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Learn About Pilates

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:26:56 +0000

Pilates is a physical fitness system that was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. Pilates wrote two books about the Pilates method: Return to Life through Contrology and Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education.

Pilates called his method Contrology, which refers to the way the method encourages the use of the mind to control the muscles. It is an exercise program that focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso muscles, which are important to help alleviate and prevent back pain.

Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, Pilates preferred fewer, more precise movements, requiring control and form. He designed more than 500 specific exercises. The most frequent form, called “matwork,” involves a series of calisthenic motions performed without weight or apparatus on a padded mat. He believed that mental health and physical health were essential to one another.

Pilates created what is claimed to be a method of total body conditioning that emphasizes proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, breathing, and flowing movement (The Pilates Principles) that results in increased flexibility, strength, muscle tone, body awareness, energy, and improved mental concentration. Pilates also designed five major pieces of unique exercise equipment that he claimed should be used for best results. Although the two components are often taught separately now, the method was always meant to combine both matwork and equipment exercises. In all forms, the “powerhouse” (abdomen, lower back, and buttocks) is supported and strengthened, enabling the rest of the body to move freely.

Pilates is not designed to be a complete physical fitness discipline. For example, in its more original forms, it does not supply effective cardiovascular training.

Pilates largely avoids high impact, high power output, and heavy muscular and skeletal loading. As a result, Pilates is not as effective as other training methods at building muscle mass.

Some doctors have suggested that medical advice be sought by those who have, or who have risk factors for, conditions such as osteogenesis imperfecta, Osteomalacia, osteoporosis, and Paget’s disease, before choosing Pilates over other strength exercises.

Pilates, the Art of Contrology

admin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:26:10 +0000

Pilates is an exercise technique, which encourages the mind to control the muscles by strengthening the powerhouse. In Pilates, the powerhouse resides in the middle of the body such as the abdomen, lower back and buttocks.

You will need to support and strengthen the powerhouse to enable the rest of the body to move freely.

Pilates is an exercise that you will perform while sitting or lying down. Thus, it is best for rehabilitation purposes especially for patients with injuries and those that are bedridden.

Initially, Joseph Pilates, the German national who discovered Pilates used this exercise to train police officers. Police officers perform this exercise in 1912 as a means to rehabilitate themselves after a long day of work.

Joseph Pilates also designed Pilates Cadillac, an exercise equipment patterned from an old hospital bed. He did this precisely for the purpose of teaching rehabilitating patients confined in bed and for those officers who are down from injury.

The exercises in pilates avoids too much repetition unlike other exercises do. This exercise uses fewer, but precise movements. These movements employ control and form. These exercises also reduce stress that regular exercise can do for the heart. It is thus safe for older exercisers and even for injured patients.

In almost five hundred exercises in pilates, the most frequent form is the mat work. The mat work involves a series of callisthenic motions without weight or apparatus and are done while lying down.

Additionally, Joseph Pilates believes that mental health and physical health are essential to one another, thus he creates this exercise program based on the belief that a total body conditioning is necessary and beneficial. Total body conditioning emphasizes proper alignment, centering, concentration, control, precision, muscle tone, body awareness, energy and improved mental concentration. These words are the backbone of pilates.

Pilates focuses on the use of the mind to control the body, thus Joseph Pilates who lived his youth with asthma, rickets, rheumatic fever, overcame poor health and grew to be a body builder, diver, skier and a gymnast.

After which, in 1912, he worked in England as a boxer, circus performer and self-defense trainer. You will of course agree with me that this is quite odd for a sickly kid.

This therefore shows that the mind can be more powerful than the muscle. Following this belief, pilates practitioners use their body as weights in training to build strength and flexibility without focus on high-powered cardiovascular exercise.

You will not need to perform those rigorous exercises that put strain in your cardiovascular zone as other exercises do.

Pilates and the environment it evolves in is as an assistive environment that optimizes the acquisition of movement with a reduction of destructive forces. These exercises can be used to progress individuals through more challenging movements that represent day-to-day activities.

In fact, these exercises are an old approach to movement re-education that is coming to be important in physical fitness and rehabilitation from injury.

The method of performing Pilates especially for beginners consist of very gentle exercises done with a mat while sitting down or lying down. It focuses on awareness of the spine, proper breathing, core strength and flexibility.

The desired outcome of Pilates is a balanced body, which is strong and supple, flat stomach, balanced legs and strong back.

In today’s time, physical therapists use these exercises and techniques to help in the rehabilitation of injured patients. Only quite a few use pilates for general health and well-being, this however needs to change because Pilates offers more than just a cure for sick patients, it is in fact helpful for those overweight individuals who cannot find ways and means to lose weight and control their body.

It may be helpful to try Pilates if you want to be healthy and active.

About the author:

Shannon Brown is the editor of PilatesFactor.com. This site caters to Pilates enthusiasts. You can visit the site at: http://www.PilatesFactor.com

Written By: Shannon Brown

What Is The Difference Between Yoga And Pilates?

admin — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 14:19:41 +0000

Yoga is a transformative art, and deceptively simple. At least, although the advanced yoga postures are in fact difficult to the unpracticed, and look it, the changes that yoga can bring into one’s life belie the apparent simplicity of stretching muscles.

After all, we stretch muscles at the gym during a warm up. So what is the basic difference between yoga and regular workouts, including pilates. Pilates, after all, took some of its inspiration from yoga. Or at least the aspect of yoga that is made of the physical exercises, the asanas.

Yoga integrates the breath and consciousness with physical stretches in a way that I haven’t even felt in pilates, although pilates is great as a way of strengthening the internal muscles of the body as well, particularly the pelvic floor.

But in yoga, through the breath, and focusing on it within our body, we come to a greater understanding of both our body and ourselves. We begin a more conscious relationship with our individuality. We meet that unique expression of ourselves expressing physically in that moment. And we are able to begin a process of changing that which is blocking the vital flow of our energy.

That is why it doesn’t matter what state we are in when we begin practising a yoga posture. We might be more or less stiff, or in pain, or distracted, than usual. It is a journey of discovery, not of trying to fit ourselves into an external idea, even if that idea is represented in that moment by the yoga posture we are trying to do. Desikachar writes that the body can “only gradually accept an asana”. We should not strain ourselves, or judge ourselves, if we cannot fit into that posture. That posture is a possible outcome, yes, but what we do in our practice of yoga is to take the journey.

Desikachar makes another important point: “We should remain flexible so that we are still able to react to changes in our expectations and old ideas. The more distanced we are from the fruits of our labors, the better we are able to do this… Paying more attention to the spirit in which we act and looking less to the results our actions may bring us – this is the meaning of isvarapranidhana in kriya yoga”

The asanas are a way of preparing ourselves to more fully meet the challenges of life in a way that does not throw us off balance, and increases our capacity to adapt to those changes that are inherent in life. They allow us to be more sensitive and aware to what is really going on inside us, and in life itself. This growing self knowledge then provides us with a more complete picture in which our responses to whatever situations confront us more accurately reflects what is truly present. There is a deeper engagement that goes beyond the vagrancies of the mind, the self doubt, the domination of our preconceptions and expectations, or our need for something to be a certain way.

When we are distracted or preoccupied with doubts, worries, and fears, and even hope that is attached to an outcome (need), the vital energy of our whole being is leaking, diffused. Through yoga practice, we are able to clear the detritus, to redirect our diffused energy within, to sit within the body, our being, again. This is an energetic aspect of self-mastery. Integral to this is the knowledge of oneself as whole, and simultaneously a part of the wholeness that is within everything.

About the author:

If you’d like to learn more about yoga poses, see this article. Rebecca Prescott runs the site Yoga To Health.

Written By: Rebecca Prescott

Winsor Pilates 5 Video: A Powerful Package

admin — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:14:39 +0000

The Winsor Pilates workout program having made a great effort in expanding the nature and functions of Winsor Pilates workout not only created simple tools such as the Winsor Pilates equipments but also opened another trend to fitness industry that is through the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos.

It is considerable that the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos have attested significantly prosperous in spreading the great news about the Winsor Pilates program and through the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS many Winsor Pilates fanatics are greatly pulled to the extent. The Winsor Pilates 5 VHS being a new set of videos grant both the beginners and experienced Winsor Pilates exercisers some of the pleasurable visual direction in the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS while perfecting the videos exercises.

The Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos is created by Mari Winsor and the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos are noted for its challenging and fast-paced Maximum Burn Series to let your Winsor Pilates mat exercise to a higher level. The Winsor Pilates 5 VHS, which is known as the Maximun Burn Series is intended for both men and women who have undergone the Basic mat exercise by Winsor Pilates itself. To better serve the participants, the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos contain the titles Maximum Burn 20-Minute Workout, Maximum Burn Advanced Series, Endless Fitness for Beginners Workout, Endless Fitness: Strength and Body Slimming, and Back Workout.

Maximum Burn Series

In particular, with the Maximum Burn 20-Minute Workout as part of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos, the participants are said to attain maximum calorie burn in just 20 minutes. With this part of Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos you will get leaner and longer muscles and even get stronger.

Another thing with the Maximum Burn Advanced Series of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos the client is expected to burn even more calories with an intense 45 minute workout and get a total body shaping workout that is results driven. With this second series of Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos the client will sculpt leaner and longer muscles as well as get even stronger and look better.

Endless Fitness Series

Furthermore, the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos on the Winsor Pilates Endless Fitness Series is originally intended for women and men who are just starting exercising for the first time. This series of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos are also intended for both women and men who have returned to exercising after a longer period of break and have a substantial weight loss goal or a bit older. With this series of Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos, you will surely feel good and acquire energy for the much vital things in your life. Any client who will use this series of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos will definitely get the best shape and live life to the fullest at any age or fitness level.

Lastly, the back Workout as one of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos is also for men and women who desired to build a stronger and more flexible back. It is important to consider that this part of the Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos is mainly focused on the back.

It is necessary to note that all those powerful workouts in Winsor Pilates 5 VHS videos are presented to help the people achieve good look and better posture.

About the Author:

Evan Chloe, author, is a fitness specialist who writes articles for http://www.bodybuildingdirect.com

Written By: Evan Chloe

Seven reasons to do Pilates fundamentals.

admin — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:21:32 +0000

1. Feel younger – “days go by so quickly”, “time flyes”, Do you find youself thinking and feeling this way? Slow down take some time to yourself to feel younger.

2. Less stressed – Do you ever feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulder? Let me show you how to release some of the burden and give it to someone else.

3. More rejuvenated – Do you ever feel sluggish do to lack of sleep or energy? Re-energize with some soothing music, a good nights sleep and a calming voice to encourage you to move very sutlely.

4. Stand taller – Do you feel like you have lost height even from when you first started your day? Let Pilates encourage your body to build the strength and relaxation into your body to assist with standing taller.

5. Walk with the grace of a dancer – Ever notice the way you are walking? Would you like to walk with ease and economy? Pilates can relieve pain in the hips and legs to support your body and walk easier.

6. Toned body – Would you like your pants to fit a little looser? Pilates will help move things in a way to assist with your toning goals.

7. Focused mind – Would you like to do more of the things you like? Pilates encourages you to be in the now and will calm the brain so you can focus on one thing at a time.

Sharon says, “after 3 weeks of doing Pilates with Karen my shoulders feel great.”

Kevin says “after 6 weeks of Pilates I am able to walk with no cane. I have MS and have found Pilates of great benefit.”

“I like Pilates. I think you do an awesome job! I like that you’re able to help us adapt to the challenges we have.You’re very encouraging with us beginners. I plan to rejoin when the 12 wks. are up.
Thanks!” Grace

Two seniors upon visiting their doctors for their annual visit were told they have increased 1″ in height from doing Pilates.

Can you imagine the experience of moving your body to relaxing music in a subtle way. Image feeling taller, more relaxed, younger, rejuvenated, sharp mind and walk with the grace of a dancer.

All you have to do is decide to feel this way. Make the choice to have your body feel great! Soft soothing music, soft voice inspiring you to move in subtle ways to release a days worth of stress. Decide to feel the way you felt as a youngster or better. Decide to commit about 18-20 minutes of your time when you come home from work or play to listen and be guided through movement.

About the Author

Enjoys health and wellness, using the Pilates method. Produced 2 Pilates for relaxation video’s as well as a downloadable MP3. www.stretchyourlife.com

Written By: Karen Toth

An Introduction to Pilates

admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:20:33 +0000

Pilates is a series of exercises designed to improve flexibility and strength through a variety of stretching and balancing movements. It was developed by Joseph Pilates, a prisoner of war during the Second World War, and has become increasingly popular.

From when he was very young, Pilates took inspiration from the ancient Indian art of yoga, Zen Buddhism, and physical exercises of the Greek and Roman empires and conducted experiments that helped him gain strength.

Pilates introduced his exercises to the inmates of the German internment camp, helping them keep physically fit. He also introduced mat workout and physical exercise equipment made from bed springs.

Today Pilates has become particularly popular among dancers, athletes, celebrities and models, because in addition to helping to develop flexibility without causing a strain on the muscles, it also helps improve posture.

A regular Pilates regimen results in a flatter stomach and a thinner waist and thighs, as well as increasing mobility in joints. Like yoga, it also relieves stress and anxiety.

Chiropractic consultants recommend Pilates for strengthening the back and the spine. Physiotherapists also recommend Pilates, to those seeking rehabilitation after injuries to their limbs.

Pilates is also recommended for the elderly, people suffering from osteoporosis, and people who are overweight.

Pilates has become quite popular among athletes, dancers and actors because the workout improves not just the body but mind as well. Pilates balanced approach ensures that no muscle group is overworked and as a result the body works as an efficient, holistic system.

Pilates is for everyone – the young, the old, the sedentary, the athletic, and those who have a physical disability.

Pilates helps improve strength, tone, flexibility and balance, and makes the body less prone to injury. It reduces stress, relieves tension, and boosts energy through deep stretching.

It creates a stronger, more flexible spine, promotes recovery from injury, increases joint motion, improves circulation, heightens neuromuscular coordination, corrects muscle groups, enhances mobility, agility and stamina, and improves the look and feel of your body.

About the Author

Pilates Info provides detailed information about Pilates exercises, equipment, videos, classes, studios, certification, and more. Pilates Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

Written By: Richard Romando

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The Benefits of Pilates Exercises

admin — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:19:45 +0000

Pilates is comprised of over 500 controlled exercises that are a balanced blend of strength and flexibility training intended to improve posture, create long, lean muscles, and reduce stress. Pilates exercises have evolved over the past 75 years. Through smooth, continuous motion, Pilates works multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Its focus is particularly on strengthening and stabilizing the abdominal region. Because Pilates focuses on quality of movement, one feels invigorated after a session instead of feeling exhausted.

Your first Pilates session should be a private lesson in which the instructor will introduce you to the equipment, give you an idea of where your body’s strengths and weaknesses lie, and enable you to make informed decisions.

The Pilates exercises can be performed either on machines or on a mat. A variety of equipment is used to perform some of the over 500 exercises. On the mat you perform with a group, performing the same exercises, at the same pace.

Different instructors, training institutions and equipment manufacturers have developed several props to help you carry out exercises on your own. Small props such as Pilates balls, Pilates circles and Pilates resistance bands can be incorporated into any personal training program.

There are many similarities between Yoga and Pilates. But, the breathing is different for the two disciplines. In Pilates, you pull your stomach in, while in Yoga you allow it to expand with breath. While Pilates is about movement, Yoga involves holding of postures.

If you want to achieve the maximum slimming effect with least amount of effort, then you should go for the Winsor Pilates exercise. The exercise works every part of your body and focuses on the core muscle groups – abdomen, lower back, hips and buttocks – which are going to burn the most energy for weight loss and make the biggest difference in your physical appearance.

About the Author

Pilates Info provides detailed information about Pilates exercises, equipment, videos, classes, studios, certification, and more. Pilates Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

Written By: Richard Romando