Can Pilates Really Strengthen, Stretch, and Balance Your Body?

I wrote an article on Pilates for the Madison Park Times which should be published in their next issue. Here's a preview of the article...

Eighty years ago, a German-born immigrant named Joseph Pilates came to this country and brought a revolutionary new form of exercise he called “The Pilates Method.” He believed so strongly in this method that when he was 86, he proclaimed “the whole country, the whole world should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.” While the whole world isn’t doing his exercises, they’re definitely starting to take more of an interest in Pilates. But few people really understand what it is. So as a Pilates Instructor, I’d like to offer a brief summary and hopefully shed some light on this not-very-well-understood method of health and fitness.

History
Born in Germany in 1880, Pilates was a boxer, skier, and gymnast. A sickly child who worked hard to overcome his physical limitations, he studied everything from yoga to circus performance. He developed his own system over 20 years, drawing from both Eastern disciplines like yoga and Western traditions such as ancient Greek regimens.

During WWI, Pilates was placed in an internment camp in England where he developed the system now known as “matwork” which he then called “Contrology.” He later took the springs from a bed to invent his first piece of equipment to rehabilitate wounded and bedridden soldiers. This was the first Pilates “Reformer”, still used today. Today, his contraptions, with names like the “Universal Reformer”, “Cadillac”, and “Wunda Chair” still haven’t changed very much from his original designs. The ingeniously designed equipment provides support and resistance to the body as it learns to move with greater efficiency and ease.

Many years later in 1926, Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara came to this country and settled in New York City. He opened a studio and it was there that he taught students the method that has been passed down by his original students, known as “the Pilates elders” since then.

What is Pilates?
Pilates is a system of movement and exercise designed to strengthen, stretch and balance the entire body. It combines slow, controlled movements, coordinated with precise breathing patterns. The breath and movement together focus the mind, relax the body, and develops greater mental and physical coordination.

Core Strength
A key principle in Pilates is learning how to properly engage and strengthen the core. The “core” consists of deep postural muscles that include the Transversus Abdominis and Internal Obliques, as well as the deep spinal stabilizers called Multifidus and the pelvic floor muscles. When all of these muscles are engaged, they act as a kind of girdle, forming a cylinder from the base of your trunk to your lower ribcage. From this starting point, you learn to move the rest of your body with greater control and awareness. Pilates does not isolate muscle groups – instead it trains the whole body, starting from the core and integrating the movement of the arms and legs while maintaining this core stability. Another key Pilates principle is the concept of “neutral pelvis” or “neutral spine”, which is the ideal spinal alignment maintained by engaging the core muscles to hold the pelvis and lumbar spine in proper alignment while moving the rest of the body.

Stretching
Pilates exercise also increases flexibility and supports a healthy back by using gentle stretching and slow, articulated movements of the spine. A balanced Pilates workout incoporates stretching and movement of the spine in all planes of movement: flexion (bending forward), extension (bending back), rotation (twisting), and lateral sidebending (bending sideways). Many Chiropractors and Physical Therapists recommend Pilates programs for their patients for this reason.

Balancing the Body
Another major benefit of Pilates exercise is improving posture by correcting muscle imbalances.This re-balancing is achieved by lengthening muscles that have shortened and strengthening weak and elongated muscles. Think of a person who sits at a computer for long periods (like you for instance!) Sitting in a bent knee position day after day, year after year, you develop shortened hamstrings and elongated and weak quadriceps. Your Pilates program would include stretches for the hamstrings, and strengthening exercises for the quadriceps – all while maintaining core stability.

Now, if someone ever asks you “What is Pilates?” just remember these three things – strengthen, stretch, and balance.

To find out more about Pilates, visit the Pilates Method Alliance web site.