What Are the Benefits of Pilates for Improving Balance?
Developing better balance can help improve overall physical health, reduce pain and risk of injury, and even improve one’s quality of life. Pilates is an excellent way to increase balance, stability, and proprioception. Let’s look at the benefits of Pilates for improving balance.
Enhanced Coordination
By improving the body’s awareness of itself and its positioning in relation to the environment, Pilates can help to develop coordination and balance. People of all ages can learn to coordinate their movements, by increasing their strength and accuracy through practice on reformers, the Cadillac, and other machines.
Improved Proprioception
Proprioception is the ability to understand and interpret one’s body position in relation to the environment. Because Pilates is an inherently mindful practice, mindful attention as opposed to just muscular effort is also a central focus. This helps to improve proprioception and dramatically increases balance control and strength in the body’s stabilizing muscles.
Core Strength
The core consists of muscles that help to stabilize and balance the body. Pilates training can help to increase core strength by providing the body with challenge and support simultaneously. This improved core strength helps to increase balance, stability, and postural awareness.
Adaptability and Mobility
Pilates helps to increase adaptability in the muscles and joints, while at the same time providing support and challenge to help reduce risk of injury. Pilates increases range of motion, body control and mobility, helping to improve coordination and balance.
Muscular Symmetry
The whole body works as one unit, but very often when one part is working harder than the other, we can become out of balance. Pilates helps to increase both sides of the body’s strength simultaneously, helping to create balance and symmetry in the muscular system.
Conclusion
Pilates can provide effective and long lasting benefits for improving balance, coordination and postural stability in people of all ages. Proprioception and core strengthening are key elements of Pilates training, which can help increase balance, stability, and mobility. By helping to create muscular symmetry, Pilates can help both posture and balance, reducing risk of injury, and increasing one’s overall quality of life.
