About Contemporary Pilates
Contemporary Pilates takes the principles, ethos and spirit of Classical Pilates and combines it with current research within biomechanics. As a result you get a method of body conditioning and movement that incorporates the legacy of Joseph Pilates with a safe approach and a sense of innovation.
Contemporary Pilates will challenge you both physically and mentally. It will help you to discover improved patterns of movement which will transfer to your daily activities, helping you to move better throughout life. It will help you to recognise and release areas of tension so that you can move with greater ease. |
Joseph Pilates' Legacy |
Joseph Pilates was an inspirational man - inventor, innovator, entrepreneur. Back in the 1940's he was writing about how the industrial revolution was creating an increasingly sedentary population, stressed by the "ever-increasing faster tempo of living". Since his 20s he had been developing a movement method called "Contrology", which today we call Pilates. Contrology drew on a number of movement traditions from martial arts to boxing. In 1945 Pilates wrote "Contrology is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace, and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in the way you walk, in the way you play, and in the way you work". To help him achieve his goals he invented a number of pieces of equipment many of which, such as the Reformer and Wunda chair, are used in the modern Pilates studio.
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The Benefits of Pilates
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The beauty of Pilates is it's adaptability. Joseph Pilates' original studio in New York gained a reputation for helping injured dancers through their rehabilitation. Today the Pilates method has gained in popularity because it helps people to grow stronger and move better.
"Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities. This true rhythm and control is observed both in domestic pets and wild animals" Joseph H. Pilates, Return to Life Through Contrology, 1945 |