Did you know about these 7 benefits of Pilates?

Pilates is one of the most complete practices that you will find out there. Apart of building core strength and being very useful for injured people, it helps to improve posture, flexibility, coordination, strenght, balance and muscle endurance, according to YSWEEKENDER. 

There are several adaptations of this practice, which was originally created in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, but all of them have several benefits for your life. Here are some of them: 

1. It helps you with stress: even though Pilates is not the same as yoga, which is seen as a path for spiritual enlightenment, it does work with the union of mind, body and spirit and requires a mindful training that uses deep breathing as a way to release stress and get benefits for your mental health. 

Mindfulness is a huge aspect of Pilates. You have to be extremely mindful of your movements or you will not engage the right muscles. This mindful movement practice is a form of meditation, and can have significant positive benefits for your mental health!

2. Helps you with posture: a Pilates classes focuses on maintaining a good balance and alignment. As read on the Women´s Health Magazine, slowly moving through the exercises while being mindful of the way you are moving and what you are working out in each exercise can help you build a great posture. 

3. It is great for your abs: according to a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise study, after 36 weeks of Pilates training women improved the muscle responsible for six packs by an average of 21 percent. Also, Pilates focuses on core exercises, which can help you get the flat abs you want. 

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4. It could help you with back pain: as read on Shape, a Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy study shows that participants with chronic back pain that practiced Pilates during four weeks experienced huge relief and the pain stayed away for a full year. So yes, stronger core equals a better back, because by stabilizing the lower back region, Pilates helps ease stress on the area. 

5. Might help you improve your sex life: Pilates usually uses exercises that aim to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which has a great effect on your sex life as it might increase your pleasure and help those who experience pains in bed.

6. It might help you lose weight: even though cardio or weight exercises might be faster if your goal is losing a few pounds, a Pilates routine for beginners can help you burn up to 250 calories while strengthening your body, according to HealthLine. Also, Pilates is proved to help you with your metabolism, which plays a good part in weight loss. 

7. It is good for your brain: as read on Gramha, in 2013 some scientists in China measured changes in brain activity during Pilates exercises and discovered that after 10 weeks of practicing it, people experienced increasement of the brain’s alpha peak power, which plays a part in people´s ability to think and solve problems.