Pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a holistic exercise system designed to elongate, strengthen and restore the body to balance; so much more than just building a 'strong core' or 'perfect posture'.
Exercises involve the whole body and are performed on spring-assisted apparatus or a mat, sometimes utilising small equipment.
Pilates is effective as it addresses underlying structural imbalances in the body which can create on-going pain and difficulty with movement. The whole body is considered. Lengthened and strengthened muscles improve posture and overall fitness and retrain dysfunctional movement patterns, restoring optimum physical function.
Regardless of age, ability or fitness level,
Pilates is beneficial for everyone.
Regular practitioners of Pilates feel a heightened sense of awareness and ease in their bodies, experiencing less pain and increased mobility. This freedom ultimately leads to increased satisfaction in life!
"The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning develops the body uniformly, corrects posture, restores vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit." - Joseph Pilates
It is this holistic approach that sets Pilates apart from many other forms of exercise. Osteopaths, Physiotherapists and General Practitioners recommend Pilates as one of the most effective forms of exercise today.
Look Better. Feel Better. Live Better.
The Benefits
Using gravity, breath and spring resistance, Pilates uses whole body movement targeting specific muscle groups to re-educate movement patterns and rebalance the underlying muscular and structural systems in body.
When long-standing patterns shift, practitioners feel an increased sense of freedom in their bodies and lives.
Getting Started in Pilates
As Pilates offers a new way of experiencing your body and movement, it can be difficult to understand, or even feel that anything is happening, at the beginning. This can be frustrating and many people may choose to go back to their normal routines rather than continue.
Here's a tip: commit to 10 classes, and you will never regret it!
Studio or Matwork?
Both Studio Apparatus and Matwork can facilitate profound changes in the body, when they are practiced holistically within the original principles and taught by a qualified Pilates Foundation Teacher.
Our comprehensively trained teachers undergo in depth study of the Pilates Method as a complete body of work, and their further training in working with specialised / chronic conditions allows them to join the register of NHSTA Complementary Health Pracitioners.
The History of Pilates
Far more than a recent fitness craze, Pilates has been developed and practiced since the 1920's when Joseph and Clara Pilates opened their 'Body Conditioning Gym' in New York City.