Through the practice of Pilates, you will increase awareness of how your body moves, building control, endurance and coordination. You will feel more energized, focused, and empowered as you witness your physical shape changing before your eyes!
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PILATES "...DEVELOPS THE BODY, INVIGORATES THE MIND, AND ELEVATES THE SPIRIT."
-Joseph H. Pilates
What is Pilates?
The Pilates Method is an exercise method developed to strengthen the body and empower the mind bringing the body into a more balanced state. The method is a progression of carefully layered exercises that focus on a strong powerhouse (abdominals, back extensors, diaphragm and pelvic floor), supple spine, deeper breathing, improved posture, better balance, stronger and leaner muscles, efficient muscle patterning and increased flexibility, The exercises are safe and for every individual no matter what fitness level.
Benefits of both Pilates & Gyrotonic
- Increased flexibility and strength around the joints
- Intestinal health
- Renewed energy and vitality
- Awareness of the body and how it moves
- Back pain relief
- Conditioning for athletes and dancers
- Calming the mind
- Tension relief
- Improved posture and alignment
- Core strength
Why use the Equipment?
The equipment is built with springs, straps and pulleys to facilitate neuromuscular repatterning, teaching the body how to move efficiently without overworking or straining the larger more superficial muscles. The springs offer resistance where one can strengthen and tone without building bulk, making the body more flexibile and uniformly developed.
History
Joseph Pilates was born a sickly child in Germany in 1880. He diligently studied anatomy as well as eastern and western forms of exercise to improve his medical condition and by the time he was 14 he was modeling for anatomy charts. Pilates was working in England During WWI and was subsequently interned in a camp as a German national. While interned, Pilates began teaching exercises that later became part of his Method of Contrology (Pilates as we now know it) to refugees in the camp. He experimented with springs on the hospital beds manipulating them in order to create equipment used for rehabilitation purposes. These experiments became the foundation for the equipment used today. In 1918, the influenza broke out claiming millions of lives worldwide, however Pilates claimed that no one caught it in his camp due to their practice of his Method of Contrology. In 1925, Pilates left Germany and headed for the U.S. where he opened up a studio in NYC with his wife Clara. It was in NYC, that Joseph and Clara taught and rehabilitated dancers, actors, and New York's upper class.
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