What is Pilates?
Pilates is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit.’
- Joseph Pilates
Pilates - Contrology
In the early 1900's, Joseph Pilates developed an active method of balancing and strengthening whilst also focusing on core stabilisation and postural alignment. In the words of Joseph Pilates, the exercise system that is Pilates "develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit."
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Pilates is an exercise program that is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. It is a full body workout which improves your physical strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, control, coordination, mobility, and more! It will also result in improved posture and alignment and enhance your mental focus, allowing you to improve your mind-muscle connection.
One of the fundamental principals of Pilates is Breathing. That may seem an unnecessary exercise as it is something that we do unconsciously, but it is the quality of breathing that we might be lacking. As breathing is intrinsically linked to our posture and emotions, it can lead to tension and poor posture, movement and general health.
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Pilates places much emphasis on our "core" - more specifically the muscles in the back (the multifidous), muscles in the abdomen (the transverse abdominis) and our pelvic floor muscles. We consider muscle recruitment patterns and ensure that we try to correct any compensatory and habitual patterns that may have a negative effect on your posture and movement.
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Pilates also involves stretching, but whilst you are lengthening one muscle group, you will also be strengthening another. You will find that you will be recruiting the majority of the muscles during a Pilates Repertoire, and this is very important as "developing the minor muscles naturally helps to strengthen the major muscles.
Modern Pilates allows for a more gradual introduction beginning with the foundations of breathing, alignment and working from the centre, and then moves towards the more traditional exercises. At HEAT PT, the repertoire will be tailored to your body and any injuries, dysfunctions and muscle imbalances that you might have. You also have a choice of Matwork/Small Apparatus Pilates or Reformer Pilates.
If you would like to have less aches and pains, improve your posture and strength, and have 1 hour in which you can clear your busy head and focus purely on your mind-body connection, contact HEAT PT now!
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Reformer Pilates
The Reformer machine is a bed like frame with a platform that rolls backwards and forwards, and also has springs that can can provide assistance or resistance during an exercise. This allows the client to achieve proper muscle length and strength in an organized way.
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The Reformer offers all of the benefits of Pilates (strength, flexibility, co-ordination, control and balance) but with greater variation in exercises and their intensity. The versatility and support offered by the Reformer allows for people of all capabilities (even those with injuries) to safely perform a Reformer repertoire.
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Semi-Private Pilates Sessions
These are small group sessions which consist of no more than 5 participants. This allows time to ensure that each participant is executing the correct technique and to make regressions or modifications to each participant's repertoire.
You get some of the benefits of one on one sessions but at a lower cost and with an enjoyable and encouraging atmosphere.
The focus during these sessions is Mat Work Pilates but they also include small apparatus such as hand held weights, therabands, foam rollers and the magic circle!
Mat Work Pilates - One on One
Mat Work Pilates is much more than body weight exercises and stretches. You will also make use of small apparatus such as thera-bands, the magic circle, foam rollers and small balls. These can be used to both assist you or challenge you in an exercise, and also add variety to the repertoire.
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The benefits of Mat Work Pilates are many, including:
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Enhanced core strength
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Improved posture
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Increased flexibility
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Boosts balance and coordination
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Joint health with low-impact exercises
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Strengthened mind-body connection
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Stress relief through mindful movements
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Adaptable for various fitness levels with minimal equipment
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Whole-body workout
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