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The Fundamentals of Pilates

admin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:26:27 +0000

There are people who are fond of getting an exercise for maintaining their body figure as well as to condition their body so to look healthier and sexy. Some do the swimming or others stay in the gym to get their ideal body figure. We all dream and look forward to an exercise program that will always engage us and that will leaves us refreshed and alert with a feeling of physical and mental being. From famous people down to women who are conscious enough with their body, the Pilates can be a great and stunning method in building up your most desired figure.

Well, the Pilates (pu-LAH-teez) Method is a kind of exercise system that focuses on improving the flexibility and strength for the total body without building a weight. The Pilates method is not just exercise as well, but it is a series of controlled movements that engages in your body and mind, and performed on specifically designed exercise apparatus and presided by trained teachers. This Pilates was developed in the 1920s by the legendary physical trainer and founder of The New York Pilates Studio, Joseph H. Pilates.

Joseph Pilates was a performer and a boxer who lives in England in year 1914. During the outbreak of the WW1, he was placed under the forced internment along with the other German nationals in Lancaster, England, and there he taught his fellow camp members about his concepts and exercises that are developed through self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. Just then, Joseph Pilates began devising the system of original exercises that is known as mat work, or an exercise that is done on the floor. John Pilates also became a nurse/caretaker to the internees that is struck with wartime disease and physical injury. He then began to devise some equipment to rehabilitate his patients.

The Pilates method provides a refreshing and energizing workout where it gives a physical harmony and balance for people of different ages and with physical conditions. The sessions of the Pilates are done one-to-one with a certified teacher or in close and well-supervised small groups. Each session is fitted perfectly for your specific needs. The Pilates method can also be the dominant mode of body conditioning and injury prevention, and can be integrated into a rehabilitative exercise and physical therapy programs that is designed to a speed recovery of soft tissue injuries. The Pilates method can also be used by pregnant women in a way to learn the proper breathing and body alignment. It also improves concentration, and recovers the body shape and tone of women after the pregnancy.

The founder of the Pilates really designed more than 500 specific exercises using its five major pieces of unique apparatus in developing the body uniformly. Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, the Pilates method was designed to have more absolute movements that require a proper control and form. Since the mind is required to engage with your body to perform the movements properly, you are meant to experience a new awareness of muscle function and control. The instructor of the Pilates methods is the only one who has the right to teach, who has completed a rigorous certification program that includes seminar training and 600 apprenticeship hours. This is because the Pilates want to provide safe and effective conditioning for their clients.

There are certain countries that usually practice the Pilates method, in which they enjoy the physical movement that is designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body. The Pilates has an efficient practice of specific exercises accompanied with focused breathing patterns. Well, you could probably believe that Pilates has proven to be helpful and not just as a part of fitness itself, but also a supplement to professional sports training and to physical rehabilitation of all kinds. The Pilates brings out infinite benefits to your body, such as the increased lung capacity and circulation through deep, and where healthy breathing is a primary focus too. The key components in an effective Pilates program is the strength and the flexibility that is particularly of the abdomen and back muscles, with coordination to both muscular and mental. The posture, balance, and core strength are fairly increased in your body and where your bone density and joint health is also improved.

For more information about pilates please goto the pilates resource center

Written By: Michael Sanford

Pilates: A Relaxing Way To Exercise

admin — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:17:57 +0000

It is perhaps the Hollywood glitz and glamour that has everyone into the dieting and exercising fad. One of the most popular exercise programs is Pilates, which is especially designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body through a series of routines. It combines both body movements and breathing patterns.

Pilates is known to increase lung capacity and circulation through exercises that focus on breathing. It also promotes strength and flexibility in the abdomen and the back muscles as well as improving on the coordination of the mind and the muscles. And because the program centers and emphasizes the importance of balance and posture, general health improves along with bone density.

It is perhaps these numerous benefits and the fact that Pilates can be tailor-made and incorporated in routines that make each class costly. Prices for classes range from $10 to $20 for group classes and about $50 to $100 or even more for individual lessons with trained instructors.

How did this start?

Joseph Pilates is a performer and a boxer in England. His fascination for exercise and health issues stem from his being a sickly child. Determined to strengthen his body, he studied, practiced and developed exercises that will improve his health. True enough, he grew to be really strong, choosing professions that would utilize body strength and endurance.

When he was detained with German nationals in Lancaster, he taught fellow camp members the concepts and exercises he developed through years and years of self-study and training in yoga and Zen, not to mention all the other Greek and Roman physical regimens.

It was at this time when he began to devise a system of original “Contrology” exercises now known as “matwork,” which refers to exercise routines done on the floor. When he was taken to another camp where he served as caretaker, he devised equipment that would help rehabilitate his “patients. The equipment that he made was not much different from what is being used today by people who subscribe to the Pilates program. Spring tension straps are also used in routines to hold the feet and to support the shoulders, neck and head in routines.

Because of its focus on balance and flexibility, Pilates holds much appeal for dancers and performers. Some celebrities, actresses and models, in fact, are enamored by the graceful movements that are incorporated in each routine. Not only does Pilates help improve health and well-being, it also develops proper posture and blood circulation, preventing the occurrence of osteoporosis.

What is more, Pilates does not involve a lot of muscle stress because the routines are gentle and slow similar to dance. There is no running and jumping around. Practitioners do not even need to lift heavy things. This is the reason why doctors often recommend Pilates to patients who have back and spine injuries as well as those afflicted with Arthritis and other muscle ailments. The routines are also good for people who are undergoing rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Pilates is also good for people who are a bit older and those who are overweight. It is in essence a relaxing exercise program, which not only helps in the reduction of weight and improvement of health but also in de-stressing and relaxing the body, mind and the spirit.

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

Joseph Pilates: The Man Behind the Movement

admin — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:20:40 +0000

Joseph Pilates was born in Dsseldorf, Germany in 1880. He was a frail young boy, who suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. In order to overcome his weakened state, he studied body building, skiing, diving, and gymnastics. In time, he developed his own series of exercises. He moved to England in 1912, and spent much of his time working as a circus performer and a boxer. Eventually, he started teaching self defense methods to a group of police detectives from Scotland Yard. In 1914, at the outset of World War I, he was interned at a camp in Lancaster as an “enemy alien”. While in the camp, he spent a great deal of his time developing his exercise techniques.

After his release, Joseph returned to Germany and began teaching his method to dancers. He decided to leave Germany when he was asked to teach his exercise methods to the German Army. In 1926, he emigrated to America and took up residence in New York. He met his wife, Clara, on the voyage. Joseph and Clara opened a fitness studio in New York City, and shared an address with the New York City Ballet.

Joseph spent the remaining years of his life operating his studio. The nature of his work in those years was more akin to a physiotherapist for dancers than an exercise instructor for the masses. He also spent a considerable amount of time designing and constructing exercise equipment for use in his programs.

Joseph Pilates was one of the first fitness instructors to advocate the mind-body connection, which consisted of both physical and mental training to achieve the desired results. His method consists of slow, deliberate movements combined with breathing and a focus on the abdomen, lower back, and buttocks.

As quoted from his 1945 book, Return to Life with Contrology, he states that “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”

Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967. The studio is still in operation today.

About the Author

Harriet Spinzer is a history student and Pilates enthusiast. When she is not consumed with her studies, she likes to stretch and stuff. When she is not tangled up in her “Reformer”, she like to write freelance articles for websites such as http://www.pilatesinsight.com – a site that offers information about pilates.

Written By: Harriet Spinzer