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The world today thanks Joseph Hubert Pilates for having gifted us with Pilates, the new fitness regime. Pilates believed that modern lifestyle affected the health and living of all and hence during the First World War he introduced a new system of rehabilitation programme for war veterans.  He came up with “Pilate’s principles” for proper conditioning of the body. Most of the people think Pilate is all about gymnastics, holding body in different poses; and working out. However Pilate is much more than this. The benefits from the regular Pilate regime make it more than mere gymnastics or exercise.

According to Joseph Pilates the exercises have to be holistic, it is the combination of body and the mind. They coexist in Pilate. This is what makes it different from any aerobics class or dance movements. Its not mere body movements, it has to synchronies with the breath and the mind. You will have pay attention to the body such that you can learn to activate your muscles and then control them. Thus one needs to be mindful while practicing Pilate. You cannot listen to music and workout as you do in gym. However do not mistake term mindfulness to pilate being a “Thinking Person’s Exercise”.

What are your benefits?

Since Pilate requires deep concentration, it leads to a much focused mind. The constant chatter of the mind comes to a stop as the attention of the mind is diverted to the exercise and the breathing of the body. This leads to relaxed mind.  Thoughts like “Is the front door of my house locked?” “Will I be fired today? “ I think my ass looks huge in these tracks. Dammit. I should have worn the other pair” will not bother you. You will stay focused with your body and mind.

Most people have lost the ability to relax their minds, even for a few seconds .Even when they are sleeping, the stresses of the day, week or year seep through causing them to sleep restlessly, toss and turn, have nightmares, and wake up feeling more tired than they did when they went to bed! This in turn has a knock-on effect the following day as more and more stress is piled upon them.

With modern lifestyle setting in people are unable to relax completely. Even in sleep, they wake up with nightmares. Throughout the night you toss and turn, try to put yourself to sleep with creepy novels or scary movies and you end up waking more tired and exhausted. Thus your body failing to get enough sleep , stresses itself more and more making it susceptible to diseases. But I have noticed that my clients sleep well after their pilate classes and wake up feeling energized and rejuvenated. Thus pilate is not exercise for the body alone but is also good for the relaxation of the mind. The excessive emotional garbage that we hang around with gets released with this. Thus it is even a great stress buster.

Even something like half an hour practice of pilate can show some remarkable changes in your body. As I still research and attempt to find out more benefits of this technique, I am indebted to that great personality who invented this unique and simple way of maintaining harmony in the body.