Joseph Hubertus Pilates
Founder of Pilates
Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born in 1883 of German origin, was a sickly child suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. Due to his struggles with poor health, he dedicated his entire life to improving firstly his own physical condition and, thereafter, mankind. Pilates came to believe that the "modern" lifestyle, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the root of poor health. This is truer than ever post-covid!
He devised a series of exercises on the mat and training techniques on his precisely engineered apparatus (now known as Pilates apparatus), with specifications and tuning required to teach his methods properly. Pilates appropriately named his training Contrology.
Our Pilates Approach
The Focus Points of Equilibrium through Pilates
To breathe is to live. Breathing correctly is to cleanse the lungs, clarifies the mind, and allows for complete concentration.
Exhale the past to inhale the future. Exhale to dissolve, inhale to re-form.
Pilates focuses on control of the body, mind, and spirit. Control of everyday actions, control of language through complete consciousness, control of breath, and control of one’s life.
The center of the human structure is the pelvis- a point of stability similar to the pivotal point on a spinning top, when tipped just a little, throws the entire structure off balance. To stabilize and strengthen the center is to protect and preserve our entire being.
Continuity, elegant, seamless movements flow in and out of each other with feline agility reaching maximum length and strength whilst creating a long, lean form.
One’s concentration level will be challenged to awaken consciousness for life. Each movement combined with breath becomes a conscious action in a precise manner to perform all tasks directly and with ease.
Correction is precise. Precision is complete awareness of how you personally function, reflect, and pay attention to detail, and how this affects your community.
What is Pilates?
“Pilates is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind.”
In short, Pilates is a sound, corrective movement, combining breath, postural alignment and precision.
What are the benefits of pilates:
Improves breath
Improves posture
Strengthens entire body uniformly
Stimulates the brain
Balances body and mind
Calms nervous system
Allows for agility
Preserves human life!
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”
“Change happens through movement, and movement heals.”
-Joseph Pilates