Who was Joseph Pilates?

Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880. He suffered from a number of illnesses throughout his childhood (including rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever) that led him to dedicate his life to the pursuit of becoming as fit and strong as he could possibly be, and to help others do the same.

 He became an excellent sportsman in his youth, then travelled to England in 1912 where he worked in many physically challenging roles. He became a boxer, a circus trainer and later worked as a self-defence trainer for the UK police force.

 At the beginning of WW1 he was interned by the British government. During this time he acted as a physician to the other men in the camp and began to train them and help with rehabilitation.

 After returning to Germany after the war Pilates then moved to America and set up an exercise studio in New York with his wife. Over the next 40 years he taught countless dancers, athletes and Gymnasts and built up an excellent reputation. He later worked with dancers at the New York City Ballet. His method of teaching, called Contrology, became more and more popular in America and eventually across the world. He published a number of books, the first and best known being ‘A Return to life through Contrology’.

 During his later life Pilates had a number of students who would later go on to teach the method. Alan Herdman was a second generation student who brought the method to the UK in the early 1970’s. Many adaptations have been made to the original exercises but the core principles of Pilates still remain.

The fundamental principles of Pilates.

Concentration

Concentration is vital for an effective Pilates class. Every movement needs to be a conscious act and a clear mind is vital to get the most out of the exercises performed.

Breath

Perfecting Lateral Thoracic breathing is a very important part of the Pilates technique. When you breathe normally the lungs expand, the diaphragm drops and the stomach moves out. When you do a Pilates Class you will be contracting the abdominals so this type of breathing is not possible. You need to learn to engage the abdominal muscles and breathe into the ribs.

You will also use this controlled breathing to help with concentration and keeping movements controlled and flowing. Don’t worry if it feels odd at first, it will come with time as you become more familiar with the exercises.

Centering

Joseph Pilates believed that the abdominal muscles function as the ‘power house’ for the whole body, giving strength to the rest of the body. To maintain a strong centre, which will give you better posture, balance and help to protect from injury, the core muscles need to be strengthened and an equal balance of strength between the abs and the back muscles needs to be achieved. This is done through conscious engagement of specific muscles during exercise, the transversus abdominus, the lumbar multifidus and the pelvic floor are some of these.

Precision/ quality

Precision is vital for Pilates, all exercises require specific movements in order for them to be carried out properly and to be done correctly. If this precision is not achieved the exercises are not effective and can be detrimental. The body needs to be aligned correctly and perfectly balanced to achieve the best results.

Control

All Pilates exercises require excellent control. This level of control, starting with core engagement, is what strengthens the muscles and makes Pilates effective. Control of the body’s alignment before a movement will mean that there is less likelihood of injury, control during the movement means that you will have the opportunity to focus on the weaker muscle groups and target them.

Flowing movement

In Pilates there should never be sharp, jerky or forced movements. Each movement and exercise needs to flow in a controlled manner from the last. Using slow flowing movements promotes concentration, precision and control.