Pilates is a perfect exercise for midlife because it’s non-stress and low impact!
It’s great for any fitness level, as you can modify your routines based on your personal abilities and needs. I know “age is just a number”, but our muscles and bones are different from when we were in our 20s. Pilates is a safe exercise, especially if you’ve been inactive for some time.
Pilates needs practice and patience. It helps you create goals, and when you achieve them, you feel extra amazing and good!
Pilates has taught me that less is more.
Most of the time, when we push our bodies, we overwork one part while undermining another. Pilates breaks this practice with movements that make you work hard but smart.
Pilates follows equal weight distribution while the body works in harmony. You won’t feel the “burning” feeling, but it builds your strength and flexibility.
Please get to know some of the best Pilates benefits in menopause and my top resources to get started!
As much as necessary, as little as possible. – PilatesClick To Tweet
What is Pilates?
Excited to go to the nutty details of how Pilates benefits you? First things first, let’s understand what Pilates is about!
Pilates comes from its namesake, Joseph Pilates. He designed Pilates in his New York Yoga Studio in the 1920s.
Pilates follows 6 principles: concentration, control, centering, breathing, flow and precision. Using these principles, together with the right mindset, can help you stay fit and healthy. You also gain awareness about what you can and can’t do.
A lot of movements in Pilates requires you to hold on to your core while moving your limbs. This improves balance, posture, strength, flexibility and awareness. It can also help stabilize the spine.
Pilates is a type of resistance exercise that doesn’t make your body look bulky. When you first do Pilates, it might increase your heart rate, which is normal.
Aging makes our bones and muscles weaker. As a result, we become stiff and inflexible – this disturbs the alignment of our bodies. It also leads to more body aches and pains.
Our reflexes and responses also slow down, increasing the risk of falls and accidents. Pilates improves the health of your joints and keeps your muscles strong. It also strengthens your bones.
8 Wonderful Pilates Benefits During Menopause that Can Make You Feel Great!
Pilates is kind and gentle to both mind and body. Here are 8 of the best Pilates benefits in menopause that you can take advantage of!
1. Pilates helps ease anxiety, depression and mood swings.
One of the best Pilates benefits in menopause is regulating mood! Anxiety, depression and mood changes are hard to control, especially in perimenopause. Stress, lifestyle and hormonal imbalances affect your emotions. Doing Pilates for 30 minutes a day can boost serotonin levels. Serotonin is both a happy and calming hormone.
2. Pilates relieves muscle pains.
Pilates relieves pain and spasms by strengthening your muscles and endurance. It also improves posture and movement. Studies say Pilates is good for backaches and neck pains.
3. Pilates improves memory and prevents brain fog.
You know how the drill goes during menopause. You forgot everything when you placed it on top of the table – brain fog at its best! Concentration may also become a challenge. Pilates improves attention and memory by helping create new brain cells.
4. Pilates reduces stress.
Pilates provides long-lasting stress relief by calming the nervous system. It also regulates stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. Pilates flushes out excess stress hormones with the help of your lymphatic system. It also relieves tension in your muscles through gentle stretching and movement.
5. Pilates eases menopause symptoms.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says an 8-week Pilates for Beginners program helps relieve symptoms. It’s especially good for hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and weight gain. Pilates also strengthens your pelvic muscles which prevents urinary problems.
6. Pilates boosts hormone production.
One of the most important Pilates benefits in menopause is its ability to stimulate hormone production. Pilates improves blood circulation and keeps your glands (like the ovaries) working well. With its anti-stress effects, Pilates prevents cortisol from stopping estrogen and progesterone production.
7. Pilates gives you stability and balance.
As estrogen levels decline during menopause, it affects bone and muscle health. When you have weak bones and muscles, you are more at risk of falling and gait or posture problems. As a result of practicing Pilates, you have more stability in your movements. This prevents falls and accidents from happening.
8. Pilates improves your quality of life.
More than its ability to help you with physical fitness, Pilates puts both mind and body in sync. For this reason, it can greatly improve your quality of life during menopause.
4 Best Pilates for Beginners Home Workouts!
If you’re new to Pilates, there are plenty of “Pilates for Beginners” videos that you can do at home. Get started with my favorite Pilates resources!
1. Ange’s 10 Pilates Hacks
Ange’s shares her love and knowledge for Pilates, health and wellness in her YouTube channel. She features different routines and exercise videos that all women can do at home. I also like that she reminds me of what to focus on all the time.
She has amazing tips and tricks on what to think about when doing Pilates (the 3 Ps, in the end, are my favorite!). Make your Pilates workout more effective. Watch Ange’s 10 Pilates hacks in this video [3:50]:
You can buy them all from Amazon.
Pilates socks, Pilates shoes, Pilates mat, Ring and resistance equipment and Swiss ball.
2. Jessica Valant
Jessica Valant is a physical therapist and Pilates instructor for 17 years. She helps people enjoy healthy living and exercise. As a mom, wife and working woman, she understands how hectic everyday life can be. To solve this problem, she’s made short but effective 5 to 20-minute exercises which you can do anywhere. Just find a small space, and you’re good to go! Watch this Pilates for Beginners workout video by Jessica [14:01]:
3. The 30-Day Pilates Body Challenge
Robin Long, a certified instructor, is the creator of The Balanced Life. She’s also behind this channel.
Robin is passionate about making programs that empower people inside out. Robin believes in healthy living and seeing the whole when it comes to wellness. She helps women appreciate and love their bodies!
I was more than thrilled to find Robin! She has a 30-day Pilates Body Challenge that only took 10 minutes of my time. The 30-day Pilates Body Challenge is a program composed of different Pilates routines you’ll do for 30 days. The program helps you gain strength, boost energy and improve your health.
Here’s Day #1 of the 30-Day Pilates Body Challenge! In this video, Robin does a 10-minute leg workout designed to strengthen and tone your lower body [10:25]:
4. Boho Beautiful
Boho Beautiful is a channel on YouTube that I really love. They’ve got plenty of free exercise videos like Pilates and yin yoga. Juliana and Mark manage Boho Beautiful. I love Juliana because she has such a calm and balanced vibe in her. She makes you feel both relaxed and strong after a workout.
Juliana and Mark developed a full course called Boho Beautiful Complete. One program in this course is “The Ultimate Pilates Bootcamp”. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to strengthen their core, tone their body and feel good!
Other programs offered in the course are the Perfect Yoga Workout Program and the Essential Yin Yoga Journey. Boho Beautiful Complete provides you with videos, guides, daily schedules and lots of tips, advice and support. Here’s a 10-minute total body Pilates exercises by Boho Beautiful [13:05]:
Pilates + Barre Workouts That You Can Do at Home!
Pilates + Barre workouts are every fitness enthusiast’s favorite these days!
Besides yoga, Pilates and Barre make a good pair because they strengthen, lengthen and tone your body. If you want well-sculpted-looking legs, good posture, a toned butt – Pilates Barre workouts are for you!
But what’s a Barre workout exactly?
Barre workouts use a combination of movements and postures from ballet and other disciplines like yoga. The barre is a prop to help you balance while doing routines.
I recently started this exercise, and I love it! It’s so good for my posture, and I find it nice to have a break from my usual on-the-floor exercises. I don’t have a barre; instead, I use a bench or chair at home.
So, how does a Pilates Barre workout look like? Here’s a total body Pilates Barre workout by Ange’s Pilates [27:32]:
More to love About Pilates!
I can’t get enough Pilates, and I’d like to share other things I love about it! It’s my go-to routine in the morning. I do it every day for 30 to 40 minutes, and it really gives me a good start.
I’m hooked on Pilates so I signed up on Pilates Anytime. It’s a good site with different programs. They even offer classes using the reformer, this would be my next step.
Pilates is more than just an exercise for me. It has taught me discipline and patience. Pilates helps me stay calm and focused in the now! I hope it will work well for you too! 🙂
And oh, I heard Pilates is a go-to exercise for many French women. It’s popular knowledge that most Parisienne women are fit despite having a rich food culture. In fact, France has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. French people also live longer. Try to search for the “French Paradox”, and you’ll be amazed at how the French do it; so many are slim and chic!
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What other activities do you do to keep your body moving? Tell us your exercise routines in the comment section. If you have friends who can’t find the right reasons to try Pilates, like and share this article on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter!
References:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4602949/
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815022697
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4934971/
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13697137.2016.1139564
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876382014001346
Hi Gita
This is really timely for me as I’m fast approaching menopause too. I’ll seriously look into pilates and think my local gym has weekly classes, so might look at joining them.
Many thanks!
Jen
Hi Jen,
Pilates is a great exercise. Easy to do at home. Great that you found a class nearby too. Enjoy!
I’m interested in getting into pilates for the blood circulation and eases muscle tension benefits. It just seems like doing pilates really helps your physical and mental health. I’ve been looking into this because I need a new hobby and I’d like to get fit.
Pilates would be a great hobby to choose!
Beeing active with some kind of exercise will help a lot in menopause.
Live well 🙂