Mbodies Pilates Instructor Training incorporates programming to improve Mental as well as Physical Health

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From May 10th - May 15th 2022 it is Mental Health awareness week. 
Over the last century Pilates has become well established for its broad range of physical benefits, including strength and muscle tone, flexibility and weight loss.

However, the mindful movement practices employed in Pilates can also be considered as an alternative meditation technique to the stereotypical view of sitting still.  All the benefits of meditation can be gained, without any feeling of wasting time and many actually experience better results from a mindful movement that simultaneously cleanses the mind whilst exercising the body.

 As such Pilates has a great range of specific benefits for mental health:


Breathing

Breathing techniques are fundamental to practicing Pilates.  The particular breathing pattern practiced in a Pilates exercise can improve its effectiveness in oxygen supply to the muscles, and subsequently aid the removal of the respiratory waste products carbon dioxide and water.  During the exercise the brain must concentrate on strict control of the normally automatic act of breathing; it provides an inward focus on the present exercise, feeling its effect on one’s body and this is both a distraction and relief from external day-to-day activities or anxieties.

Stress Management and Relaxation


Pilates, like many forms of exercise, is an excellent way to relax and reduce or manage stress.  More specifically it can naturally increase the mood-enhancing endorphins and serotonin in the brain whilst reducing stress hormones like cortisol.

Enhancing memory and cognitive function

Pilates is a particularly suitable form of exercise for enhancing memory and brain health.

Clearer thought can be obtained through exercise by increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain.  The size of the hippocampus is subsequently also increased, and this is the part of the brain that is associated with memory.  Additionally exercise also increases the nerve cell connections in the brain. Overall, this improvement in memory also helps protect your brain against injury and disease.

A purely repetitive and automatic form of exercise such as running only requires the body to be exercised, allowing the mind to wander, unfocused on the exercise and increasing the potential risk of injury due to a lack of concentration on the body. 

Practising Pilates, however, requires you to utilise both your body and mind to perform exercises correctly to gain the greatest benefit. When we learn a new Pilates exercise, we are challenging the brain to learn a new skill, keeping the mind focused.   


Pilates as an aid for treating Depression or Anxiety

The link between exercise and mental health is no more poignant than when considering the potential benefits for sufferers of clinical depression or anxiety.

Pilates may assist in the treatment of depression and anxiety by beneficially altering the brain chemistry with respect to serotonin, endorphins and cortisol. 

The focus of Pilates on both body and mind distracts from negative thoughts, enables opportunities for socialisation, releases stress, enhances mindfulness, and overall enables a self-help exercise routine to decrease anxiety.

Pilates Reformer benefits to mental health

Concentration on balance improves cognitive function

As presented; all forms of Pilates are beneficial to mental and brain health, but when using Pilates apparatus such as the Pilates Reformer or Tower, the concentration level must be higher, due to the additional requirement to focus on balance when on a moving platform.  Improvement and focus on balance during exercise, has also been shown to have additional improvement in cognitive function by engaging different regions of the brain.

Author:  Adrian Baughan - Digital content and marketing for Mbodies Training Academy

For information about Mbodies Training Academy visit: https://www.mbodiesacademy.com/

For Online Pilates Teacher Training visit:  https://mbodies.thinkific.com/

Location: Freeland, Witney OX29, UK

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