What is Pilates?
Often recommended as a treatment for back pain, Pilates is a method of movement that focuses on strengthening and stabilising the body while developing mobility and movement efficiency. Designed by Joseph Pilates in the late nineteenth century, he originally used this method as a means of rehabilitating injured soldiers in German internment camps. After moving to the United States in the early twentieth century, he expanded his client base to particularly include dancers and the injured. Regardless of the clientele, this movement method is centered around ten guiding principles:
- Awareness
- Balance
- Breath
- Control
- Center
- Focus
- Flow
- Precision
While Pilates is best-known for its emphasis on core strength, there is no area of the body that cannot be targeted with Pilates exercises. There is a strong focus on the smaller, stabilising muscles of the body – the muscles we often forget, or didn’t know, we have – that are often neglected in an average exercise routine. By developing these muscles in addition to the larger, “mover” muscles, we can create a body that is not only pain-free but more physically resilient to everyday stresses and injury.
This is the major difference between Pilates and regular strength training that you may do in your gym or at home.
What can you expect from your Pilates class?
