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Pilates is now the exercise of choice with many people on account of the many benefits to be gained. Below are the top 10 benefits you can expect from your regular practice, in no particular order!

(1) Re-educate and realign your body to prevent imbalances. This is particularly useful for people who participate in regular sports, for example. If you think of a tennis player constantly hitting the ball using the same arm or a golfer always swinging from the same side. Also important for those who spend their day at work hunched forward at a desk.

(2) Make you more body-aware and coordinated. Pilates improves your self awareness to the way your body moves in space preventing injury and improving coordination.

(3) Create or improve space between vertebrae to minimize pressure on discs and nerves. Pilates can prevent back pain and problems or teach you to manage issues should they arise.

(4) Improve core muscle and back strength to help support the spine and maintain good posture.

(5) Strengthen all muscles so that the whole body can work together rather than one area becoming overloaded.

(6) Improve flexibility and mobility so that the body can move freely, without putting undue strain on the back.

(7) Teach you to breath correctly and fully so that plenty of oxygen reaches every part of the body.

(8) Focus on wellbeing and relax your body and mind. Pilates is a form or meditation, allowing you to forget all your troubles and draw your focus of attention.

(9) Improve pelvic floor tone. These muscles are responsible for reducing incontinence problems; a huge problem and not just for women! Strong pelvic floor muscles also prevent pelvic organ prolapse in women. Furthermore, pelvic floor toning has been linked to a reduction in getting prostate cancer.

(10) Flatten abdomen. Pilates focuses on lengthening and strengthening the deep core muscles creating a toned strong abdomen.