It is a fundamental part of physical, mental and emotional health, and has a positive impact on quality of life in many ways. Good balance will help you perform your daily tasks better, preventing the risk of falls and injuries, as well as visibly improving your posture and motor coordination. It also contributes to emotional and logical stability in your daily life, helping you concentrate and focus better.

By working on balance daily, we will also strengthen our core and reduce musculoskeletal pain (especially in the lower limbs).

Balance is essential at all stages of our lives, but it is especially important for older people, so that this age group can maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle for much longer. Elderly people, in particular, lose their ability to perform reflexive movements such as turning their heads, and this occurs when associated with skeletal problems, such as spinal deviations directly linked to a lack of lean mass, but also due to the loss of visual and auditory abilities. By improving all these skills, we are strengthening balance and avoiding the risk of falls and other accidents.

Through Pilates, working intensely and disciplinedly on our gravitational center, balance is stimulated and developed, providing essential tools in our daily lives, such as spatial location through notions of movement and vision.

There are several exercises to work on and improve balance, such as the front plank, which will strengthen the central muscles (mainly the core), which benefits better spinal support and more correct posture.

Exercises with Pilates balls are also essential for working on balance. We can use the ball in different ways, such as sitting on it, and alternately extending the leg forward.

Exercises on a horizontal plane, especially pelvic bridge, are also recommended for improving posture and, consequently, for improving our balance. Over time, and as each person's physical capabilities improve, we can introduce movements to the pelvic bridge, such as unilateral movements of the lower limbs, keeping the hips stabilized.

In short, balance is a fundamental part of our daily lives, providing a better quality of life for those who work in it, whether from an early age, but also, and with special importance, for the elderly. Therefore, it is important to include Pilates in your schedule to prevent problems in the future.

Renato Machado