Pilates in its essence...
Pilates is a whole body low-impact form of exercise that has a specific emphasis on the core - or the ‘powerhouse’ as Joe Pilates put it. The Matwork exercises focus on strength, mobility and stretching in a variety of positions. The intensity of the exercises can be altered using arm and leg movements and/or resistance through bands, weighted balls and various other equipment. Further challenge is added by coordinating these movements with the appropriate breathing control and ensuring the right technique - thus creating a mind-body technique due to the amount of concentration.
You may not feel out of breath, but you should definitely feel the good old muscle ‘burn’!
How will it help my injuries?
In your classes Jo will combine her expertise as a physiotherapist along with knowledge gained from The Australian Physiotherapy Pilates Institute (APPI) who she trained with. The founders of APPI (who are physiotherapists) researched into the traditional Pilates exercises and broke them down into specific graded levels that allow safe and appropriate progressions with reference to the body’s anatomy and physiology. The exercises are targeted and specific to the areas that need to be mobilised or strengthened more. The end goal is to have a body that has a strong foundation, moves efficiently in your normal daily activities, has a toned muscular system and good global strength to adapt to the different sports or demands you wish to place on it, becoming less prone to future pains and injuries.
If you are coming to Pilates with Jo with an injury, it is highly recommended to have an initial 1:1 session. This will help Jo to understand your bodies specific areas of strengths and weaknesses so that sessions can be adapted and tailored to your needs, allowing you to achieve your goals.
A bit of history...
‘Pilates’ is the last name of Joseph Pilates, the man behind it all. He was born in Germany and as a child suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. In an attempt to heal himself, he studied various exercise regimes along with the classical greek idea of a man who was balanced in body, mind and spirit.
When working in a hospital in the Isle of Man many years later, he saw that many ill people in bed were not given any exercises to do. So, he started to devise gentle exercise routines (endorsed by the doctors) for the patients and ingeniously attached springs from old hospital beds to their beds, providing the right stimulus for their bodies to help the patients to improve faster!
He later moved to America with his wife Clara and they opened up a Pilates studio together. Initially the studios largely attracted those in the dancing and gymnast world. The students then became teachers and as time has gone on, variations of Joe and Clara’s classical/ traditional Pilates has continued to evolve.
Comments