What is Pilates anyway?

What is Pilates?

Pilates is named after its creator, Joseph Pilates (yup, a guy!).  Pilates was born in Germany in 1883.  As a child, he was small in stature and suffered from various maladies, but he was determined to become strong and healthy.  As an adult, he moved to England and was later interned during World War I.  During that time, he created a system of movement originally called Contrology.  He believed that by using the mind to control the body, and by moving with the breath, we could increase strength and improve longevity, and undo harms caused by our industrialized, sedentary lifestyles.  He drew upon his background in martial arts, gymnastics and body-building as well as his interest in Eastern modalities (Yoga, Tai-Chi and meditation) to create a system rooted in preserving the mobility and integrity of the spine.  He was known for saying, "you are only as old as your spine".  Thus, every Pilates workout should incorporate all four spinal mechanics: flexion (forward bending), extension (backward bending), rotation (twisting), and lateral flexion (side-bending).  

Pilates is based on 6 principles:

1. Concentration: connect your body to your mind.  Pilates believed that we should use our mind to control our muscles--not the other way around.
2. Centering: every exercise focuses on the what is happening with the spine.  Even if we are making a big sweeping motion of the arm, that movement comes from the center: a steady, stable spine and core.
3. Control: slow, accurate movements versus fast and sloppy.  Pilates believed in doing 10 reps well as opposed to 30 mediocre ones.  Quality over quantity. 
4. Breathing: Move with the breath, using the power of the exhalation to contract the abdominal muscles.
5. Precision: focus on form and details.
6. Flow: move with a sense of powerful grace.

What about the machines?

Well, it is no surprise that the machines look like something you would find in a hospital, since Pilates engineered them while he was working as a nurse during his internment.  By attaching springs to a hospital bed, he was able to make machine that could be moved while the patient was still supine (lying down face up).  Pilates exercises can be done with or without machines.  The benefit of the machines is that they give you resistance and feedback, increasing proprioception, or awareness of where your body is in space.  With this fine tuning, your mat work actually improves and gets stronger.