What is Pilates

What is Pilates? This is a common question asked by those interested to take this discipline. To answer the question on what is Pilates; here is a little background on the description and the history of Pilates.

Your Pilates program is a form of exercise developed by Joseph H. Pilates in 1920’s, which focuses on the balanced development of the body through core strength (torso), flexibility and awareness in order to support graceful and efficient movement yet, without adding muscle bulk. It uses controlled movements through mat exercises or equipment for toning and body strengthening. So if you are a health buff and figure conscious individual, you might want to consider doing the exercises under Pilates.

The founder of this disciple was born a frail child who was suffering from asthma and other childhood frailties. In order to get stronger and to build his body, he took up different sports and later became an accomplished athlete. During World War I, he was a nurse in Great Britain, where he designed exercise movements and equipments for rehabilitation of immobilized and bed ridden patients and soldiers, so the birth of Pilates exercises, which was later found to be of great benefit to anybody who is seeking a higher level of fitness.

The proper understanding of what is Pilates should always include a research on the beliefs and motivations of its author. Joseph Pilates believed that our mental and physical health are intertwined thus designing the program using concentration, centering, precision, control, breathing, and flowing movements.

There are two ways of Pilates exercise. The mat exercise and the use of machines to tone and strengthen the body both using the principles of resistance. Nowadays, most people do the Pilates using the mat exercise which requires floor and mat training only and as mentioned using the body’s own weight as resistance. Pilates exercise works well to a wide range of people, from dancers, athletes aging women and not to mention pregnant women and people who are undergoing different process and stages of rehabilitation.

What is Pilates? Now that you know the answer to this question, now is the perfect time to get started and reap the rewards.

Learn More about Pilates

Want to learn more about pilates? Well, you have come to the right place.

Pilates has become a very popular physical fitness system. But do you know who developed this exercise? It was developed in the early 20th century by a German named Joseph Pilates. So the name of this exercise is actually his last name.

When you learn more about Pilates benefits, you will find it interesting that the founder of this exercise method, Joseph, was a sickly child and has even suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. But these diseases only encouraged him to dedicate his entire life to improving his physical strength. He later became a gymnast, a diver and a builder. He even became a professional boxer, circus performer and self defense trainer when he moved to England in 1912.

He believed that the modern life style, bad posture, and inefficient breathing are the cause of people’s poor health. Thus, he devised a series of exercises and training techniques. His exercise, Pilates, is based on the method of control. He believed that the mind can control the muscles. This physical fitness system focuses on the core postural muscles. These are the muscles that help keep the body balanced. They are also essential in providing support to the spine. This exercise system teaches breathing awareness and spine alignment. The aim of the exercise is to strengthen deep torso muscles. It also attempts to create a fusion of the mind and body.

When you learn more about Pilates you will quickly understand that this exercise was a method developed and refined over more than eighty five years of use and observation. Pilates also follows several principles: breathing, centering, concentration, control, precision, flow or efficiency of movement, and flexibility.

Breathing is vital to doing Pilates. Breathing is believed to aid in blood circulation. Proper breathing means more oxygen can enter the body and waste gases are purged out of the body. With more oxygen, the blood can work properly. It can also reduce tension in the upper neck and shoulders, as well as, oxygenate the muscles. So, when you are doing the exercise, you have to make sure that you are breathing.

Pilates is performed with the use of a machine, known as the Pilates reformer. This machine provides exercise resistance to build strength, develop proper alignment and posture, and increase flexibility. There are mats, which does not make use of reformers, which is becoming popular to users. With the mat, the individual’s core strength is garnered as resistance to increase flexibility and develop the core muscles. It is an exercise, which pregnant women can even use.

When you learn more about Pilates, you will understand that it is a safe exercise for the mind and body that you will enjoy, so why not try it now?