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43-398: Pilates ( / p ɪ ˈ l ɑː t iː z / ; German: [piˈlaːtəs] ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates , after whom it was named. Pilates called his method " Contrology ". It is practiced worldwide, especially in developed countries such as Australia , Canada , Germany , South Korea , New Zealand ,

86-541: A consensus description of it, and found it could be described as "a mind-body exercise that requires core stability, strength, and flexibility, and attention to muscle control, posture, and breathing". According to The New York Times, Pilates "can be tailored to a spectrum of fitness goals, ages and abilities". Pilates is not a cardiovascular workout, but rather a strength and flexibility workout. There are various elements that contribute to distinguishing Pilates from other forms of resistance training. For example, Pilates places

129-492: A few times. The straps can be heavier or lighter depending on the resistance that is controlled by the springs. With mat Pilates, people sit or lie with their body weight as the main resistance, using gravity to stabilize their core. For example, a common mat Pilates exercise is called "roll-up", where participants start by sitting on the floor with their legs straight out in front of them and their arms extended over their legs. Participants then slowly ‍ —    using

172-530: A heavy emphasis on breathwork and creating a mind-body connection. Joseph Pilates even states "Above all, learn how to breathe correctly." Participants consciously use the core and breath for all forms of movement. In his book Return to Life through Contrology , Joseph Pilates presented his method as the art of controlled movements, which should look and feel like a workout (not a therapy) when properly done. If practiced consistently, Pilates improves flexibility, builds strength, and develops control and endurance in

215-406: A panel that consisted of over one hundred experts participated in a survey of psychological treatments; they considered rebirthing therapy to be discredited. In addition to a practitioner, breathwork sessions will often have "sitters" present. Sitters are individuals who provide emotional or physical support to those practicing breathwork. Some common side effects include "sleepiness; tingling in

258-657: A rationale for mind-body training is that the mind follows the body and the body follows the mind. The body-mind connection can be attributed to hormones and chemicals released during movement, although the mind-body connection is dominated by the brain and is considered to be more of a neurological mechanism. There are some indications that movement complexity may have an impact on brain development. When it comes to explicitly alternating mental and physical exercise sections, proponents rationalize that physical activity induces an elevated heart-rate and increases in stress, which mimics conditions in which athletes need their mental skills

301-478: A tool for the rehabilitation of a wide range of conditions. Pilates is continuously evolving through the use of modern equipment, but the core of the technique is tied to the movement patterns designed by Joseph Pilates. Pilates can be performed on both a mat or on specialized equipment. Pilates often incorporates spring-based resistance machines known as reformers, which consists of a box-like frame, sliding platform, springs, straps/ropes, and pulleys that help support

344-731: A trained practitioner or teacher". The United States National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) defines mind-body interventions as activities that purposefully affect mental and physical fitness, listing activities such as yoga, tai chi, pilates, guided imagery , guided meditation and forms of meditative praxis , hypnosis , hypnotherapy , and prayer , as well as art therapy , music therapy , and dance therapy . The Cochrane Library contains 3 systematic reviews that explicitly cite and define MBI as MBT. The reviews consider biofeedback , mindfulness , autogenic training , hypnotherapy , imagery , meditation , and prayer as MBT despite them focusing more strictly on

387-465: Is a mind-and-body discipline, though yoga classes are more likely to address spiritual aspects explicitly. Both yoga and Pilates incorporate elements of stretching and breathing. Both are low-impact, low-intensity exercises, but there are key differences. When practicing yoga, individuals hold certain poses for longer periods of time and flow into others; when practicing Pilates, individuals move their arms or legs while in certain positions. With yoga, breath

430-413: Is also related to the tradition of "corrective exercise" or "medical gymnastics" as typified by Pehr Henrik Ling . Pilates accompanied his method with a variety of equipment, which he called "apparatus". Each apparatus was designed to help accelerate the process of stretching , strengthening , body alignment and increased core strength started by mat work. The best-known and most popular apparatus today,

473-458: Is better than doing nothing, it is no more effective than other forms of physical exercise. There is some evidence that regular sessions can help condition the abdominal muscles of healthy people, when compared to doing no exercise. There is no good evidence that it helps improve balance in elderly people. From the limited data available, it would seem from the statistically and clinically significant findings that Pilates has demonstrated efficacy as

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516-415: Is limited high-quality evidence as well with regard to the effect of intensity and duration. In a small study observing 87 healthy female participants undergoing either mind-body training or no training, participants who actively participated in an online program showed significantly greater resilience toward stress, anger, anxiety, and depression at 8 weeks than at 4 weeks into the study. However, this study

559-555: Is no evidence that individuals can remember their births. Memories of one's birth that appear to resurface during a rebirthing-breathwork practice are believed to be the result of false memories . Rebirthing-breathwork is one of the practices critiqued by anti-cult experts Margaret Singer and Janja Lalich in the book Crazy Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work? Singer and Lalich write that proponents of such "bizarre" practices are proud of their non-scientific approach, and that this finds favor with an irrational clientele. In 2006,

602-671: Is not professionally regulated. In October 2000 "Pilates" was ruled a generic term by a U.S. federal court, making it free for unrestricted use. The term is still capitalized in writing due to its origin from the proper name of the method's founder. As a result of the court ruling, the Pilates Method Alliance was formed as a professional association for the Pilates community. Its purpose is to provide an international organization to connect teachers, teacher trainers, studios, and facilities dedicated to preserving and enhancing

645-500: Is sufficient scientific evidence and mainstream application for it to fall outside the purview of complementary and alternative medicine. Most studies of MBI and related techniques are small and have low scientific validity, a finding that dominates many Cochrane Reviews . Some of the individual studies do show positive results, but this may be due to chance or placebo effects and the significance may diminish when groups are randomized. Proponents of MBI techniques suggest that

688-426: Is the use of breathing techniques in order to achieve altered states of consciousness and to have a variety of effects on physical and mental well-being. Breathwork has been seen as derived from multiple spiritual and pre-scientific traditions from around the world. According to Jack Raso, breathwork is described by proponents as a multiform "healing modality" characterized by stylized breathing. Its purported design

731-489: Is to effect physical, emotional, and spiritual change. Such a process can allegedly "dissolve limiting programs" that are "stored" in the mind and body, and increases one's ability to handle more "energy". Breathwork practitioners believe that an individual's particular pattern of passive breathing can lead to insights about their unconscious mind. During a breathwork session, individuals will typically lie down and be instructed to breathe using particular methods, depending on

774-646: Is used for relaxation and to hold poses. With Pilates, breath is used to power the muscles with more energy. Most Pilates exercises start from laying down, whereas most yoga poses start from standing up. Some poses are similar in the two disciplines; for example, open leg balance closely resembles Navasana (boat pose); roll over is similar to Halasana (plough pose); and swan and push-up are essentially identical to Bhujangasana (cobra pose) and Chaturanga Dandasana (low plank pose). Both disciplines develop strength, flexibility and fitness. Pilates, however, emphasises core strength where yoga emphasizes flexibility. Pilates

817-557: The Findhorn Foundation to suspend its breathwork programme. A process described as releasing suppressed traumatic childhood memories, especially those related to one's own birth. Orr proposed that correct breathing can cure disease and relieve pain. Orr devised rebirthing therapy in the 1970s after he supposedly re-lived his own birth while in the bath. He believed that breathing techniques could be used to purge traumatic childhood memories that had been repressed. There

860-553: The NCCIH does not consider mind-body interventions as within the purview of complementary and alternative medicine when there is sufficient scientific evidence for the benefit of such practices along with their professional application in conventional medicine . Cognitive behavioral therapy is defined by the NCCIH as a mind-body intervention because it utilizes the mind 's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms , but also there

903-662: The United Arab Emirates , the United Kingdom , and the United States . Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive exercises to spur muscle exertion. Each exercise flows from the "five essentials": breath, cervical alignment, rib and scapular stabilization, pelvic mobility, and utilization of the transversus abdominis . Each exercise is typically repeated three to five times. As of 2023, over 12 million people practice Pilates. Pilates developed in

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946-403: The symptoms of chemotherapy-induced nausea , vomiting , and localized physical pain in patients with cancer ; third, in increasing the perceived capacity to cope with significant problems and challenges; and fourth, in improving the reported overall quality of life . In addition, there is evidence supporting the brain and central nervous system 's influence on the immune system and

989-464: The NCCIH have used terms mind and body practices and mind-body medicine interchangeably with mind-body intervention to denote therapies , as well as physical and mental rehabilitative practices, which "focus on the relationships between the brain, mind, body, and behavior, and their effect on health and disease." According to the NCCIH, "mind and body practices include a large and diverse group of procedures or techniques administered or taught by

1032-930: The Reformer, was originally called the Universal Reformer, aptly named for "universally reforming the body". Eventually Pilates designed other apparatus, including the Cadillac, Wunda Chair, High "Electric" Chair, Spine Corrector, Ladder Barrel and Pedi-Pole. He published two books related to his training method: Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education (1934) and Return to Life Through Contrology (1945). During his lifetime, Joseph Pilates directly trained and certified two assistants, Kathy Stanford Grant and Lolita San Miguel . A systematic review of Pilates in 2012 examined its literature to form

1075-464: The aftermath of the late nine­teenth century physical culture of exercising to alleviate ill health. There is, however, only limited evidence to support the use of Pilates to alleviate problems such as lower back pain . While studies have found that regular sessions improve balance, and can help muscle conditioning in healthy adults (compared to doing no exercise), it has not been shown to be an effective treatment for any medical condition . Pilates

1118-468: The breath to control the motion ‍ —    uncurl their upper bodies backward toward a supinated lying down position, until they are indeed lying down on their backs with their arms out over their heads. They then curl back up into the starting position as they exhale, repeating this process multiple times. Accessories such as resistance circle rings or resistance bands may be used in both mat and reformer Pilates. Modern yoga , like Pilates,

1161-414: The capacity for mind-body interventions to enhance immune function outcomes, including defense against and recovery from infection and disease . Side effects are rarely reported in mind-body training. Some studies have indicated that meditation can have undesired adverse effects on specific clinical populations (e.g., people with a history of PTSD ), although these are smaller studies. There

1204-416: The entire body. It puts emphasis on alignment, breathing, developing a strong core , and improving coordination and balance. The core, consisting of the muscles of the abdomen, low back and hips, is often called the "powerhouse" and is thought to be the key to a person's stability. Pilates' system allows for exercises to be modified in difficulty, from beginner to advanced or any other level, and to accommodate

1247-614: The form of yoga originated in Ancient India and has been around since at least 500 BCE and possibly as early as 3300 BCE. A renewed interest developed in mind-body work in the late 19th and early 20th century. Possibly due to visits from yoga gurus and increased interest, some medical practitioners and movement specialists developed movement therapies with a deliberate mental focus. Two prominent names in modern mind-body training are Joseph Pilates (1880-1967) and Margaret Morris (1891-1980). A famous statement of Joseph Pilates

1290-459: The hands, feet, or face; and a sense of altered consciousness that can be distressing to some." Breathwork is generally considered safe if done with a skilled practitioner, but there are contraindications such as cardiovascular disease , glaucoma , high blood pressure , mental illness , severe asthma , or seizure disorders , among others. A 2018 review found that research to date had been limited, and that studies showed "limited evidence of

1333-478: The human mind and body, believing that mental and physical health were interrelated. In his youth, Pilates had practiced many of the physical training regimens available in Germany, and it was from these that he developed his own method. It has clear connections with the physical culture of the late nineteenth century, such as the use of special apparatuses , and claims that the exercises could cure ill health. It

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1376-583: The instructor's and practitioner's goals and/or limitations. Their intensity can be increased as the body adapts itself to the exercises. A number of versions of Pilates are taught today; most are based on up to nine principles. In 2015 the Australian Government's Department of Health published a meta study which reviewed the existing literature on 17 alternative therapies, including Pilates, to determine whether any were suitable for being covered by health insurance . The review found that due to

1419-787: The legacy of Joseph H. Pilates and his exercise method by establishing standards, encouraging unity, and promoting professionalism. Mind%E2%80%93body intervention The category was introduced in September 2000 by the United States National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a government agency, and encompasses alternative medicine interventions. It excludes scientifically validated practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy . Cochrane reviews have found that studies in this area are small and have low scientific validity. Since 2008, authors documenting research conducted on behalf of

1462-551: The mind. One review uses a narrower definition, defining MBT as an 'active' intervention in which mental and physical exercises are alternated. A web search will yield mentions of mind-body training in offerings of entities that give yoga, pilates, or meditation training, but explicit definitions are rare. Western MBI was popularized in the early 20th century but dates back to Ancient Greece . The Greek values of strength and beauty in combination with Greek mythology led to activities intended to promote confidence. Eastern MBI in

1505-414: The most popular forms. Breathwork (New Age) Breathwork is a term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional, or physical state, with a therapeutic effect. Edzard Ernst writes that breathwork (or 'rebirthing') is a form of alternative medicine first devised by Leonard Orr in the 1970s. Breathwork

1548-463: The most. It is believed that these conditions make training more functional and there is some limited scientific evidence supporting effectiveness because of this type of approach. There are documented benefits of several mind-body interventions derived from scientific research : first, by MBI use contributing to the treatment a range of conditions including headaches , coronary artery disease and chronic pain ; second, in ameliorating disease and

1591-505: The small number and methodologically limited nature of the existing studies, the effectiveness of Pilates was uncertain. Accordingly, in 2017, the Australian government named it a practice that would not qualify for insurance subsidy, saying this step would "ensure taxpayer funds are expended appropriately and not directed to therapies lacking evidence". For the treatment of lower back pain, low-quality evidence suggests that while Pilates

1634-403: The spine and target different muscle groups. For example, in order to target the upper back, a typical Pilates move on the reformer involves lying face-down on top of an accessory called a long box which is placed on top of the sliding platform. The participant then lifts their head and chest while pulling back the straps down toward their hips to slide forward with the moving platform and repeating

1677-400: The sub-type of breathwork. Most breathwork sessions last around an hour. Alternatively breathwork is advocated to be done by individuals alone, for shorter periods. A practice that uses rapid breathing and other elements such as music to put individuals in altered states of consciousness. It was developed by Stanislav Grof as a successor to his LSD -based psychedelic therapy , following

1720-573: The suppression of legal LSD use in the late 1960s. Side effects of the hyperventilation aspect of holotropic breathwork can include cramping in the hands and around the mouth. As the expressed goal of holotropic breathwork is to attain an altered state, it should not be attempted alone. Following a 1993 report commissioned by the Scottish Charities Office , concerns about the risk that the hyperventilation technique could cause seizure or lead to psychosis in vulnerable people caused

1763-404: Was "Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness." Margaret Morris had a background in dance and claimed a connection between a free dance and a free mind. All mind-body interventions focus on the interaction between the brain , body , and behavior and are practiced with intention to use the mind to alter physical function and promote overall health and well-being . However,

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1806-531: Was developed by Joseph Pilates from Mönchengladbach , Germany. His father was a gymnast and his mother a naturopath . Pilates said that the inspiration for his method came to him during World War I , while he was being held at the Knockaloe internment camp in the Isle of Man . Pilates spent four years there, working on his fellow internees, developing his method of a system of exercises intended to strengthen

1849-448: Was not randomized and the placebo effect may be large on the subjective psychological test scores. Recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RTCs) confirmed the efficacy of smartphone interventions for mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and stress. Mind–body interventions are the most commonly used form of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States , with yoga and meditation being

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