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Movement Keeps the Body Young!

The Benefits of a Consistent Pilates Practice By Angela Kim

Have you ever wondered why you wake up with stiff joints in the morning? We can thank the collagen in our body constantly laying down new fibers around our ligaments and tendons while we are sleeping. This is a good thing; it keeps our joints stabilized and prevents dislocation. The tough fibrous bundles of collagen can also keep us from moving with ease and grace. Movement, particularly active stretching, helps pump nutrients to your muscles and tendons. It also stimulates the production of joint lubrication (synovial fluids) and prevents adhesions. Finding your full range of motion in your joints increases circulation while breaking up cross fibers of collagen. With pilates, you accomplish this in a non-jarring fashion that would otherwise be deleterious to your cartilage. This is why you feel so great after taking a pilates class. You feel a healthy fatigue as you educate your muscles and joints in different range patterns of motion. You are also educating your muscles and joints to stretch in different ways. The body has incredible muscle memory. It adapts very well to what we ask it to do. Having a regular pilates regime goes far beyond the aesthetic appeal of a trim waistline. The exercising of joint motion and the building of tonicity and elastin in your muscles becomes vital to the quality of life.

As we age, muscles begin to weaken and your nerve receptors lose sensitivity. Pilates reverses this aging process through strengthening the deepest muscles of the core, and the intrinsic muscles of the spine. A client once told me, “Every nano second counts!” commenting on doing a roll down on the trapeze table. This is so true; the attention to detail and proper neuromuscular recruitment is what we look for in private pilates sessions, as opposed to mindless repetitions of crunches.

As we age, not only is strength important, but also maintaining a supported supple spine. Through articulating vertebra by vertebra, space is created between each facet joint, allowing more freedom of movement and prevention of some common degenerative processes. The two biggest complaints I hear when people come to pilates for the first time is low back pain and neck/shoulder pain. Frequently, painful joints and tight muscles are resulting from structural issues elsewhere in the body. For that reason, we address postural alignment, spine curvatures, and gait patterns to address the whole architecture of the body. This is where Pilates can change the way you move and live in your body for life regardless if you have movement experience or not.

By stimulating your connective tissue on a regular basis, you are encouraging cell regeneration. Pilates, unlike other forms of exercise, can safely be done on a daily basis without overstressing your joints or muscles. Having a consistent pilates practice is really an effective way to work the body intelligently without having to load your joints. Consistency is the key. Next time you wake up feeling a little creaky, you can look forward to your next pilates session to give you ALL the benefits inside and out!