What
is Pilates?
Karen
Ghiron
What is Pilates (p’ lah’ tees)? You may know about
Pilates from reading the back of a cereal box or flipping through a
magazine on your way to the Bread and Circus checkout counter. Perhaps
you wondered, "What is this hard to pronounce word? Is this just another
fitness craze?" Pilates has been around for more than half a century,
so no, it is not the latest fitness gimmick. Pilates has only been marketed
extensively recently, however, and is gaining in popularity.
What
is Pilates Method?
Pilates is a form of strength and flexibility training, that stretches
and strengthens muscles (focusing on the core abdominal muscles) and
can provide a long, lean appearance. Pilates has been in existence since
the 1920’s when Joseph Pilates brought this method of exercise from
Germany to New York City. Joseph, while working in a hospital during
the first world war, created a way to increase the strength of ill patients
during their hospital stay. The hospital bed was used as a tool to help
strengthen their body while they healed His wish was for the patients,
once they got better from their illness, to be able to be physically
strong enough to get back to daily functioning activities without any
trouble.
The
Pilates Reformer
Joseph Pilates designed a way to strengthen patient’s weak muscles by
utilizing the frame of the hospital beds. Today, this concept is takes
the form of the "Reformer," a piece of equipment used in modern Pilates
training. The reformer consists of a moveable carriage that uses springs
and a pulley system to create the resistance used in the over 400 exercises
one can do in Pilates.
Benefits
of Pilates
Pilates strengthens and challenges the student’s core physical fitness,
while at the same time teaching about breathing, pelvic placement and
rib cage stabilization during each exercise. In this way, the Pilates
method combines the traditions of Eastern and Western philosophies towards
exercise simultaneously emphasizing controlled breathing and regimented
movements and resistance.
Pilates
is a form of exercise that is unique compared to traditional fitness
classes: it requires an intense mind body connection. For this reason,
many dancers use Pilates as a technique to help discipline their form.
Pilates
is also great stress reliever because it teaches a method of exercising
control over the body to rid the mind of life’s stressors. Try Pilates
and experience the benefits for yourself!
For
more information about Pilates, please contact Karen Ghiron, Owner of
Wellness Works Inc, by calling 617.965.6585 or emailing wellnessworks@attbi.com.
Karen and her Wellness Works trainers specialize in working with people
who are endurance athletes, pre and postpartum women, and busy executives
and business owners.