Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system that was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. Pilates focuses on principles such as breathing, centering, concentration, control, precision, efficiency of movement, and flexibility.
Breathing
Blood circulation is extremely important to oxygenate the body and get rid of waste products that may be harmful to ones system. Proper breathing is not only known to oxygenate the blood but relieve tension as well. Pilates breathing principles are based on forced exhalation in order to full the lungs with clean air on inhalation. Pilates makes use of posterior lateral breathing.
Centering
All Pilates movements should originate from a large set of muscles in the centre of the body. These muscles (Pelvic floor muscles, transverse abdominals, and Multifidus) situated in the abdomen, back, hips, and buttocks create the ‘powerhouse’, more commonly known as one’s ‘core’.
Concentration and Control
In Pilates control and concentration are key principles when executing movement. Students are often called upon to focus on their bodies during the execution of movement in order to have more accurate control over their bodies.
Allignment
Allignment is an extremely important principle in Pilates as working the body out of alignment can create many postural and muscular problems and can cause muscle compensation on the long term.
Elongation
Elongation is a technique used to extend out of joints in order to create lean muscles rather than the bulking up of muscles. This process is referred to as eccentric and concentric contractions.
At Studio of Motion we base our movements on the Pilates principles using neutral pelvis and neutral spine as our starting point. All Pilates students will undergo an orientation session which is designed to give us (you and the instructor) a clear history and layout of your body. This orientation session also allows us to clarify problem areas and allows us to work on strengthening your body without causing further damage to problem areas.
