“I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.” Words of wisdom by Joseph Pilates. I’m only the messenger but I can’t agree more. Pilates will make you and your body happy. In this post I will explain about this wonderful method and why I love it so much. Here is one out of the six principles of Pilates. 1. First Principle - CENTERING - focus on your center. All Pilates exercises are initiated from our 'power house' our core, the center of our body. 2. BREATHING. A second principle out of the 6 Pilates principles:
“…above all, learn how to breathe correctly.” Joseph Pilates. Maybe this is one of the most important principles in Pilates, but in life in general. Sounds crazy, no? We all breath the moment we come out to the world, why do we need to learn it? As you will read in the image below, breathing goes hand in hand with the Pilates method and when learning to do Pilates, you also learn how to breathe correctly.
3. The third principle - CONTROL - before it was called PILATES, this method was called CONTROLOGY - the art of control. This means that when the movement is done from the center with focus and concentration - YOU are in control of the movements performed, habit and gravity do not take over.
4. PRESICION, the 4th principle in Pilates – I always tell my students – it is not about the quantity, it is about the quality. Better to do 4 correct repetitions instead of 8 wrong repetitions. All Pilates exercises have a clear structure, a precise form, and an optimal dynamic. Learn how to be precise and you will have an optimal workout! 5. FLOW - the 5th principle of Pilates: Pilates exercise is done in a flowing manner and flow is involved in all exercises. The energy of an exercise connects all body parts and flows through the body, for a maximum flow. The idea is that we should only move and function only when there is good flow movement. If you stick to this concept, this will improve our overall health in our everyday lives. 6.Last by not least, the 6th principle – CONCENTRATION – in order to have an increased performance and to have better results when doing Pilates, you need to think about the motion and what muscles to activate (versus just moving them). So, you need to bring full attention to the exercise and do it with full commitment and concentration. Now you know it all! Well almost… if you understand the technique, find the logic and sense in it, I think it will be easier to do it and maintain it for a long period of time. CENTERING – BREATHING – CONTROL – PERSICION – FLOW - CONCENTRATION
