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Pilates, many of us have heard about it, some of us even use it, but how much do you know about Pilates and the foundations on which it is built? Pilates teacher training Sydney is the perfect vehicle for learning the principles of the Pilates Method.

Pilates is never a bunch of exercises randomly thrown together, there is always a sense of flow, just like when doing its’ predecessor Yoga. The exercises have always been chosen because they compliment each other in some way and that sense of flow makes it easy to move from one movement to the next. Pilates is all about building a core of strength alongside your spine and in your abdomen from which all other strength and movement flow. The techniques strengthen weak muscles, lengthen those that are short, increasing joint mobility and help you to achieve stability though the torso. No force is used, all the movements are smooth, slow and controlled to avoid any possibility of strain.

There are eight important principles that underlie every Pilates move and session to help you achieve the rewards: improved flexibility, strength, joint mobility, co-ordination, balance and alignment, and the elimination of bad postural habits.

1. Relaxation: One of the most important skills you can learn in life and exercise is relaxation, by this I mean learning to work your body without undue tension. By relaxing the body before you begin any exercise and by focusing your attention on the relevant area, you will find that you have much more control and fluidity to your movements. You will be able to make the fine adjustments to your body needed to put yourself in the correct positions and perform the movements without too much tension. Tension needs to be just enough to achieve the movement and no more, as when you tense unnecessary muscles during a move, you risk injury. The secret to Pilates lies in the balance you exert between relaxation and control.2. Concentration: Joseph Pilates said, “It is the mind itself which builds the body.” The ability to focus your mind on what each part of your body is doing and stay in the moment during an exercise is quite an achievement. This can take a little time to master however like all things, when done well will make a great difference to your Pilates workouts. When you realise that without your mind your body cannot move in the required way, you begin to understand the importance of this step. All movement come from a movement originally desinged and visualised in the mind, which then sends the signals to the apprporiate muscles. This is called ‘mindfulness’ and this skill when used for all daily tasks can create a major difference in your life, however it’s use in Pilates is what we are talking about here. Here is something to try before your next session and let’s see if your Pilates instructor notices the difference to your posture? **Whenever you are standing or walking imagine that you have a string tied to the top of your head and 100 balloons tied to the other end of that string. This visualisation will tell the muscles in your body to stand taller and straighter, and if done on a daily basis can help to build core strength without your even having to think about it.3. Co-ordination: As you get older balance and co-oridination become vitally important to your mobility, and both of these are tied to concentration so please keep this in mind when reading these three. When you are aware of what you are doing and what you intend to do next, your body become more co-ordinated, one movement flowing into the other. Watch a baby learning to walk, it concentrates so hard, what is it doing? Listening to the messages coming back into the brain from the sensory nerves in its limbs, movement is a feedback mechanism where your brain tells the body what it wants to do, and then the body feeds information back to the brain that allows for adjustments to be made, this happens very quickly so quickly you may not keep up with it cognitively. However this constant ‘conversation’ is what makes your movements become co-ordinated, and how the baby learns to prefect its ability to walk. The stages of co-ordination are from awkward, to clumsy through to refined as your mind and body learn to co-operate, they cannot co-operate in this way if you do not know what you are going to do next, so be gentle with yourself as you learn the routines, you will eventually learn what you are doing well enough to have a meaningful ‘conversation’ with your body.4. Alignment: The body is a closed, biofeedback system that relies on each part doing its part to perform perfectly. If one part is out of alignment the whole structure is compromised, just like a house with uneven foundations, and just like that house not only will your structure be uneven and unstable the internal workings will also be affected. Your general health and wellness are intimately linked to the alignment of your body and rectifying any structural problems and giving your body the strength and flexibility to keep the alignment balanced can often alleviate many internal ills. Your body has been designed so that your weight is transferred through the center of each joint, and when your body is balanced your centre of gravity would be behind the navel, just in front of the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae. A little known fact is that it is muscles that pull on bones, which creates imbalance in the body such as scoliosis and this can be treated by retraining the muscles to do their job properly and bring the body back into alignment. When one group of becomes over-dominant and the opposing group get lazy you have one group pulling on a joint or bone and the other lending no resistance this leads to mis-alignment, pain and eventually inflammation – more chronic pain.5. Breathing: As I have said in previous articles many of us do not breathe properly, many of us breath only into the top of our lungs (which is called panic breathing) which sends a signal to the mind and then back out into the body that you are in stress, and you wonder why you feel stressed all the time. It is vital to learn how to breathe well, just look at a baby breathe and copy this, we are all born knowin how to breathe well, we just forget. Breathing into the abdomen can create such a feeling of relief and balance to your whole system, in Pilates we teach you to control your thoracic and back muscles to expand the ribs fully. The breathing rhythm of a Pilates movement is to breathe in to prepare for movement and breathe out as you move. Moving on the exhalation will enable you to relax into the stretch and prevent you from tensing up unnecessarily.6.Flowing Movements: Movement is life, we naturally love to move our bodies, we learn from movement and we experience joy from moving our bodies freely, comfortably and energetically. Remember when you were a child and you jumped for joy or danced with happiness or skipped for fun? All the best stuff in life requires movement even laughing, talking, singing, eating, dancing, playing and I know that I can leave you to think of hundreds more. When our bodies are too stiff and sore to experience the joy of movement we miss out on so much fun, and injuring are more likely when our bodies are in this state and so it becomes a catch22 situation. Pilates restores you bodies ability to move flexibly, freely and energetically long into old age, remember your only as old as you feel.7. Centering: This is all about our core strength and balance which is the focal point to your Pilates workouts. The abdominal muscles along with the ‘erector spinae’ which run up on either side of the spine, act as a support for the spine and the internal organs. Before beginning a Pilates workout you will be asked to ‘center’, which involves stabilising the torso and enabling you to safely lengthen and stretch, with your lower back protected. In the course of a one hour Pilates session you are effectively performing hundreds of ab exercises – no wonder you create a core of strength.8. Stamina: The postural muscles of the body needs stamina and endurance. Pilates aims to build up the endurance of the core muscles and once you become used to your Pilates sessions you will find that the exercises you once thought to be difficult and a strain will seem effortless. This change will be gradual as your body adjusts, however the difference to your daily life will seem worth the initial struggle. Even though Pilates is not an aerobic exercise you will notice an improvement to your stamina and endurance. Remember Pilates is one of the mainstays of dancers and they must have stamina.

Joseph Pilates made this claim of his system: “In ten sessions you will feel the difference. In twenty, you will see the difference, and in thirty you will have a whole new body.” That’s a big claim, why not prove him right?

Helen Eames owns ‘balancenoosa’ an innovative business whose motto is, “wellness that comes to you” set in the heart of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, Qld. Australia. ‘balancenoosa’ specialises in bringing specialist in different disciplines to your premises, allowing you to book the session of your choice and wait in the comfort of your own home. Corporate Wellness Solutions are a speciality for the team at balancenoosa and a uniquely designed solution can be created for your organisation. http://balancenoosa.com.au/

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Few people know the truth about Pilates. They don’t know it began as a rehabilitation program for injured soldiers during World War I. They don’t know Joseph Pilates was a boxer. They don’t realize that strengthening the “core” muscle group can improve their golf swing. According to nutritionist Northern Beaches some people don’t have time to exercise so they spend all their time focusing on their nutrition.

The truth is that Pilates allows golfers to hit the ball farther and straighter by increasing core strength, flexibility, stability, balance, posture, alignment and coordination. Unfortunately, many athletes dismiss Pilates as a recent fad, a fancy stretching routine, or “something for ballet dancers.”

Myth: Pilates was developed for dancers.

Joseph Pilates was a boxer and gymnast. His theories about how the body moves were first developed in World War One at a prisoner of war camp where he served as a medic. He began putting his theories into practice by attaching springs to the hospital beds to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers.

Today, Pilates equipment still uses springs for resistance. When Joseph moved to New York City, dancers were naturally drawn to his rehabilitative and preventative techniques due to the high number of injuries they sustain.

Myth: Pilates is a recent fad

Joseph Pilates first developed his philosophy and technique for movement in the 1920’s and 1930’s, refining his method until his death in 1967. It was not until the 1990’s that Pilates grew in popularity. Hollywood stars and celebrities discovered that the exercises resulted in the coveted long, lean shape and their enthusiasm launched Pilates into the national spotlight.

Myth: Pilates is a fancy word for stretching

Pilates is so much more than just stretching. The exercises develop overall body strength and flexibility simultaneously, which results in the long lean muscles of a Tiger Woods.

Flexibility was a pretty radical idea in the early 20th century! But Pilates saw that long, lean muscles were less prone to injury and tears. Tight muscles also pull on the spinal structure causing neck and back pain.

Joseph Pilates believed in efficiency. Pilates techniques build strength and flexibility simultaneously. For each strengthening movement, there is a corresponding stretch. These aren’t your typical stretches either. The movements that Pilates developed incorporate flowing, dynamic stretches. Most people new to Pilates don’t even realize how much they are stretching until they start to see (and feel) the results of increased mobility.

Myth: Pilates is just like every other ab workout.

The Pilates techniques build a strong core, especially the deepest abdominal muscles under the “6-pack abs that are used for stabilization.” Joseph Pilates believed that every movement we do is generated first from the core or abdominal muscles. So when new students ask, “How many core exercises are there?” the answer is, “All of them”.

Crunches and sit ups develop the large outer muscles such as the Rectus abdominis that gives you the “six pack abs” look. Pilates goes deeper to work not only the surface muscles, but the deeper abdominal muscles as well.

These deep muscles, such as the Transverse Abdominus, allow us to stand upright. They give stability to the spine and pelvic girdle – an essential element in hitting a golf ball straighter.

Many exercises do not isolate the abdominals effectively. Athletes using their quads to get through their crunch sets will be in for a surprise with Pilates. When the Pilates equipment isolates the abs from the quads, many people are shocked to find they cannot get up!

Myth: Pilates is a group of special exercises.

Pilates is not a hodge-podge of exercises. Even specific exercises that Joseph invented, such as The Hundreds, are not Pilates if his techniques are not used.

Pilates is a technique for efficient, natural and pain-free movement.

Golf-specific Pilates exercises are possible because they utilize the Pilates method. It is even possible to train hard-core gym rats to lift weights (if they must!) utilizing the Pilates technique to achieve better, safer results.

Pilates affects the way you move in life and on the golf course. It affects the way you walk the course, the way you swing, and the way you putt. It even applies when you sit to watch the Golf Channel or surf the web for the latest golf gadget.

With practice, the body will eventually naturally move in the Pilates technique without the practitioner even thinking about it. My husband and I often hike in the Rockies and he will ask how I can keep my abs engaged for miles with elevation gain. The answer is that I don’t even think about it. It is how I always walk!

Myth: Pilates needs special equipment.

The Pilates equipment is great since it offers built-in resistance. However, you can achieve the same benefits using a ball, foam roller, Theraband and Magic Circle. There is even a new Hole in One Pilates exercise chair that fits in the same space as an easy chair.

Myth: Pilates is not really “working out”.

USA Today August 18, 2003
Schilling, the Arizona Diamondbacks star pitcher, agrees. “The first three weeks, I was really disappointed,” says Schilling, who incorporated Pilates into his off-season training program last winter. “I wasn’t sweating. I wasn’t winded, which is what I associate with true exercise.

“Then in the fourth week I started to understand the Pilates terminology, the idea of working from your center. By the third month I was more powerful and flexible than ever before. And I’d lost 15 pounds.”
Curt’s experience illustrates several facts. First, in Pilates we must re-learn how to move. The beginner exercises are easy because you are laying the foundation for more difficult work.

Second, Pilates does not work the muscles to exhaustion. This means you can practice Pilates every day. Pilates focuses on precise, controlled, perfect movements rather than endless, exhausting mind-numbing exercises.

Third, in Pilates we work the very deep muscles and work to the surface groups. So you may not feel something. At first. But as Curt explained, the results over time are significant.

Myth: Pilates is “something like yoga”.

Joseph Pilates was influenced by yoga, as well as other movement styles such as martial arts, Tai Chi, boxing, and calisthenics. Like yoga, Pilates develops strength and flexibility.

Pilates differs from yoga in many ways. In many types of yoga one “holds a pose”. In Pilates you do not usually hold a position, but rather move through it.

Traditionally, Yoga does not emphasize core strengthening to the degree Pilates either. Some contemporary Yoga classes do place more emphasis on the core, possibly as a result of Pilates influence.

Pilates does not come from a spiritual tradition. Many people find it is great stress relief, because Pilates requires thoughtful motion rather than mindless repetition. One of Joseph’s concepts is to execute every motion with focus and intent, something you often hear about hitting a golf ball!

Myth: Pilates is hard for men.

Anything new may be difficult for a body when we start working in a different way. Guys will say, “I can’t do Pilates because I’m not flexible!” Beginner Pilates work allows you to become more flexible.

I get a lot of good comments about our DVD because next to the Gumby-like Pilates instructor is a real golfer. As one client put it, “Your DVD has guys that look like me!”

Truth: Pilates will help my golf game

Any Pilates will help improve your golf game. Hole in One Pilates, developed with Butch Harmon, even includes specific exercises to increase rotation and target tightness caused by the swing.

As Joseph Pilates used to say, “In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty sessions you will see the difference, and in thirty sessions you will have a whole new body!”

Hole in One Pilates ([http://www.HoleinOnePilates.com]) founder Sarah Christensen worked for three years with golf conditioning specialists, Pilates master teachers, physical therapists, and golf teaching professionals to develop a solid program that will help both amateur and professional golfers consistently hit the ball farther and straighter with reduced risk of injury and back pain.

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