In the words of Joseph Pilates himself, this:
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'method develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong posture, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit'.
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Pilates quite literally 'centres' around 'contrology'- being fully in charge and control of our body from the centre/core - mainly the abdomen and spine.
Pilates gives us the opportunity to re-focus both our mind and body back towards
moving in its optimal (neutral) position, where gravity is equally distributed throughout the body, joints are aligned appropriately and muscles are balanced and effectively recruited.
It helps us to restore natural, normal and great ranges of movements we all enjoyed as children, before bad habits (slouching), working conditions (bending over someone/something/sitting for long periods) or injuries tricked us into other, temporarily easier ways of moving. When our body is out of alignment, the length and tension of our muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues are negatively affected, more strain is placed on joints and movement is affected and over time, we are moved even further out of alignment. These new, faulty movement patterns often feel comfortable and become our norm; our 'posture', until the body sends us pain signals, alerting us to the fact that somethings not quite right. It's at this stage, many people often gravitate towards Pilates.
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Having good alignment is also so important for our major body systems (nervous, respiratory, digestive immune) to work more effectively, and efficiently. For example, a slumped/rounded shoulders position can impact lung capacity, which could in turn result in shallower breathing leading to less oxygen and ultimately less energy. Try it for yourself, right now; imagine, a string is lifting the crown of your head up uptowards the ceiling. Take a deep breath and see how that feels (note Doctors often ask us to sit up straight when they listen to our lungs). Next, take a deep breath and imagine the same piece of string is gently pulling your head/spine forwards, to where the wall meets the ceiling. Notice the difference? I personally feel the benefits of the lifted (string to ceiling) posture.
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It's therefore no wonder we take so long making sure you start each and every exercise from the best position, in neutral alignment throughout the entire body. I'll teach you how to do this, and how to incorporate this into your everyday life.
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Pilates can't take the place of cardio, but is a wonderful compliment to other more energetic exercises. It will help strengthen, stabilise and provide power and control for many sports, as well as limit the potential for injury;
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Pilates for Golfers: focusing on great precision, power and ability to rotate
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Pilates for Skiers - Pilates has a host of exercises to strengthen the legs and lower back
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Pilates for Rugby, football, hockey fanatics etc: fast paced action and power means lots of mobility work here would be beneficial
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Pilates for Tennis players: Pilates assists with many exercises for rotation, control, and care taken to look after joints of the arm/shoulder
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Pilates for Runners: make sure technique and form are correct, posture is good
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Pilates for Cyclists: spinal alignment is hugely affected here - especially with mountain bikes - Pilates helps with re-jigging any troubled spots.
I offer focused, fun and functional Pilates classes in central Winchester.
I'd love Pilates to become a new way of life for you.
The 8 Principles of Pilates in a nutshell
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Alignment (Stacking the joints correctly, to ensure the muscles work effectively)
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Breathing (thoracically, helps stability and more fluid movement patterns)
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Centring (core stability of pelvis, spine, shoulders and head)
- Co ordination (controlling all movements appropriate to the exercise)
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Concentration (awareness facilitates change)
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Relaxation (focus helps to release tension)
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Stamina (training the body to move efficiently without wasting energy unessesarily holding on to tension)
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Flowing Movement (no poses here, Pilates is dynamic, never forced or strained).