 |
Pilates Principles
The difference between the Pilates method and other forms of exercise is not the exercises themselves but how the exercises are performed.
By employing fundamental Pilates principles, you will experience the exercises to the full. This is what makes Pilates work for people.
Here at Chewing Gum Pilates we believe that exercise should not be done just for the sake of it, or because we are told that it is good for us.
Our aim is not to strengthen the body mindlessly.
Our aim is to help you, the individual, to become curious, to connect with your body and to bring more awareness
and a better understanding to your whole self.
Through better awareness we can release the stress and tension that we habitually hold within ourselves and move with more energy and freedom.
Our muscles will strengthen and lengthen in such a way that supports better and easier movement, limiting any impact on the joints.
To the right is an outline of the fundamental principles we teach here at Chewing Gum Pilates. Some come straight from Joseph Pilates’ teachings.
Some we have added as we found them to be important in our own journeys and teachings.
The order in which they are presented does not indicate their
relative importance. Each individual will have their own order of importance, according to their own needs and abilities.
Keep these principles in mind, not only whilst practising Pilates, but throughout your daily life.
From time to time, return to them specifically and individually to deepen your understanding of yourself and your movement patterns.
Remember, habits form easily.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Breathing
Joseph Pilates said the first lesson is correct breathing. He advocated:
“sqeezing every atom of air from the lungs until they are almost free of air”.
He encouraged full and deep breathing to rid the body of harmful products, stress and tension, and recharge it with fresh oxygen and energy.
At Chewing Gum Pilates we teach how to breath more fully and show how the breath and movement are intertwined. To move is to breathe and to breathe is to move.
To move freely the breath must underpin and support all movement. It starts hthe movement and ends the movement. It is the rythm and the voice of movement.
The length and sound of your breathe colours how the movement happens. If the breath is held or shallow, the movement does not flow and can be superficial.
The in-breath should fill up the sides and back of the ribcage, opening up these tight areas, whilst maintaining the connection and support of a stable centre.
The out-breath should be long and smooth, emptying the body and ridding yourself of unneccesary tension and in doing so, inviting the power within to emerge.
Flow
In the Pilates method, we perform the exercises with a natural flow and rhythm that serve to relax the muscles without disengaging them from their task.
Like the breath, movement is continuous. There is no start or end. There are no peaks or troughs in effort.
The mind should be calm.
Joseph Pilates said that his method “should be performed at the rhythm of the heart“
This does not necessarily imply speed, but implies a natural, calming beat.
Centre or Core Stability
As babies our arms and legs move wildly. Over time neurons build connections to create specific movement patterns.
The patterns always begin at the centre of the body. Once the centre is stables the limbs have a greater degree of controlled mobility.
Thus, all movement begins at the centre. AT the mere thought of movement, small muscles deep in the centre activate in preparation. We stabalize before we move.
In the Pilates method we learn to become more concious of thei stabilisation. With practice, it becomes stronger but at the same time more subtle. It is not gripping.
Too much core stability inhibits free movement. To be supportive core stability needs to be dynamic.
Control
Joseph Pilates wrote:
“ Balance of body and mind is the concious control of all muscular movements of the body.
The ideal condition is that our muscles should obey our will and that our will should not be dominated by our reflex actions or learnt movement patterns. “
Control need not be thought of as limiting. Finding proper control is to understand the difference between relaxing and collapsing and to explore how little effort is enough.
The tendency when starting Pilates is to over-control and tense up, using far more effort than is needed.
Proper control allows the muscles to be engaged without over-tensing and without resorting to momentum.
Concentration
We spend much of our time involved in outer perception using the primary senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, but less time involved in developing our inner sensing.
Any part of our bodies can be brought to our concious attention with practivce. We choose where to focus our attention
The more developed and thorough our capacities for receiving and responding to sensory information, the more choices we have about movement and body functioning.
In practicing Pilates we pay attention to every movement performed, conducting an internal dialogue to direct the body through the exercise and listening to how it feels whilst performing th exercise
The muscles respond to thei attention.
The body cannot be thought of, or exercised as a set of seoarate parts. As one part moves, there are reciprocal movements and engagements in other parts of the body.
Concentration is about sensing these relationships, finding connections and achieving balance. The idea is to concentrate the awareness of the whole body into ine single focal point within the mond.
We call it the ‘landscape’ view.
Lengthening
When you stretch a muscle you don’t change its length inside the mind.
You use other muscles, or body weight, or some mechanical force to make it longer.
You use an external force to stretch the muscles but you don't actually change the mental image of its length.
The Pilates method encourages you to engage the muscles whilst imagining them lengthening rather than contracting.
This ‘lengthening contraction’ is a process of releasing and of changing the muscle internally and most importantly, mentally.
Elongation of the muscles through active lengthening increases flexibility, ease and gracefulness. Lengthening creates space, integrity and stability in the joints.
Precision
Every movement in every exercise has a purpose. It is the precision with which an exercise is performed and sensed that determines the results.
To leave out detail is to forsake the intrinsic value of the exercise.
|
|
|
|
What is Pilates?
Joseph H. Pilates (1880-1967) strongly believed in the adage ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’.
His approach to exercise was holistic, based on toning the body and correcting poor posture with progressively more
difficult exercises carried out slowly and with concentration.
He advocated that exercise can only be effective if the mind is engaged.
“ It is the mind that builds the body ”
Pilates exercises focus on control of the deeper postural muscles, rather than using momentum to move the larger, external muscles.
Great concentration is needed to ‘feel’ these deeper muscles and to ensure that the movements are performed correctly, with control and precision.
We emphasize using the correct muscles, in the correct order, using the correct amount of tension. Breathing is key and encourages
less tension and more freedom and fluidity in movement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Benefits of Pilates
The Pilates method challenges the body as an integrated system, highlighting and strengthening any ‘weak links’.
It especially focuses on ‘the powerhouse’ or muscles of the central core.
Having a strong and stable centre has proven to alleviate lower back pain, a condition that so many of us suffer with today.
Pilates improves your confidence and ease in your body leading to a greater range of movement. Your body is balanced and your balance improves.
Flexibility increases whilst you maintain stability and integrity of the joints, giving the joints space to move freely and with comfort.
Pilates exercises encourage you to reassess your approach to exercise, learing to release. Energy held within tension is released,
reducing physical and mental stress.
Pilates connects you to your inner self. You become more aware of your posture, your movement habits and holding patterns.
You make improvements that benefit all aspects of your life, for all of your life.
Pilates encourages fuller breathing benefiting those with respitory conditiosn such as asthma and emphysema.
Pilates helps rehabilitate injury, limits the effects of degenerative joint conditions such as arthritis and resolves back pain.
|
|
|
|
|
Breathing
