5 Great Reasons why Pilates should figure in your New Year's Resolutions
Pilates is a mind-body intervention that focuses on core stability, posture, flexibility, strength, breathing, and movement control. Here are 5 reasons why Pilates should be your New Year’s Resolution:
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an essential part of Pilates, and differentiates it from conventional exercise. There are no mindless or careless moments in Pilates. Rather than diverting your attention, focus your mind on the task at hand. You should be conducting an internal dialogue, directing your body through the exercise.
2. Core activation
Core stabilisation is the focal point of Pilates. It could be described as balancing the centre, or building a strong centre, by beginning with strengthening the internal muscles. Each and every Pilates exercise focuses on strengthening the muscles in this area to protect the spine and the internal organs. It also gives you the ability to control the upper and lower body areas from the core while still protecting and stabilising the spine.
3. Improved flexibility
The strength part of the “stretch and strength” equation is very important – it’s what helps maintain physical integrity and alignment as one stretches a muscle, or increases the range of motion in a joint. Improving flexibility will significantly enhance your performance in other physical activities, as well as daily life, and also help reduce your risk of injury.
4. Improved posture
Pilates not only helps to correct any postural problems, it also aims to give you mastery of your mind. Pilates-based exercise has been shown to promote changes in habitual posture by enhancing spinal, scapular and joint flexibility and strengthening shoulders, lower back and abdominal musculature.
5. A full-body workout
When Joseph Pilates propounded his theory, his principal aim was to develop the body uniformly. With Pilates, you will gain control of your entire body. The repetition of the exercises and performance of them in a mindful way will gradually allow you to acquire a natural coordination of your muscles.