Page 63 - San Diego Woman interactive pdf

It's A Core Thing “Through the Pilates Method of
Body Conditioning this unique
trinity of balanced body, mind
and spirit can ever be attained.
By Stephanie Lee Self-confidence follows.”

—Joseph Pilates
question I get asked most often as a mat Are you breathing? Ok, before you pass
A Pilates instructor is “What is Pilates?”. out, take a breath in through your nose and
The simplest and most direct answer is that breathe out through your mouth. Now as you Believing that our emotional health is to-
Pilates is an exercise format that was devel- breathe in through your nose try to feel your tally linked to our physical well-being, Joseph
oped by Joseph Pilates in Germany and aims ribs open out to the sides, and as you exhale Pilates was once heard to say, “Physical fitness
to strengthen our core muscles while improv- let your ribs naturally pull back in towards is the first requisite of happiness”. We cannot
ing our posture and our flexibility. Because each other all while still holding your upright buy happiness or fitness, but we sure can
we are often moving or engaging deep core position, belly to your spine and shoulders move our bodies where we have the physical
muscles in Pilates there is also a mindfulness back and down.In addition we would typical- capabilities.
component involved with the movement. ly shift your hips as well so they too are sta- While Pilates began in the early Twen-
Here’s an example: While sitting, extend bilized. Now you’re presumably in alignment tieth Century using what Joseph called
your back so you feel you’re in a full upright and we can safely begin movement. apparatus, today it has become an exercise
position. Now draw your belly button back As we add movement from this “set” po- format that can be done with a yoga mat, or
toward your spine and brace your abdomi- sition we increase the complexity and number with equipment. In traditional Pilates control-
nals in this position as if you’re about to be of moving parts which we must continue to ogy, a concept developed by Joe, features six
punched in the stomach. keep track of. So you can probably see how principles--concentration, control, centering,
Hold your full upright position and your the mindfulness component becomes a key flowing movement, precision and breathing--
braced belly while you begin to gently draw element in your Pilates work. that are mastered through 34 exercises. Today
your shoulder blades in toward your spine. What is my core? At some point in our we see an expansion on those 34 exercises in
Then allow your shoulder blades to slide day we may find ourselves pushing a chair a variety of classes where some more modern
down toward your back pockets pulling your under a table, or we might pull a chair out techniques and movements are applied. In
shoulders away from your ears. Notice how from under a table. We might rotate our head most instances the six principles are still
much more upright you are now. or, if our neck is stiff, our entire torso when implemented.
someone from behind us calls our name. We “You will feel better in 10 sessions, look
might slide sideways, bend and rotate all at better in 20 sessions, and have a completely
once to get into or out of a car. We bend for- new body in 30 sessions.” Joe’s guarantee of
ward, reach up, reach down, reach out or any rapid transformation using his methods has
number of other daily movements all using shown to be true time and again. Consistency
our core muscles. is the key element here.
Our core muscles exist between our Are you game to test out his claim?
shoulders and our hips and are located on Classes are offered virtually through the
the front, sides and back of us. As you can see internet, and once we open back up here in
from the movement examples above our core California and elsewhere, in studios, gyms,
muscles are vital to our day-to-day functions and privately with a teacher. Using what
helping us move, or stand or sit still, as we you learn about moving your body through
perform our daily tasks hopefully pain free. Pilates can be immediately applied to your
It is estimated by MedicinePlus that 80% everyday activities. As you gain fitness I know
of Americans have, or will have, experienced with absolute certainty you’ll gain confidence
back pain at some point in their lives. Pain of and, according to Joseph Pilates, you’ll gain
any kind, and back pain in particular, limits happiness.
our everyday activities. Pilates may be able
to help many people either prevent injury by Stephanie has been teaching fitness
since 1994 when she first became
developing a strong core, or more effectively certified by AFAA (Athletics and Fitness
recover from an injury with assistance from a Association of America) as a Group
professional. Fitness Instructor. She took her initial
Mat Pilates training in London, UK when
she was preparing to be Fitness Director
aboard a cruise ship. Her fascination with
this very effective fitness format grew
and soon she began to specialize in core
work. She is excited to introduce others
to the mental and physical aspects of this
dynamic work. She can be found through
www.theleemethod.com or by email at
lmt4me@live.com

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