Pilates
Pilates?
An innovative system of mind-body exercise evolved from the principles of Joseph Pilates. The series of exercises are performed with control and focus on correct form and proper breathing patterns. The exercise method is based on the importance of having a strong musculature to stay fit and healthy. The muscles of the core are particularly focused on; however, during a Pilates workout the whole body is used. It teaches body awareness, good posture and easy, graceful movement. Pilates improves flexibility, agility and economy of motion. It can even help alleviate back pain.
Why should you take Pilates?
If you suffer from mild or chronic back pain you need to take Pilates.
If you do not suffer from back pain you need to take Pilates to prevent the development of back pain and to improve your body awareness.
Pilates is a preventative approach to the well being of your physical body.
Pilates strengthens the body’s core which will help to protect the lower back from pain and injury.
Pilates also strengthens and stabilize the arms and legs helping to prevent injury and improve movement.
It is also cheaper and more fun than going to a physiotherapist or chiropractor.
Benefits of Pilates
- Dramatically transforms the way your body looks, feels and performs
- Develops a strong core - flat abdominals and a strong back
- Improves flexibility, agility and economy of motion
- Alleviates back pain
- Enhances athletic performance
- Improves faulty posture, helping you stand taller
- Improves balance, alignment and muscle control
- Improves mind body awareness
- Improves muscle elasticity and joint mobility, reducing the chance of injury
- Emphasizes proper breathing and correct spinal and pelvic alignment
- Reduces stress and fatigue
- Strengthens the body from the inside out
- Provides low impact and partially weight bearing exercise
- Relieves pain, stiffness and tension
“You will feel better in 10 sessions, look better in 20 sessions, and have a completely different body in 30 sessions.”
Joseph Pilates (creator of the Pilates Method)
The Story of Joseph Pilates
Joseph Pilates was a man ahead of his time that cared passionately about people’s mental, physical and spiritual health.
He was born in Germany in 1880. As a child he suffered from Asthma, Rickets and Rheumatic fever, which inspired him on a lifelong quest for greater health and fitness. He taught himself human anatomy and studied natural movement by watching animals in the wild learn to move. By the time he was 14 he was modeling for anatomy charts and eventually taught himself to become an all around athlete, excelling at skiing, gymnastics, diving, and boxing.
In 1912, Joseph moved to England. When the First World War broke out in 1914 he was interned in a prisoner of war camp in Lancaster as an enemy alien with other German nationals. It was at this time that he began devising the system of original exercises known today as “matwork”. He called this regimen “Contrology”. A few years later he was transferred to another camp on the Isle of White where he took on the role of hospital nurse. He developed a fitness routine for the other internees. He began constructing equipment from pulleys, bed springs and straps attached to the wall so that bed ridden patients could also exercise. After the flu epidemic of 1918 that killed millions of people world wide, Joseph Pilates’ exercise regime was given credit for the fact that none of the internees in his care were killed by the virus.
After the war Joe returned to Germany where he continued working on his method. He trained the Hamburg Military Police in self-defense and was asked to train the new German army. In 1926 he decided to leave Germany and move to New York City. On the boat to America he met his future wife Clara, a nurse and kindergarten teacher.
He set up a studio in New York City at 939 Eighth Avenue where he and Clara taught “Contrology”, the art of “gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control of your body”. By the 1940’s he was very popular in the dance world and by the 1960’s many of New York’s dancers were training regularly at his studio.
Joe continued to develop his method and teach at his studio well into his 80’s. He enjoyed the great vitality and vigor his method gave him right up to his last days. In 1966, the Eighth Avenue building suffered a fire; it is believed that he suffered smoke inhalation, which led to his eventual death a year later, at the age of 87.
Clara Pilates, a trained nurse, incorporated his concepts and exercises in ways that benefited more seriously ill or injured clients. Clara’s work has allowed Pilates to be clearly recognized as a positive form of movement-based exercise that can be tailored to any level of either fitness or health. Clara, an extremely gifted teacher, continued to teach at the Pilates studio until 1971 when she passed the running of the studio and the Pilates legacy to their long time student, teacher and friend Romana Kryzanowska. Clara passed away in 1977.
Some of the students Joseph Pilates trained over his long and dedicated career carried on his message and his work, becoming teachers themselves. The five first generation master teachers have ensured that Joseph Pilates’ method not only lives on, but also thrives.
STOTT Pilates
This is one of the leading internationally recognized Pilates certification companies. It is an anatomically based approach to the original exercise method incorporating modern exercise science and rehabilitation principles. It focuses on optimizing strength, flexibility and endurance. www.stottpilates.com
Rates & Schedule
Pre-booked sessions: Register for a six-week set of classes
1 class per week $90 ($15.00/class)
2 classes per week $165 ($13.75/class)
Sessions can be joined at any time at a pro-rated fee. Within the six-week session you may come to another class in lieu of any classes missed.
Drop-in Rates: $17
Private Classes: $50. Your unique postural tendencies will be the focus of this hour session. Exercises in this program will be specifically tailored using small equipment to suit your ability and goals. This is an excellent way to accelerate your learning and fine tune your Pilates skills. It is also particularly recommended if you have an injury, any restricted movement or would like to correctly learn basic movements before attending group classes.
Fall Schedule: Monday 6:30pm, Tuesday 9:30am, post or prenatal 10:50am, 12noon, NEW*5pm& Thursday 9:30am, 12noon
Please arrive early before your first class.
