis on breathing and slow, proper movement, Pilates is more like yoga than aerobics. While yoga instructs students to hold a pose, however, Pilates emphasizes slow, even movement through each phase. Pilates has the potential to reduce stress and makes a good adjunct to other aerobic exercises in a balanced exercise regimen.
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