History
Pilates was formed by Joseph Pilates during the First
World War with the proposal to improve the
rehabilitation program for the many returning veterans.
Joseph Pilates believed mental and physical health are
essential to one another. He recommended a few, precise
movements emphasizing control and form to aid injured
soldiers in regaining their health by strengthening,
stretching,and stabilizing key muscles. Pilates created
"The Pilates Principles" to condition the entire body:
proper alignment, centering, concentration, control,
precision, breathing, and flowing movement.
Joseph Pilates wrote two books concerning the Pilates
method, Return to Life through Contrology (1928)
and Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising
That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical
Education (1934).
Principles
Pilates claimed his method has a philosophical and
theoretical foundation. It claims not merely to be a
collection of exercises but a method developed and
refined over more than eighty years of use and
observation.
Mind over matter
According to practitioners, the central aim of
Pilates is to create a fusion of mind and body, so that
without thinking about it the body will move with
economy, grace, and balance. The end goal is to produce
an attention-free union of mind and body. Practitioners
believe in using one's body to the greatest advantage,
making the most of its strengths, counteracting its
weaknesses, and correcting its imbalances. The method
requires that one constantly pay attention to one's body
while doing the movements. Paying attention to movement
is so vital that it is more important than any other
single aspect of the movements
Breathing
Joseph Pilates believed in circulating the blood so
that it could awaken all the cells in the body and carry
away the wastes related to fatigue. For the blood to do
its work properly, he maintained, it has to be charged
with oxygen and purged of waste gases through proper
breathing. Full and thorough inhalation and exhalation
are part of every Pilates exercise. Pilates saw forced
exhalation as the key to full inhalation. “Squeeze out
the lungs as you would wring a wet towel dry,” he is
reputed to have said. Breathing, too, should be done
with concentration, control, and precision. Breathing,
not only oxygenates the muscles, but proper breathing
reduces tension in the upper neck and shoulders. Pilates
breathing is a posterior lateral breathing, meaning when
inhaling you breathe deep into the back and sides of
your rib cage. At the same time as you exhale you feel
the engagement of your deep abdominal and pelvic floor
muscles and maintain this engagement as you inhale. It
should be properly coordinated with movement. Each
exercise is accompanied by breathing instructions.
Joseph Pilates stated, “Even if you follow no other
instructions, learn to breathe correctly.”
Centering
Pilates called the very large group of muscles in the
center of the body – encompassing the abdomen, lower
back, hips, and buttocks – the “powerhouse.” All energy
for Pilates exercises begins from the powerhouse and
flows outward to the extremities. Physical energy
exerted from the center coordinates one’s movements.
Pilates felt that it was important to build a strong
powerhouse in order to rely on it in daily living.
Modern instructors call the powerhouse the “core”
Concentration
Pilates demands intense focus. For instance, the
inner thighs and pelvic floor may be assessed when doing
a standing exercise that tones the triceps. Beginners
learn to pay careful attention to their bodies, building
on very small, delicate fundamental movements and
controlled breathing. In 2006, at the Parkinson Center
of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland,
Oregon, the concentration factor of the Pilates method
was being studied in providing relief from the
degenerative symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Control
Joseph Pilates built his method on the idea of muscle
control. That meant no sloppy, uncontrolled movements.
Every Pilates exercise must be performed with the utmost
control, including all body parts, to avoid injury and
produce positive results. Pilates emphasizes not
intensity or multiple repetitions of a movement, but
proper form for safe, effective results.
Precision
Every movement in the Pilates method has a purpose.
Every instruction is vitally important to the success of
the whole. To leave out any detail is to forsake the
intrinsic value of the exercise. The focus is on doing
one precise and perfect movement, rather than many
halfhearted ones. Eventually this precision becomes
second nature, and carries over into everyday life as
grace and economy of movement.
Flow or efficiency
of movement
Movement should be kept continuous between exercises
through the use of appropriate transitions. Once
precision has been achieved, exercises should flow
within and into each other in order to build strength
and stamina.
Precautions
Many exercises are contra-indicated for pregnant
women and the use of Pilates in pregnancy should only be
undertaken under guidance of a fully trained expert.
Legal action
In recent years the term “Pilates” worked itself into
the mainstream and, following an unsuccessful
intellectual property lawsuit, a US federal court ruled
the term “Pilates” generic and free for unrestricted
use. While this ruling prevented artificial restrictions
on the use of the term “Pilates”, it also permitted many
untrained or under-qualified practitioners to capitalise
on the name. Consumers may face extensive and
conflicting information about what Pilates really is,
how it works, and what credentials they should seek in
an instructor
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