Parkinson’s, Dopamine, and the Gut

Parkinson’s, Dopamine, and the Gut
Why Classical Pilates Matters and Why Most People Miss the Point

I read an article this morning about Parkinson’s disease and dopamine, and it stuck with me. Not because it was new, but because it reminded me how often we skip the body when we talk about the brain. We talk chemicals. We talk prescriptions. We forget movement.

Here is the part that matters. Dopamine is synthesized primarily in the brain, but how well dopamine functions is deeply influenced by the gut and by the nervous system communication between the gut and the brain.

This post was sparked by an article from The Epoch Times on Parkinson’s disease and dopamine.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/parkinsons-disease-is-linked-to-lack-of-dopamine-heres-how-to-boost-it-5819687

I teach this every day, and I also want to be precise. Dopamine itself is synthesized in the brain. Serotonin, however, is largely produced in the gut, often cited as ninety to ninety five percent. Gut produced serotonin, along with healthy gut function and vagus nerve signaling, plays a regulatory role in brain chemistry, including systems that influence dopamine signaling. Once you understand that relationship, the conversation about health, mood, posture, and movement changes.

The digestive tract contains the enteric nervous system, a vast network of neurons embedded in the gut wall. This system communicates constantly with the central nervous system through the vagus nerve. That communication influences movement quality, motor coordination, mood, motivation, and autonomic regulation. When gut signaling is impaired, dopamine signaling in the brain can suffer, not because dopamine disappears, but because the system supporting regulation and communication is dysregulated. When dopamine feels low, it is not always a mindset problem. Often it is a gut brain communication problem.

Parkinson’s disease has long been treated as a brain disorder, and the brain is absolutely involved. But research now shows that gut dysfunction can appear years before classic motor symptoms. That matters. If dopamine pathways are influenced by gut health, serotonin balance, vagal tone, pressure, rhythm, and nerve communication, then it makes sense to look at practices that support those systems, not as cures, but as support.

That is where Pilates comes in. Real Pilates.

Let me say this plainly. I am not talking about trendy Pilates. I am not talking about fancy choreography on machines. I am not talking about burning muscles to exhaustion. That kind of exercise might make you tired, but it does not organize the nervous system. I am talking about classical Pilates.

Classical Pilates is a system. It has order and progression. You move from lying down to seated, to kneeling, and then to standing. You move the spine through flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral movement while maintaining deep internal stability. Everything starts in the powerhouse, which includes the transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, diaphragm, deep spinal support, and glutes. This work was never about how you look. It was about how the body functions.

Here is where we stop being vague and start being literal. The enteric nervous system responds to mechanical input such as pressure, movement, rhythm, and breath. Not affirmations. Not motivation. Input.

When you contract the transverse abdominis correctly, you draw the abdominal wall inward and create intra abdominal pressure. That pressure rhythmically compresses and decompresses the intestines. Nerves in the gut wall receive mechanical stimulation, circulation improves, and gut based signaling becomes more efficient. In plain language, you are creating rhythmic mechanical stimulation of the gut from the inside.

Breath makes this stronger. Classical Pilates requires a full exhale. When you empty the lungs, the diaphragm rises and the abdominal contents are gently compressed. That compression supports vagus nerve activity and gut brain signaling.

Then there is the spine. Many classical Pilates exercises place you on your belly, rolling across your spine or articulating it one vertebra at a time. That is not an accident. Those movements mechanically influence the abdominal cavity while providing sensory input to spinal and autonomic nerves. Gut, spine, and brain start communicating with more clarity again.

Pilates does not create dopamine. It creates the conditions for better regulation through breath, posture, pressure, and nervous system organization.

This is why control matters more than intensity. Classical Pilates is not slow. It is controlled. The exhale is timed. The pressure is intentional. The movement is precise and rhythmic because the nervous system responds to order, and the gut brain axis responds to order. Pilates is order. It is a true mind body movement system.

Random resistance training and fatigue based workouts do not create the same internal pressure or the same level of organized breath, spinal articulation, and nervous system input. Without deep abdominal control, full exhalation, spinal articulation, and progression, you do not get these benefits. If your goal is mood support, nervous system regulation, and better gut brain communication, you need the system, and you need proper instruction from a classically trained instructor such as those trained through Peak Pilates.

This matters now more than ever. We live in a sedentary world. Sitting all day. Shallow breathing. Collapsed posture. Disconnected guts. Dysregulation follows.

So medication often becomes part of the conversation. SSRIs. Mood stabilizers. Sometimes necessary. Sometimes helpful. But here is the honest question. If dopamine function is influenced by gut health and nervous system communication, why are we ignoring movement that supports gut brain signaling?

Classical Pilates is not about long lean muscles. That is a side effect. The real benefit is that the gut and the nervous system are involved in every movement. The powerhouse stays engaged. The spine moves. The breath is trained. The nervous system stays organized. When the gut communicates well, the nervous system regulates. When the nervous system regulates, people breathe better, move better, and often feel better.

That is not vanity. That is physiology.

Pilates does not cure Parkinson’s disease. But classical Pilates, practiced as a system with control, breath, pressure, and order, can help support posture, coordination, vagus nerve activity, gut function, and nervous system regulation in people living with Parkinson’s.

That is more than aesthetics. That is real health.

This morning’s article got me thinking. Teaching keeps me honest. And the body keeps telling the truth.

Research and Reading

This post was inspired by current research and journalism on Parkinson’s disease, dopamine signaling, serotonin production, and the gut brain axis, including work from The Epoch Times, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation, as well as peer reviewed journals such as Nature Reviews Neuroscience and Frontiers in Neuroscience examining the enteric nervous system, vagus nerve function, and the role of movement in neurological regulation.