Muscles can sometimes tend to develop ingrained habits through being too weak, overactive, lengthened or shortened, which will affect posture and fluidity of movement. When the big strong outer muscles are overworked, they restrict the inner postural muscles from working properly. If the ligaments around a joint are shortened, there will be a reduced range of movement around that joint, whereas if they are lengthened, this will result in a reduction of joint stability.
When a spinal curve becomes exaggerated, long-term problems can result.
Modern Pilates exercises aim to re-balance the muscles of the body so that optimal posture can be achieved. By correcting imbalances, sound muscle recruitment patterns are encouraged and the body is realigned. Good posture relieves pressure on the internal organs allowing them to function properly.