The Mind Body Connection: Explanation
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008“Physical fitness is the first requisite to happiness.” Joseph Pilates made this statement in his Pilates handbook, Return to Life Through Controlology in 1945. What he may or may have not known when he first started developing Pilates is that the mind-body connection in conjunction with over-all wellness has been studied and practiced for centuries by different cultures all throughout the world.
Joseph Pilates had stumbled upon a treasure trove of methods in which he was gaining an understanding and developing a practical structure for study through his rehabilitative practice, Pilates.
Eastern meditation methodology as well as western approaches to wellness, such as Greco-Roman practices, all drew the same conclusions about the mind body connection: there is power when behavioral patterns and thought patterns coincide with a common goal, wellness. Concentration on the development of the mind-body connection yields numerous benefits, and Joseph Pilates himself knew this firsthand.
Far too often in this day and age our mind and our movements have separate existences, severing the unity of consciousness. We get up and go to work. We move throughout our day without much concentrated efforts on our movements and body positioning.
Our posture deteriorates at our desks, as we slouch into our chairs. Our core never feels engaged, making our mind seem detached from our body. Lethargy will then begin to dictate our lifestyle instead of the mind’s capacity for vitality being the headship of our bodies. When the mind and body become separate entities, a loss of grounding and centering takes place, which can lead to depression, sleep depravation, and even bodily injury.
The simple phrase, “mind-body connection” can send some of us into a mental back flip. What does it mean to engage our thoughts with our bodies, isn’t that a natural connection? When I need to do something I tell my body to do it, and so it does. However, a simple demand and result relationship between the body and the mind develops a breach of understanding between the two, sacrificing unity and implementing dictatorship.
Our thoughts directly affect our moods, social behaviors, the way we carry ourselves, and where we end up in the spectrum of healthy living. Some people are married to their counter-productive thought patterns making healthful living something they believe they cannot physically do.
When the mind is conditioned to think it cannot accomplish something, the body responds accordingly. But think how greatly the body would be positively affected if the tides of negative mind-body connection communication could be swayed. What a powerful portal of energy, dedication, and healthy living could be found.
Our will to engage in complete body awareness begins in the mind, and Pilates encourages this type of mental “tapping”. Conscious control of the body is found through deep breathing patterns while incorporating the fluidity of Pilates’ movements.
The natural gliding exemplar and exercises found in mat and machine Pilates instigates the groundwork needed to develop your own mind-body connection. Once you learn the basics of how to sew together the gaping space between the mind and the body, you will be able to engage this dynamic tool whenever you need to, whether its in a Pilates studio or elsewhere.