What is Pilates?

Pilates is a movement method designed to efficiently exercise the whole body while also achieving greater balance and overall ease of movement. It is easily adaptable and can accommodate people of all fitness levels and ages, people recovering from injuries, or those living with chronic musculoskeletal and/or nervous system diagnosis. Pilates conditions the entire body, re-patterning muscle imbalances and restoring ease of motion.

The Pilates method was created by Joseph Hubertus Pilates who began developing his method of exercise then called "Contrology" during his internment in World War One. He attached springs to hospital beds enabling bed ridden patients to exercise using resistance. This became the inspiration for the later development of his machines that are utilized in group classes and individual sessions. In the late 1920's he emigrated to the United States and "Joe" continued to teach until his death in the late sixties at the age of eighty seven. His method continues to grow and expand.

Joseph Pilates developed the Pilates method with a strong focus on both physical and mental conditioning. His fundamental principles have been distilled over time by practitioners into six core principles that guide the method. These are: concentration, control, centering, precision, breath and flow. Together, these principles form the backbone of the Pilates method, aiming to create a balanced body, improved posture, and overall well-being.

To find out more about Joseph Pilates, the Pilates Method and the Pilates equipment visit pilates.com.

A note about consistency and your Pilates practice….

One of the questions I get asked most regarding Pilates is how often should I come in? And my honest answer is, as often as you can! Now, as with everything there’s really no one “right” answer. People live very full lives, have time and money constraints and all of this will play into how often you will find yourself walking into the studio. My general recommendation for those really wanting to feel change on a faster time line would be to do a movement practice at least 3 days a week. That could look like 3 classes, 1 private and 2 classes, 1 class and 2 days of strength training or running or swimming or any other number of things. That said I have plenty of clients (probably the majority to be honest) that cannot make that work for their lifestyles so they only come in once a week and they find that its still enough to see results and has kept them coming back for years. So all that said, come as often as you can but don’t beat yourself up if you can “just” do once a week, that’s still great!