what is Pilates & what does it do to the body?!

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Pilates is a system of exercises that promote the strengthening of the body, often using specialized equipment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilates
http://www.pilates.com/BBAPP/V/index.htm…

Pilates is an exercise discipline designed by Joseph Pilates, a German national who, in WWI, worked in an English military hospital and saw his patients getting weaker by being in bed so long. He adapted the hospital bed into the "reformer", the main apparatus on which individual Pilates sessions have always been based. He moved to NYC after the war and worked with professional dancers to get them more fit, and to recover from injuries. Mr. Pilates combined yoga, gymnastics, stretching done by animals (dogs and cats, for example), and Germanic discipline into a routine that is now followed worldwide. Pilates will improve your breathing, your posture, your flexibility, your overall strength, and your cardiovascular endurance. It will also provide a mind/body/spirit connection that is hard to describe but very apparent. One of the beautiful things about Pilates is that it can be done by anyone, of any age and any fitness level. ALL Pilates exercises can be adapted for people with injuries, pregnant women, the young, the old. In fact, your instructor should ask the class every time if anyone has "issues", and then go through adaptations. It didn't take me long to realize that I shouldn't be embarrassed as a beginner (and a guy---most Pilates students are women). Why? Because if I looked around to see if someone was watching me mess up, I wasn't paying attention to the instructor. The ideal Pilates instructor has hundreds of hours of training, not just weekend courses. He or she is moonlighting at the gym, but has a studio of their own somewhere. That said, Pilates is not the best exercise for weight loss. For that you need cardiovascular training, like the elliptical machine. Good luck!