PILATES

“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”

-Joseph Pilates
WHY DO PILATES?
To tone the abdomen for structural support; to improve the posture and well-being. Create
stronger muscles. Increase range of motion and flexibility.
Improve concentration, coordination and balance. Relieve mental and physical stress and to
gain poise and confidence.

Which HEALTH COMPONENTS OF FITNESS does Pilates improve?

1) Cardiovascular endurance – yes, in fast paced classes
2) Muscular Strength - yes
3) Muscular Endurance – yes, especially when using resistance tools
4) Flexibility - yes
5) BMI – Body mass Index – yes, if combined with diet and correct nutrition
Which one of the PERFORMANCE COMPONENTS OF FITNESS Pilates improve?
1) Balance
 Principles of PILATES

Pilates quote in explaining Contrology’s guiding principle, Pilates liked to quothe Schiller: “It’s the mind
itself that builds the body.”

Concentration:
1) Be present with your mind
2) Focus on the movements as you perform the exercise
3) Notice how your body feels when you focus your mind on a specific area
4) Use your kinesthetic awareness to feel your body in space; over time this will become
intuitive as you perform the exercises in the same manner
5) When you concentrate you will help your CNS (Central Nervous System) choose the
right combination of muscles (neuro-muscular connections) to coordinate the activity of
all body parts.
Centering:

1) Pilates safety starts with “Powerhouse” (explained in detail on next page) ; all powerful
movements originate from the center of the body out, and never from the limbs alone.
2) Powerhouse muscles support the spine, internal organs, and posture, if you strenghten
them you will not only stabilize your torso, but also protect your lower back.

Control:
1) All movements must be performed by your mind, in your imagination first then
move purposefully as instructed using control of your muscle movements.
2) Beginners must start slowly and practice the basic movements first in order to go
faster and make the exercises part of fitness routine.
Breathing:
1) Breath is the connection between mind and body; being aware of your breath improves
your chance of doing the exercise effectively
2) Breathe through nose or mouth is fine, do not hyperventilate (shallow breathing) or
breathe so deeply that you feel dizzy due to unbalanced amount of CO2 in your blood
3) Inhale to prepare for an exercise and exhale when performing the most challenging part
of the exercise.

Precision:
1) Maintain proper joint alignment throughout of the exercise to make the exersice safe
and effective
2) Do not hyperextend your joints
3) Keep NEUTRAL SPINE and maintain proper posture
4) Use PELVIC IMPRINT to create “C” shape of the spine to perform some exercises that
require back protection
5) Maintain proper CERVICAL SPINE - head and neck alignment (tennis ball under your
chin) when perfirming “C” shape.
6) Engage upper back muscles (Rhomboind, lower Trapezoid and Lattissimus Dorsi) to
maintain proper posture (scapula depression) – These muscles are not direct part of the
Pilates Power House, but important part of postural muscles.
7) Lenghten the spine from back top of head to tailbone to create AXIAL ELONGATION
8) When performing spinal exercises move your spine gradually one vertebrae at a time
using SPINAL ARTICULATION

Fluidity of Movement:
1) Move smoothly, evenly and balance grace and agility to complete each set of exercises
2) Sharp jerky movements increase risk of injury and reduce toning efect
3) Flow from one exercise to another and harmonize your body and mind with each
movement as you improve your body and mind coordination.

Learn to integrate all the above principles into your daily life 
 PILATES POWER HOUSE
Joseph Pilates had the following on his business card: “A man is only as old as his spine is inflexible.”

1) CORE ANATOMY (basic muscle groups)

5 major muscle groups make CORE (picture below); about 30 major muscles total:

Spine
Flexors and rotators

Muscle group action performed: SPINAL FLEXION AND ROTATION

Muscles in the group:

Rectus Abdominis (front of the abdomen); External Obliques (on the side and front of the abdomen
shown cut); Internal Obliques (under the external obliques, running in the opposite direction shown cut).
Transverse Abdominis (under the obliques, it is the deepest of the abdominal muscles - muscles of your
waist and wraps around your spine).
Erectors and lateral flexors

Muscle group action performed: SPINAL EXTENSION AND LATERAL FLEXION

Muscles in the group:

Erector Spinae (Spinalis, Longissimus, Iliocostalis) run along your neck to your lower back;
Multifidus (located under the erector spinae along the vertebral column); Quadratus Lumborum (runs
from Iliac Crest on pelvis to the lowest rib).

Hip
Flexors and knee extensors

Muscle group action performed: HIP FLEXION, KNEE EXTENSION

Psoas Major, Illiacus, Rectus Femoris, (part on Quadricep group); Pectineus (all hip flexion); Vastus
Medialis and Lateralis (part of quadricep all in front of the thigh – knee extension).

Abductors, hip Adductors and hip rotators

Muscle group action performed: HIP ABDUCTION, ADDUCTION, and ROTATION

Tensor Fasciae Latae (runs along the outside of the thigh – abduction); Gluteus Medius (located at the
side of the hip – abduction and rotation); Sartorius (crossing the thigh – rotation); Adductor Magnus
and Longus (on the inside of the thigh); Gracilis; Pectineus (also an adductor and rotator).

Extensors and knee flexors

Muscle group action performed: HIP EXTENSION, KNEE FLEXION

Gluteus Maximus and Medious (buttocks – hip extension); Hamstring group (Biceps Femoris,
Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus – knee flexion, hip extension).

Deep muscles of the pelvic floor – perineal muscles are also part of the POWERHOUSE.

2) CONCEPT OF POWER HOUSE AND ITS

EFFECT ON YOUR BODY

a) The Pilates method of body conditioning may be generalized to have three major effects

upon the powerhouse. Pilates affects the posture of the pelvis, which results in postural

changes to the lumbar spine.

 b) It works directly upon the musculoskeletal structure of the spine (the lumbar spine in

particular by strengthening, stretching, and lengthening the spine.

c) Pilates affects the structural integrity or tone of the abdominal-pelvic cavity as a whole.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CORE

When you walk or run, you are probably thinking more about putting one foot down in front of the
other that you are about your core muscles, but your core is where all your movements originates.
Whenever you walk, skip, bike or swim – your core muscles are hard at work, keeping you in proper
position, stabilizing your body as your weight shifts and absorbing impact from ground or your own
shifting body forces.

The area around the trunk and pelvis is also where the center of gravity is located. All other cultures
recognize this and have names for this area of origin. When you have good core stability, the muscles in
your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen work in harmony providing support for your spine, keeping it
healthy and free of pain.

Over time a weak core can make you susceptible to poor posture. Exercising in poor posture leads over
time to joint injuries, especially in the lower back area.

Even if your arms or legs are muscular, if your core muscles are weak, you won’t be able to maintain
healthy posture and move efficiently. Learning how to identify and properly activate your core muscles
can be achieved by practicing some basic calisthenics exercises that Joseph Pilates developed and used
himself.
 a) NEUTRAL PELVIS AND AFFECT ON THE SPINE

Picture above illustrates 4 major muscle groups that move the pelvis forward and back (pelvic
tilt and imprint – anterior and posterior tilt). The abdominals and hip flexors create the
posterior pelvic tilt (pelvic imprint) and the hip extensors create anterior pelvic tilt. Proper
pelvic alignment is thus directly connected to the lower back (spinal position). More than
normal anterior tilt results in hyperlordosis. Pilates body conditioning regimen can directly
affect the postural tilt of the pelvis, which means that the lumbar spine will also be affected.

b) LENGHTENING OF THE SPINE

The second major effect of Pilates upon the powerhouse is lengthening the spine. Lengthening
the spine results in a person that stands taller and a decompression of the joints of the spine,
thus the concept behind lengthening the spine is to effectively lessen the curves of the spine.
When doing every Pilates exercise, the Pilates instructor looks for the client to create a
lengthened posture of the spine by using such verbal cues and visual images as: ‘‘pull your navel
to the spine’’ or ‘‘hold the belly button in and up’’ or ‘‘imprint your pelvis” or “in and pull up”.
The concept of lengthening the spine and standing taller is not unique to Pilates. Indeed, many
other body-conditioning methods aim to lengthen the spine as a part of their philosophy.

c) TONING OF THE ABDOMINOPELVIC CAVITY

The third major effect that Pilates has upon the powerhouse of the body is its ability to affect
the structural integrity or tone of the abdominopelvic cavity. Pilates Method aims to
Strengthen and stretch every muscle of the body; however, working on the abdominopelvic
region is the major focus. In particular, it has been asserted that the strengthening of certain
muscles of the abdominopelvic region may be of primary importance. These muscles are the
multifidus and the transverses abdominis, and the perineal muscles (picture e). Recent studies
point to the role that these particular muscles have as postural, endurance, stabilizing muscles.
 JOSEPH PILATES BIOGRAPHY

Joseph Pilates was born in December 1880 in Germany near Dusseldorf. His father was a
gymnast, but worked as a mechanic; his mother a neuropath - helped in the gym they owned.
When Joseph was five he lost sight in his left eye due to bullying. During his teen years he
worked in German brewery. Family physician gave Joseph a discarded Anatomy book that
became his prized possession and valuable learning tool. He also studied both Eastern and
Western exercise methods including Zen, Yoga, and Roman Greek Regiments. During his years
in Germany he became skilled skier, diver. In 1912 he became a circus performer (performed as
Roman Gladiators) and moved to England to learn boxing. In 1914 when the war broke out, in a
German camp he was teaching self-defense and wrestling. He was subsequently transferred to
another camp on The Isle of Man where his interests in health led him to help out in the sick
bay. He became something of a nurse and worked with many internees suffering from illness
and incarceration. Pilates requested to help the patients in the infirmary with exercise. Bed rest
was the norm in those days, so he was told, "you can do anything you like with them, as long as
they stay in bed". So Joseph took the springs from the beds and rigged them up to the bed
posts as exercise apparatus for the bedridden! Thus was born the “Trapezium (Trap) Table.
Joseph was both inventive and resourceful in solving the health and exercise needs of his
friends and neighbors. When the 1918 'flu epidemic swept the world, (it killed millions, and an
internment camp is an ideal breeding ground for such epidemics to hit hard), none of Joe's
followers succumbed! This part of Joseph's biography reinforces how adversity can develop the
common man. Subsequently, it could be said that Joseph Pilates had become a "Nurse-
Physiotherapist", with a powerful and revolutionary approach to life enhancing therapeutic
exercise. In 1923 Pilates was invited to train the New German Army but because he was not
happy with the political direction of Germany he decided to leave. It was en route to America
that Joe met Clara who was to become his second wife. She was a kindergarten teacher who
was suffering from arthritic pain and Joe worked with her on the boat to heal her and give her a
new lease of life.
Upon arriving in New York City he and Clara took over a boxing gym at 939 Eighth Ave, in the
same building as several dance studios and rehearsal spaces. In 1934 he published his first
booklet, “Your Health”, which shows some of the exercise apparatus that became a hallmark of
his system. He gained respect, and from 1939, he maintained vast list of clients, from writers
such as Christopher Isherwood to dancers from the New York City Ballet. In the Pilates
biography, 1926 until 1966 were the golden years - From 1939 to 1951 Joe and Clara went
every summer to Jacob's Pillow, a well known dance camp in the Berkshire Mountains. They
became friends with many renowned dancers and choreographers, and many required their
dancers to go to Joseph to be “fixed”. It is said that Joseph had a rough but kindly approach
with his clients. Even the New York city slicker of those days could tolerate his "boot camp"
exercise approach. Exercise sessions with Joe were not meant to tire, but rather to invigorate.
Joseph honed and polished his method and called this approach CONTROLOGY. It was this
proximity to the dancing studio that made "Contrology" such an intrinsic part of the life, rehab
and training of many dancers. In 1945 he co-published a book with William John Miller "Return
to Life through Contrology". Photographs illustrated each exercise, and the master himself,
now over 60, demonstrated each step for the camera. Through Pilates’ writings, and through
his students, his system was passed on, after his death in October 1967, to the future, to us.
"Did Joe Pilates die in a fire?" Not a flamboyant death by hanging on rafters waiting for firemen
to arrive as told by many teachers. There was a fire near his studio two years prior to his death,
but Joseph Pilates died in the hospital of emphysema at age of 83 due to his lifestyle. He took
on smoking cigars, probably because he was not taken seriously by the high society doctors of
that age.