What is Pilates?
During World War I, Joseph Pilates developed his ideas on health and importance of the mind and body working together to create efficient movement that minimizes the stress and strain on the muscular-skeletal system. The long, fluid motions lengthen and stretch your muscles. This is a low impact form of exercise that works the whole body evenly and symmetrically. Joseph Pilates’ primary focus in every exercise was on the “powerhouse” – the abdominal wall – strengthening it and keeping it flat. The goal of the Pilates Method is to strengthen the body’s deep core postural muscles, re-align the body and teach the mind and body to work with the correct muscle systems.
The Benefits of Pilates are Countless!
You will increase your flexibility, improve balance, coordination & circulation, develop strong abdominal muscles, tone and lengthen all the other muscles in your body, heighten body awareness, gain fluid range of movement and develop a uniformly balanced body. Pilates corrects posture that will help to alleviate chronic pain caused by poor alignment. You will experience mental and spiritual benefits as well as the physical. The focus on breath and concentration on the exercise will help to relax and clear your mind.
Results will vary depending on each individual based on their initial fitness level, the number of classes they take each week, whether they are private or group classes, other physical activity they participate in and if they have any existing injuries. The average active person doing 2-3 classes per week should see significant results within 10-12 classes.
At L’ Esprit de Corps, our Instructors are certified through STOTT PILATES®. STOTT PILATES was developed by Moira Merrithew. As a former professional dancer, Moira studied the work of Joseph Pilates, as well as various Sports Medicine Professionals, to develop a more contemporary approach to the Pilates Method. STOTT PILATES® is based on 5 principles: Breathing, Pelvic placement, Rib-cage placement, Scapular movement and Head & Cervical spine placement. The goal of STOTT PILATES is to achieve optimal functional fitness. Improvement in posture and body awareness is accomplished by developing core strength and balancing the controlling muscles around the joints. The training to become a certified Instructor through STOTT PILATES spans over a one year time period and involves over 500 hours of training, including the study of anatomy.
