Pilates is more than just a workout, especially for ladies who experience several complications regarding hormonal imbalances. Women experience hormonal imbalances at critical transitions in their lives, for example, puberty, childbirth, perimenopause, and menopause. It can also be caused by external factors, such as stress or hormone medications. If you have been doing Pilates at least for a couple of months, then you know that Pilates doesn’t only affect your body; it also brings several positive changes within your mind in a way that gives energy and inner serenity. Pilates’ positive outcomes bring to your mind and wellness due to its counter effects that enable you to control your hormones. Below is a clear explanation of how this works within a female system.
Helps with focus to control hormonal imbalances
Pilates is a gentle, low-impact exercise but aids in building a solid core while maintaining a mind and body connection. This means that with Pilates, you’re engaging in a workout while doing meditation in slow-motion. Like so, when you focus on your body (breadth or core) and internal self (mind), you are focusing only on the task ahead of you and not what is going around you or what is to happen. This allows you to effectively control your stress hormones or any hormonal imbalances associated with them, along with an improvement in the mind-body breadth connection and the release of stress hormones (cortisol).
Oxygenates the body allowing the control of stress hormones
Pilates is typically designed to be rhythmic and dynamic. So, when you establish a set of breathing patterns while practicing Pilates, it allows you to recruit every tiny little muscle in the body, converting it into a full-body but low-impact workout. This kind of workout increases the blood flow and heart rate, which oxygenates the whole body. When your body gets more oxygen, it results in more alkaline, which supports detoxifying. Detoxifying helps you to get rid of stress, one of the most significant toxins in the body. Thereby the release of your stress hormones (cortisol) can be controlled and reduced. In addition, low intensity or low-impact exercises like Pilates easily facilitate the release of endorphins (happy hormones) into the body in sufficient quantities, offering a beneficial mental effect that controls any hormonal imbalances experienced between stressors and happy hormones.
Increases brain health by controlling hormones
When we age, most of us, be it women or men, lose volume in our frontal lobe and hippocampus. These are parts of the brain that are responsible for cognitive function and memory. Depression and stress are two main factors that result in a smaller-sized hippocampus. For example, people with severe depression can have an average of 10% smaller hippocampus than those without depression. Cortisol is a hormone that is produced in excess when you are stressed, anxious, or depressed.
The focus and attention required to perform Pilates use the brain in a more engaged and active way that challenges the mind and body simultaneously, which controls the release of the cortisol (stress) hormones. As a result, the reduction in stress hormones increases the size of the hippocampus, including the connection between the nerve cells in the brain, thereby improving brain health. Unfortunately, typical aerobic exercises or running on a treadmill don’t involve mindful movements and won’t activate the brain the same way Pilates can.
If you’re looking for a Pilates class in Dubai, contact us at The Hundred Wellness Centre in Jumeirah, Dubai. Pilates is at the core of our services, and we offer various classes, including Mat Pilates, Reformer Pilates, Circuit classes, and even ladies-only Pilates classes. We believe that every client is unique, and our offerings are designed to suit varying levels of health requirements and interests.
