Pilates exercises teach you to be aware of your breathing and the alignment of your spine. The goal is to strengthen your “core” muscles—abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks. All exercises in Pilates begin with stabilizing the core muscles and transferring that to the movement of your arms and legs.

The Pilates system encompasses over 500 different exercises. Joesph Pilates, the founder of the method, started with a collection of just 34 that were worked on a mat on the floor. The exercises are designed to be performed in a specific order. Finishing the complete workout is essential.

Pilates exercises work your whole body, rather than targeting a specific set of muscles. It’s about working the entire body in synergy for overall fitness, rather than developing a few bulging muscle groups.

Pilates stretches, lengthens, and improves your balance with each exercise you master. It encourages you to focus mentally and increases your strength as well as your flexibility. You may find your Pilates exercises spilling over into your everyday life in the form of improved posture, coordination, and economy of movement.

Every Pilates exercise includes unique instructions for proper breathing. You should begin each breath deep within your core muscles and push it outward from there. This is not as hard to master as it sounds. Soon your breathing and movements will always be in sync without you having to think about them.

You can complete a typical Pilates exercise routine in under an hour. It usually consists of at least thirty different exercises that flow into each other smoothly without pausing. Many of the Pilates exercises require only an exercise mat and proper instruction, so you can easily do them at home.

The Pilates exercise method is gentle but challenging and sculpts your body while increasing strength, flexibility and stamina. Pilates cultivates an awareness of your body in your everyday movements that translates into improved coordination and posture.

About The Author

Sharon Sweeny is a creative copywriter, specializing in gardening and self sufficient, do-it-yourself lifestyles. She divides her free time among her garden in Minneapolis, alternately juggling half a dozen creative projects and blogging on gardening while pondering the exact location of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 am and is filed under pilates fitness exercises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.