Pilates – The essence behind the art
Pilates isn’t just exercise. Many exercises mimic Pilates movements but miss the essence of the practice. Joseph Pilates’ theories and methodology are founded on six fundamental principles. Without these, you’re missing the magic.
Joseph Pilates made a fundamental link between the control of the body and mind. Understanding and applying his principles forms the bedrock of the practice, requiring total focus, harmoniously connecting the body and mind.
Pilates’ “fundamentals” ensure movement starting from the core, allowing free and mindful movement of the limbs, with coordination of the rest of the body, using breath to assist. They result in physical and mental focus, promoting a holistic approach to overall health and well-being, transferable to all aspects of life.
So what are the ‘fundamentals”?
Concentration: If you want to see change in the way you move, the body and mind must work together. Pilates requires focused attention on the precision of each movement. Awareness of the movements within each exercise, of what your body is doing, how it is feeling, where it is engaged, and what is working creates body awareness, which will become automatic, resulting in improvements in everyday life.
Alignment: Correct alignment of the body, with joints and supporting structures in their “neutral” position at the start and during movement is essential. Attention to this promotes appropriate muscle recruitment patterns and joint stability and health. Muscle memory and correct movement patterns are improved, which translates naturally to everyday movement.
Breathing: Controlled breathing is essential for the efficiency of movements, oxygenating muscles and providing rhythm and precision for movement. Effective and controlled breathing is also fundamental for the body and mind to relax and focus.
Centring: Often referred to as the "powerhouse” or “core stability”. Your core, or centre, refers to all the stabilising muscles of the trunk, including the abdominals, lower back and the muscles that connect the limbs to the centre. Pilates teaches you to maintain support and control of the body through engagement of these stabilising muscles, creating stability and strength, allowing your limbs to move more freely. This strong centre is at the heart of Pilates movement.
Control/ Coordination: Pilates movements are performed deliberately, with control, with a focus on detail and quality of movement, ensuring correct and optimal movement and muscle engagement. This doesn’t mean Pilates is always slow!
Flow: Within each Pilates movement, there is focus on lengthening out from the centre, co-ordination, efficiency and fluidity. Movements are not forced and so become graceful and flowing, working through fluid articulation of the spine and joint mobilisation.
Relaxation: An important element of Pilates is learning to recruit the muscles which are needed for a particular movement but simultaneously relax and release tension where it is not needed. For change to happen, we must learn to relax overactive muscles. Additionally focusing fully on the precision of your movements allows the mind to relax.
The results
When these “fundamentals” are bought into play and practised every time we perform Pilates movements, the coordination, control, mobility, strength and overall efficiency of the body will be improved. This practice translates directly to movement in everyday life.
"Physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure”
Joseph Pilates, Return to Life through Contrology: “
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