Did you hear the good news? People who do Pilates have a 36% lower risk of dying from all causes. That means you should definitely be doing Pilates!
Okay, let’s break this down, because I really hate when people share misleading health information.
These findings come from a large, long-term study conducted by researchers at Arizona State University. They followed roughly 55,000 people for nearly a decade and examined 21 different “complementary and alternative medicine modalities.” Of those 21, only yoga and Pilates showed a notable association with longevity. People who practiced yoga had a 27% lower risk of dying from all causes, while Pilates participants had a 36% lower risk.
But here's the catch: Correlation is not causation.
It's entirely possible that people who are likely to live longer are naturally drawn to yoga and Pilates. While the researchers accounted for many factors associated with longevity—including income, education, BMI, and smoking—they couldn't control for everything.
In a world where longevity hacks are all the rage, the researchers wanted to explore which complementary health practices might actually be associated with living longer. They found that roughly 43% of participants used at least one of the 21 modalities studied. Yet only Pilates and yoga stood out.
While I couldn't find a complete list of the modalities they examined, it appears they included chiropractic care, massage, acupuncture, and homeopathy.
So why did yoga and Pilates stand out?
Perhaps it's as simple as good, old-fashioned exercise. If we compared Pilates and yoga with strength training, running, or swimming, maybe they wouldn't stand out quite so much.
Or perhaps it's the stress relief and deep breathing that both practices emphasize. But other modalities in the study also offer stress relief.
Maybe it's the social connection that comes from attending a class. I don't believe the researchers distinguished between people who practiced in group settings and those who exercised alone at home.
Or maybe it's the cumulative effect of all these benefits working together.
There's also research from about a decade ago suggesting that activating our core muscles and improving our posture help us regulate our stress response. Could that play a role in Pilates' apparent connection to longevity?
One of the researchers, Professor Connor Sheehan, admitted he was surprised by the Pilates findings, joking, "because every Pilates class I've ever taken has made me feel like I was dying."
That might sound like the opposite of something that's supposed to help you live longer but again and again Pilates helps us beat the odds. Of course, this study doesn't prove that Pilates extends your life. But it adds to a growing body of research suggesting that Pilates is good for us in a variety of ways.
At Personal Euphoria, we've seen those benefits firsthand for years.
If you're already taking one of our classes give yourself a pat on the back and tell someone you love: It's time they started doing Pilates!