What is Pilates?
Concentration - Controll - Center - Fluidity - Precision - Breath
Pilates is a form of resistance exercise that is focused on improving flexibility, core strength, and body awareness. Concentration on your body's alignment and muscle groups during your Pilates routine help achieve the full benefits from each exercise. Controll of your muscles helps prevent injury and is imperative during the entire flow of exercises. Your Center, comprising of your abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks, are the main focus while executing each exercise. Fluidity is necessary for flow and grace while keeping your body in alignment to help build perfect posture. Precision of each exercise is to ensure proper performance and to help prevent injury. Breath must be constant to help oxygenate and energize the body.
Building long, lean muscles without building bulk is one of the benefits of this type of exercise. The Pilates Reformer is a specially designed exercise apparatus. It’s springs and sliding carriage give resistance and add a beneficial challenge to each exercise that is performed. Pilates also consists of a series of Mat work exercises that are done on the floor solely using your own body to build strength. Each session is supervised by a specially trained instructor.
During a Pilates session, whether it's on the machines or the floor, your instructor will continuously prompt you to concentrate deeply on your core muscles, on your breath, the contraction of your muscles, and the quality (not quantity) of your movements. These are also key elements of Pilates, and your instructor will emphasize them at every session. The objective is a coordination of mind, body, and spirit, something Joseph Pilates called "contrology." In his first book published in 1945, Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology, the 34 original exercises that Pilates taught to his students are described along with the guiding principles of contrology.