Menopausal Symptom Relief & The Six Principles of Pilates: How Do They Relate? Part I
How do the Six Principles of Pilates relate to relieving those bothersome and sometimes life altering (and not in a good way) menopausal symptoms? As a woman going through menopause myself I can tell you this. When those symptoms began I had absolutely NO control over them. My body felt like it had a mind of its’ own and did what it wanted to do when it wanted to do it and I had no say in the matter at all. Uncontrolled weight gain, hot flashes, heart palpitations, weird appetite, sleep problems, night sweats, fatigue, body stiffness, anxiety, headaches, I had it all. And I did the worse thing I could have possibly done. I stopped doing Pilates because I felt like “what was the use?” I was still gaining weight and felt too tired and stiff to do it anyway. Bad Move!! That just made things worse.
My doctor advised me that the symptoms I had were temporary. She also said that if I stopped exercising, my weight gain and symptoms would escalate and really become that much more uncontrollable. At her insistence, I went back to Pilates and discovered something that gave me a much deeper respect and passion for this exercise and the six principles that make up the complete philosophy of Joseph Pilates. I also realized that menopause and Pilates co-relate in that both are Mind/Body. Menopause affects your mind as well as your body. Mental and Physical. To me it only stands to reason that I can use the Mind/Body precision of Pilates to get relief from the Mind/Body adverse affects of menopausal symptoms.
Each week for the next three weeks I’ll introduce two principles and how they relate to relieving menopausal symptoms, starting with Principles 1 and 2. Control and Breath.
Principle 1 – Control
When Joseph Pilates called his method of conditioning “Contrology” he meant that each movement required complete control of your body by using your mind. No sudden movement or movement without thought or vision. This method not only makes Pilates movement safe but it also helps to prevent unnecessary injury.
But there is another benefit for women who are experiencing menopause. The one thing I wanted to do was lessen the effects of my menopausal symptoms. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the process of menopause, after all it’s a natural progression that all of us go through. However, the symptoms were troublesome and had started to affect my life and I did not appreciate that! With this first principle of Pilates I could do the one thing that I wanted to do. Control My Body. I could tell it what to do, visualize it, and my body would follow. I could keep it in alignment. I could prevent it from being injured. I could control how fast or slow it moves or how advanced I want it to move. And I could do this with my mind! I could visualize it! For me, because of what I was going through, that was HUGE! Pilates gave me something I could control and benefit from. I got a mental boost just from knowing that I could do these things and that gave me a much needed sense of well being. I had taken the first step towards gaining relief!
Principle 2 – Breath
“If you do nothing else, breathe” This is what Joseph Pilates said, over and over, in many different ways. Ever wonder why? Because he knew, as I now know that breath is life! And breath is vital to Pilates methods now matter who you follow. When you breathe proper, you oxygenate your blood, and increase your circulation. For Pilates it also intensifies the abdominal work, and helps to ease your movement.
With Pilates you will inhale to prepare and exhale to execute. Or as I like to say “Inhale to get ready and Exhale for the pretty”. A lot of people tend to hold their breath while they are exercising, but with Pilates that’s impossible because it’s a conscious breath that is essential because without it you cannot execute the Pilates movement correctly (I learned this the hard way after falling off the stability ball a few times. But that’s another story).
This is a benefit for women who are in menopause because the constant oxygenation to the body will not only relax them, and relieve anxiety, stress and stiffness, but can actually help lessen the longevity, intensity, and occurrences of hot flashes! How do you like THAT!
Next week, Concentration & Flow Principles!
Until then,
Stay Blessed and Stay WELL!
