Pilates and Your Height

Can Pilates really make you taller?

Many have asked this question and have even done their own experiment to find out if this is indeed true. This former Miss World have sworn by this and said that Pilates has helped to add some height to her already tall frame.

In the quest to find out if this is true, doctors caution that persons should not confuse making someone taller with making them grow. Dr. Karen Erickson, a New York chiropractor and spokeswoman for the American Chiropractic Association says that “It won’t lengthen your bones”.

She went on to say that poor posture implemented while doing daily tasks can make persons appear shorter than they really are. These include the most common activity of the working class which is sitting hunched over a desk for long hours at work.

Pilates, which emphasizes strengthening and stretching muscles, corrects posture problems by improving alignment and keeping your spine healthy. This allows you to reverse any damage or natural shrinkage, says Alycea Ungaro, the owner of Real Pilates in TriBeCa.

 Source: www.vivianzapantra.com

Former Miss World Rosanna Davison, claims the workout helped boost her height by half an inch.

“Most of us walk around as a constantly compressed version of ourselves,” she says. “(Pilates) would get you to your optimal or original height.”

Aspiring supermodels should understand that the exercise won’t help them reach Glamazon heights.

“It may make you stand taller, but you are still the same height you always were,” says Dr. Louis Peterson of Peterson Chiropractic in Manhattan.

“Pilates makes you taller” isn’t the only myth or misconception surrounding the popular fitness system.

The exercise is famous for working abdominal muscles and promising a tinier waistline, but it isn’t all about core strengthening, says Halle Clarke, the owner of Mongoose Bodyworks in SoHo.

The workout is about moving the body in ways that support and strengthen muscles, so you won’t get the full benefits if you are only looking for a toned tummy.

KATHARINA HESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Davison won the Miss World crown in 2003.

“Just doing a bunch of core work may not be the answer and it is not all there is to Pilates,” she says.

Another myth is that you need to be flexible to start taking Pilates. This isn’t the case.

“You gain flexibility, but that’s an end product that you should come for,” Ungaro says. “You just need to be able to follow directions.”

But don’t go into a class assuming Pilates is a lazy person’s workout because you’re on a mat, or that you won’t break a sweat.

“It is relaxing when you are finished – not when you are doing it,” she adds.

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Featured photo source: www.grow-taller-fast.com