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Health Fitness Articles
Pilates Explained
Pilates is a method of exercise and movement
designed to stretch, strengthen and balance the body. With consistent practice
of specific Pilates exercises coupled with focused breathing, Pilates has
proven to be not only a superb fitness program, but also an important
compliment to sports training as well as physical rehabilitation and
reconditioning.
With an
aging population and the increasing awareness to be fit and healthy, more and
more gyms, health clubs and organizations are offering Pilates classes as an
alternative to the health conscious and fun loving individuals.
Practicing Pilates regularly can give you many
benefits such as increased lung capacity, improved blood circulation, gain
strength and flexibility especially in your core
muscles such as your abs and lower back, improve posture and fine tune
mind muscle coordination. Pilates teaches balance and control of your physical
body.
According to practitioners, the main aim of
Pilates is to create a fusion of mind and body, so that without thinking about
it the body will move with economy, grace, and balance. The ultimate aim is to
produce an attention free cohesion of mind and body coordination.
History of Pilates
Joseph Pilates designed this exercise in the
1920s. He was placed under internment during World War 1 along with other
German nationals in Lancaster, England. It was in Lancaster where he taught
fellow camp prison inmates the concepts and exercises he developed over two
decades self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and
Roman methods of exercises and body conditioning.
Click
here To Get Pilates Instructor Certification
He
then devised a system of original exercises known as "matwork", or exercises
done on the floor. He named this exercise method Contrology because he
believed this method uses the mind to control the muscles. The program focuses
on the core postural muscles which help to keep the body balanced and which
are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates
exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and aim to
strengthen the deep torso/core muscles.
He then began devising equipment to
rehabilitate his "patients," taking springs from the beds and rigging them to
create spring resistance and "movement" for the bedridden campmates. Today's
Pilates' equipment, although much more modernized are still designed with the
same principle using spring tension, straps to hold feet or hands, supports
for back, neck and shoulder.
Focused breathing pattern is an
important part of Pilates because Joseph believed in circulating the blood so
that it could awaken all the cells in the body and carry away wastes and
toxins that causes fatigue. For the blood to do this work effectively, he
believed that the blood has to be richly oxygenated and purged of waste gases
through proper and correct breathing.
Full and thorough inhalation and
exhalation are part of every Pilates exercise. In Pilates, forced exhalation
is the key to full inhalation. "Squeeze out the lungs as you would wring a wet
towel dry," Joseph was known to have said repeatedly. Every exercise is
accompanied by its own breathing instructions.
To compliment Joseph's efforts, his
wife Clara, who was a trained nurse, incorporated his concepts and exercises
in ways that benefited the more seriously ill or injured. Her approach and
special techniques is what we know as the Pilates method today.
Joseph then begun to train
instructors to spread his work. He worked at length with his own instructors,
allowing them to assist and then allowing them to teach after 2 to 3 years of
training and apprenticeship. Today, many teaching organzations and
certfication bodies has condensed the Pilates Instructor courses and students
can get a Pilates
Instructor certification within weeks.
Now that you know what is Pilates all
about, click this link if you want to be
a certified Pilates instructor.
Best
Wishes
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