【Nurse Refresh】Get a healthy young body with Pilates!

I think that the job of a nurse is a difficult job both physically and mentally because there is an irregular work system such as night shift and holiday work. If you continue to work as such a nurse, you may lose the balance and condition of your mind and body and become unwell when you suddenly lose your mind. I think pilates, which is often talked about these days, is one way to prepare the state of the mind and body of nurses who are spending such a difficult day. Pilates is said to be a method originally created for rehabilitation purposes. It is possible to build muscles while moving according to breathing, and to make a healthy and balanced body. In this article, I would like to start with what Pilates is and describe the merits of Pilates. I hope it will help the nurse’s health as much as possible.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is an exercise for rehabilitation

Mr. Pilates, the born father of Pilates, was born in 1880 in a town near Düsseldorf, Germany. I became interested in making healthy body because I had a weak constitution that suffered from asthma and rheumatic fever in my childhood, and my father was a gymnast and my mother was a naturopath.

He learned anatomy on his own, practiced many sports and health methods such as bodybuilding, diving, and gymnastics, and by the time he turned 14, he was said to have become a very healthy body.

Later, In his 30s, Pilates went to England, where he entered British camps as a prisoner of war during World War I and served as a military nurse. So Pilates devised rehabilitation exercises and instruments that he could do on the bed for his fellow soldiers to help them recover their health. The theory born from this experience is the origin of the current Pilates method (contology).

Pilates spread from america to the world.

After the war, Pilates moved to the United States and opened a studio in New York in 1926. The pilates method’s unprecedented reputation for “building, healing, and correcting muscles” quickly expanded, with dancers, movie stars, doctors, gymnasts and others from a variety of professions visiting the studio.

Pilates ended his life at the age of 86, but that spirit was passed down to many of his successors. Pilates, based on anatomy and exercise physiology, is also used in dance companies and medical practice. In the 1990s, the media introduced the use of Pilates by American celebrities, and it spread around the world. Since then, Pilates has been supported mainly by people with a high level of health awareness and aesthetics.

Know your body’s neutral position

Pilates explained that health is a state of harmony with the heart, and that daily habits such as bad postures can lose balance. The basis of Pilates is to know the neutral position of the body to correct its unbalanced state. Then, while imaged in your head, you control it by your own will. In a word, it is a theory of Pilates to know my body well, to train the weak place, to heal the place where it is fatigued, and to correct the balance of the mind when it is from.

Pilates Benefits

Benefits (1): Body distortion is corrected and a beautiful posture is made

If you take a rounded back or a posture with your legs in place for a long time, you will warp your body and distort your body depending on how you use your muscles. The basis of Pilates is to acquire the correct position of the spine and pelvis. While being aware of the position of bones, joints, and muscles, it moves in a well-balanced way according to breathing. This improves the distortion of the body and improves the core strength required to maintain the correct posture. You can have a beautiful posture, standing and walking figure with a stretched spine.

Benefits (2): Supple muscles and a toned body

It is important not only to train the muscles quickly, but also to prepare them in a soft, stretchy and supple state. Pilates strengthens the weakened muscles by loosening the muscles that have hardened by moving the body with breathing. The result is an attractive body line with tight waists and raised hips. When high-quality muscles are attached, metabolism improves and the body is less likely to get fat.

Benefits (3): Increase flexibility and make your body less likely to get hurt

Many people with poor posture or lack of exercise have stiff joints such as hips, knees, and ankles. Then, the range of motion of the joint becomes narrow, and when you stumble and fall, you may not be able to get well and get injured. If you continue pilates, the stiff joints will loosen and the range of motion will expand, improving the flexibility of the body. It makes the body move smoothly, and it can get close to the body that is hard to get injured.

Benefits (4): Relieves muscle tension and relieves stiff shoulders and back pain

The main causes of stiff shoulders and low back pain include excessive tension that takes only a part of the muscle from a biased posture, and a weakening of the muscles around the shoulders and waist. Pilates keeps large bones such as the spine and pelvis in their original position (neutral position), so they relieve muscle tone while adjusting body distortion. In addition, since muscle strength is gained to support the body, posture and action that do not put a burden on the body can be taken, and stiff shoulders and hips are eliminated.

Benefits (5): Breathing deepens and stress is relieved

It is said that when you are frustrated or nervous and stressed, your breathing becomes shallower. Pilates moves the body smoothly with deep breathing, eliminating frustration and tension. In addition, since the muscles used are performed while imaged in the head, they are integrated from the heart and relax the mind and body.

Benefits (6): Improved conditions such as constipation and menstrual pain

It is said that women are less prone to abdominal pressure and constipation due to the relatively weak power of their abdominal muscles. Pilates has the effect of increasing abdominal muscles, so it is easy to smooth the stool, and as a result, the lower belly that comes out is also refreshing. In addition, the pelvis is distorted, and the pelvic floor muscle group that supports the organs of the lower abdomen such as the uterus is also trained. As a result, the burden on the uterus in the pelvis is also reduced, and menstrual pain can be expected to be relieved.

Summary

Pilates is a bit like yoga, but yoga is rather about seeking mental stability through delusions, while Pilates balances the mind and body with anatomical exercises. So to speak, it is an exercise that works directly on the body. I think that it can be one way for nurses to work healthier and longer, so if you are interested, please try it. I also want to do my best to maintain my health.

Thank you for reading so far.
In addition, I have written various articles such as experience of finding a nurse and changing jobs, salary (income), qualifications necessary for nurses, etc., so I would be happy if you could see it by all means!
Thank you in the future!
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