You’ve heard the long list of reasons why Pilates is good for you. But rather than listing bullet points that may or may not be relevant to you personally, we wanted to simplify it.
So why should you do Pilates? Think about your own body; if you sliced it in half from the head down, would it be symmetrical? The answer is no. But why? Take a moment to think about what your posture is like as you read this. Are you leaning on an elbow, are your legs crossed, is your head tilted to one side? How often and for how long are you sitting in this position? All day at your desk, on long car rides, perhaps on the couch in the evening as you watch TV? You may not be aware of how often you sit like that or for how long, but your body remembers, and it begins to form bad habits.
You won’t even realise it’s happening but you will begin to walk with more weight on one leg, keep your shoulders rounded and your head tilted to one side, putting more and more stress on a body part or muscle. Then one day you do one simple movement like picking up a grocery bag, putting on your socks or maybe you were spending some time in the garden, and all of that accumulated stress finally comes to your attention by way of soreness, aches and pains, muscle strains and sometimes worse.
What could you have done to prevent this? This may sound silly but you have to get to know your body. You have to gain control of the movements of your body rather than letting your body control you. What we are talking about is awareness, but this also requires work. Because keeping the body aligned and healthy takes maintenance, just like you would maintain your car, putting oil in so the engine doesn’t overheat. You need to give your body the same amount of attention, and not just after an injury occurs.
That’s where Pilates comes into the picture. Pilates helps to bring awareness to your movements while unwinding those bad habits that your body has accumulated. Pilates teaches you to control your movements and encourages you to work evenly. So not only are you building strength, stretching the body and getting an amazing workout, but your are also learning to become aware of how to move your body correctly so you can take that knowledge out of the studio and into your everyday life.