Pilates

HISTORY OF PILATES

Joseph Pilates, the inventor of the Pilates method, was born in Germany in 1883 to a gymnast father and naturopath mother. He was a fragile child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, which resulted in long term inflammation throughout his body. He took to physical exercise to improve his health. He studied various forms of physical fitness, including gymnastics, yoga, boxing and martial arts.

In 1914, when WWI broke out, Pilates was in England working as a circus performer, boxer and self-defense instructor. He was taken into custody and interned in a British prisoner of war camp for four years. While there, he began developing the foundation of his exercise method, leading inmates through their daily fitness routine and helping injured soldiers improve their strength and mobility through his corrective exercises. 

 During the latter part of the War, he served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he worked with patients unable to walk. He attached bed springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs, leading to the development of his famous piece of equipment known as the 'Cadillac'. Much of his equipment, although slightly adapted, is still in use today in many Pilates Studios

Pilates immigrated to the U.S. in 1926. He and his wife Clara opened their Manhattan gym three years later, teaching the mat and equipment-based system of exercise he’d developed called Contrology. The studio became popular among dancers and performers in New York, including Martha Graham and George Balanchine, who sought out the exercise method to help them rehabilitate and prevent injuries. Pilates died in 1967 at the age of 83.

Today, Pilates is a well-known and widely practiced fitness method offered at studios, franchise fitness clubs, community centers, wellness retreats and physical therapy clinics around the world.

Traditional Principles of Pilates

Joe Pilates based his work on three principles: Breath, whole-body health and whole-body commitment; with the whole-body encompassing mind, body and spirit.

It is in the honouring of the Pilates Principles that the depth of the work is achieved. These Principles are traditionally cited as:

  • Breath
  • Concentration
  • Centring
  • Control
  • Precision
  • Flow
    "Above all, learn how to breathe correctly." - Joseph Pilates

Contemporary Principles of Pilates

  • Breathing: Breathing effectively ensures that enough oxygen is flowing to the working muscles, and helps prevent unnecessary tension. A relaxed and full breath pattern encourages focus and concentration and facilitates optimal muscle activation.
  • Pelvic placement: STOTT PILATES emphasizes the right amount of activation of the stabilizing muscles of the torso to control the pelvis and lumbar spine (lower back) in either a neutral or an imprinted position, depending on the requirements of the exercise or exerciser.
  • Rib cage placement: The position of the rib cage affects the alignment of the thoracic (upper) spine and relates to the stability of the whole body, especially during arm movements. Adequate resiliency of the rib cage is also a main factor in optimal breath function.
  • Scapular movement and stabilization: Understanding how the movement of the shoulder blades relates to movement of the arms and upper torso will help fine-tune the performance of the exercises. Appropriate mobility and control will help avoid strain through the neck and upper shoulders.
  • Head and cervical placement: To create effective and efficient movements, the position of the head and cervical spine (neck) should be closely monitored to avoid tension and unwanted muscular activity. In general, the cervical spine should follow the line made by the thoracic or upper spine during any movement.
  • Lower body mobility and stability: The last principle focuses on integration of the lower chain (hip, knee, ankle and foot) with the rest of the body. Dynamic control, flexibility and the ability to transfer loads is necessary to be functional in day to day activities.

BODY SYNERGY APPROACH

You can see from the history of the development of Pilates that it benefits everyone, from people with movement restrictions (like bedridden prisoners from WWI), to people with inflammatory conditions, to professional dancers and athletes.

Often chronic mystery pain can be traced back to seemingly unconnected areas of a client’s body, like their core, ribs or feet. This is why the initial assessment is such an important tool of the Body Synergy approach. Instead of moving straight to the treatment of localized pain, the initial assessment allows me to explore the interconnections between a client’s pain and other areas of their body. These assessments are conducted by observing the position of a client’s body at rest and during a series of everyday functional movements, which highlight rotational or compression issues in the body, allowing me to target these issues for massage or strengthening treatment.