East Meets West

Joseph Pilates fused the best from the eastern and the western disciplines of exercise, and it is the balancing of both these worlds that binds so many people to his method. From the East he borrowed the philosophies of contemplation, relaxation, and mind-body connection. From the West he borrowed muscle tone and strength, endurance and intensity of movement. His method utilizes the whole body, not just a part of it. There are no endless repetitions in his method. Breathing patterns are utilized to relax the body and make the movements feel effortless.

The Pilates Method should work with what you have. If you are very strong or very weak, injured or in superb shape, a Pilates session tailored to your needs will be highly beneficial.

The deeper you get into the work, and the more you understand its principles, the more the work should expand into other parts of your life. The Pilates Method is not about compartmentalizing your exercise quota into one or two sessions a week, any more than it is about building up some muscle groups and neglecting the rest. Instead this work should cultivate an awareness of your spine, your posture, and your everyday movements in all aspects of your life. Muscle control and postural awareness should translate to how you lift a child, sit in front of a car steering wheel, or bang a tennis ball across a net. Pilates should reflect on other parts of your life not just on how you exercise.

This article by Colleen Craig has been adapted from her article published in Alive magazine, June, 2001.

Basic Principles of The Pilates Method

1. Concentration — to engage your mind on what your body is doing.
2. Control — to coordination your body so that movements will not be sloppy or haphazard.
3. Centering — the ability to work from a strong core.
4. Breathing — to breath three-dimensionally into the rib cage.
5. Postural alignment — awareness of the position of your body at all times.
6. Flow — slow, supple, graceful movements.
7. Precision — exact, economic, accurate movements.
8. Stamina — introduce the element of intensity to build endurance.
9. Relaxation — to learn to release the body and not to overwork it.