Pilates was founded by Joseph Pilates of Germany. When he was a child, he was very frail and sickly that he had to join different sports to build his body and become stronger. He became a nurse in Great Britain during World War I and designed exercise methods and equipments for patients and soldiers that were immobilized. He also developed mat exercises that focus on the strengthening of the torso. And since he believed that the physical and mental health is intertwined, his exercises are based on these six principles: Concentration, Control, Centering, Flow or efficiency of movement, Precision and Breathing.
Concentration – Pilates is an exercise that demands focus and attention. It is very important to concentrate on what you are doing and on your entire body. This may take time but in Pilates, it is more important to do the exercises properly than the exercises themselves.
Control – This was based on the idea of muscle control. Pilates is never done haphazardly and the reason you need to concentrate is so you can control every muscle and movement. All the exercises should be done in controlling the muscles to work against gravity and the resistance of the springs which makes you the master of your body and the equipment you are using.
Centering – Pilates has a focal point that it uses to control the body. It is called the center and it comprises of the muscles in the center of the body. These are the abdomen, lower and upper back, hips, buttocks and inner thighs. In Pilates, all movements should begin from the center and flow out to the limbs.
Flow or efficiency of movement – It is the aim of Pilates to create elegant sufficiency of movements making sure that there is a smooth transition between movements. Once perfected, the exercises are supposed to flow within and into each other to build strength and stamina.
Precision – Pilates requires precision of movements. You need to focus on doing the movement precisely and perfectly than doing many movements but halfheartedly. Pilates puts more emphasis on the quality of few repetitions of the movement, rather than having to keep repeating as many times the movements but of poor quality.
Breathing – Pilates saw breathing as body cleansing with blood circulation. He sees this as a cleansing process using the oxygenated blood. The key here is proper full inhalation and exhalation. In Pilates, it is important to coordinate proper breathing with the movements of the exercise.
With these principles, Pilates is a great whole body workout. It is not only beneficial to the physical part of the body but also to the mental health of the person. But Pilates takes time to be mastered and requires a lot from the person to get the full benefits of this exercise method. Nevertheless, when you have mastered the proper way of doing Pilates, you will notice that you will be applying the exercise principles to your daily activities without exerting any effort. You will be perfectly balanced and graceful with your movements.
