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WHAT IS PILATES? (p-LAH-teez)
Pilates is a method of exercise and body conditioning developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900’s.
Pilates strengthens and tones the muscles; it strengthens the joints, improves posture, flexibility, and balance.
It is considered a low-impact form of exercise that will also help improve body alignment, circulation and bone density.
The breathing techniques and stretching, combined with the movements, help to reduce stress and can create an overall sense of well-being.
Pilates targets the core muscles - the abdominals, pelvic floor and the low back muscles - while simultaneously strengthening and improving the mobility, stability and alignment of the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle.
It is known to help relieve low back pain, correct muscle imbalances and is used as a rehabilitative method after injury, as well as being preventative against injury.
Classic pilates mat work is a series of exercises performed in a particular order, working the full body, and requires only oneself and enough space to stretch out. More modern variations of pilates mat work focus on the basic principles of classic Pilates, but utilize props such as the pilates magic circle, stability balls, the foam roller and Thera-band to further engage and challenge the classic mat work.
Pilates can be modified and adapted for people of all levels of fitness, age ranges and body types.
QUOTES BY JOSEPH PILATES
If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. If it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.
Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase.
Ideally, our muscles should obey our will. Reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex actions of our muscles.
A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion.
A man is as young as his spinal column.
Contrology (pilates) is not a system of haphazard exercises designed to produce only bulging muscles. Nor does Contrology err either by over-developed a few muscles at the expense of all others with resulting loss of grace and suppleness, or a sacrifice of the heart or lungs. Rather, it was conceived to limber and stretch muscles and ligaments so that your body will be as supple as that of a cat and not muscular like that of the body of a brewery-truck horse, or the muscle-bound body of the professional weight lifter you so much admire at the circus.
I'm not concerned with body building; I'm just trying to make people normal human beings.
Above all, learn how to breathe correctly.
I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They'd be happier.
A body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all the complex problems of modern living.
We retire too early and we die too young, our prime of life should be in the 70’s and old age should not come until we are almost 100.