Dr. Weil took a poll on his blog last week asking readers to
vote on their favorite form of exercise.
The choices were Yoga, Tai Chi, cardio, strength training, Pilates, and “other”. The most popular was Yoga with over 30% of
the vote. That wasn’t too surprising. The
lowest score was Pilates with only 5% of the vote. Pilates was lower than everything! I
think Pilates is perceived as one of the strange exercise formats that most
don’t understand. As I consider all the
talk about “core workouts” today, Pilates should get more popular. Pilates is all about the core. It is more
than just an abs class. Last week I
started a new Pilates class at a church in the community. As I have said so many times before, I told
some of my participants that Pilates is all about stillness with movement. Parts of the body will move; such as the arms
and legs, while other parts are still.
The core muscles are working to stabilize, to create stillness in the
torso and that control helps to build core strength. Not all Pilates exercises
are for everyone though. Women at risk for osteoporosis need to think
about forward bending exercises and rolling which could lead to a vertebra
fracture. The success of Pilates also requires focus and
concentration and sometimes that can be the hardest part; turning attention
away from the outside world and looking inward.
