Pilates Method

What is Pilates ?

Imagine an exercise program that you look forward to, that engages you, and that leaves you refreshed and alert with a feeling of physical and mental wellbeing. The Pilates Method of body conditioning will do all this ... and more.

Pilates is a training method for young and old. The Pilates Method is an exercise system focused on improving flexibility and strength for the total body without building bulk. In Pilates, emphasis is placed on the following principles: concentration, control, precision, breathing and curvilinear movements. It has a positive influence on the body and mind. With the practice of Pilates on a regular basis, your body will retain its benefits.

The Pilates Method was developed in the 1920s by the legendary physical trainer and founder, Joseph H. Pilates, as a unique method for a healthier body and life. His theory of motion includes more than 500 muscle strengthening and flexibility exercises. Since the Pilates Method focuses on improving flexibility and strength for the total body without building bulk, it is not surprising that some of the first people to use the Pilates Method were dancers such as Martha Graham and George Balanchine. Since its inception, the Joseph Pilates Method has spread well beyond the dance world and has survived all the newest fitness trends.

The Pilates Method is not just physical exercise – it is a series of controlled movements engaging your body and mind, performed on specifically designed exercise apparatus and supervised by trained teachers who have graduated from the rigorous Joseph Pilates classical training program.

Who Can Benefit

Body and Mind

The Pilates Method of body conditioning promotes physical harmony and balance for people of all ages and ability while providing a refreshing and energizing workout.

Because conditioning sessions are done one-to-one with a teacher or in supervised small groups, each session is tailored to your specific needs.

Pregnancy

The Pilates Method can be safely used by pregnant women to learn proper breathing and body alignment, improve concentration, and recover body shape and tone after pregnancy.

Preventive Measure

Regardless of your current level of fitness - from sedentary office worker to fitness enthusiast - The Pilates Method can be your primary mode of body conditioning and injury prevention. Recently discovered by physical therapists, chiropractors and orthopedists, The Pilates Method of body conditioning can also be integrated into rehabilitative exercise and physical therapy programs designed to speed recovery of soft tissue injuries.

The Posture

The Pilates Method is not just exercise – it is a series of controlled movements engaging your body and mind, performed on specially designed exercise apparatus and supervised by rigorously trained teachers.

Pilates is suitable for people with physical disabilities (back and neck complaints, hernia, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, etc.).

500 Exercises

Joseph H. Pilates designed more than 500 specific exercises using five major pieces of unique apparatus to develop the body uniformly. Instead of performing many repetitions of each exercise, Joseph H. Pilates preferred fewer, more precise movements, requiring proper control and form.

"Powerhouse"

The Pilates exercises are focused to strengthen the lower back, abdomen, pelvic and buttocks. Joseph Pilates called this the "powerhouse".

If the "powerhouse" - abdomen, lower back, and buttocks - is supported and strengthened, this will enable the rest of the body to move freely.

Joseph H. Pilates

Joseph Pilates

Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph H. Pilates had a lifelong interest in body conditioning. As a frail child dedicated to becoming stronger, he later grew to become an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast and boxer.

While interned in England during World War I for his German citizenship, Joseph became a nurse. During this time, he designed exercise apparatus for immobilized patients by attaching springs to hospital beds.

This system formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning and his specialized exercise apparatus, which he brought to New York City when he opened the first Pilates Studio in 1926.

Currently the Pilates Method is used internationally by individuals at all levels of fitness as well as by dance companies, Broadway performers, students at performing arts schools and universities, sports teams, spa clients and fitness enthusiasts at private health clubs and gyms.