Background

The Body Control Pilates Method is based on the work of Joseph Pilates who began to develop his Method around the time of the First World War before opening a studio in New York in the 1920's. His studio soon attracted the city's 'elite' with actors, dancers and athletes finding that his exercises perfected and completed their traditional  programme and catered for their individual needs - building strength without adding bulk, balancing that strength with flexibility, and achieving the perfect harmony between mind and body.

What makes Pilates different?

"it is the mind itself which builds the body" - Joseph Pilates, from Schiller.

Pilates is a body-conditioning method that works in a different way to other fitness techniques. Targeting the deep postural muscles, it works by building strength from the inside out, rebalancing the body and bringing it into correct alignment. It helps to reshape your body which will become longer, leaner and more toned. It will also improve your posture, achieving the perfect balance between strength and flexibility, and is a great way to relieve unwanted stress and tension. Ideal for athletes looking to enhance their performance and avoid the risk of injury, it is equally suitable for first-time exercisers. Its slow, controlled approach means that it gives longer-term results - and it is especially recommended by medical specialists for those with back problems.

Pilates offers both mental and physical training, literally teaching you to be in control of your body. By improving body awareness and focus, tension is released from the body and correct postural alignment is taught.

One is encouraged to breathe more efficiently by breathing laterally into the lower ribcage. The creation of a 'girdle of strength' is one of the primary aims of the Method and is achieved by strengthening the core postural muscles that stabilise the torso. By correcting imbalances, sound muscle recruitment patterns are encouraged and the body realigned. Precise, controlled, flowing movements mean that the muscle and ligament damage, sometimes associated with other fitness regimes, is avoided. Pilates, in fact, plays a key role in many injury rehabilitation programmes in dance, sport and general practice.

Who was Pilates?

Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. Very little is known about his early life, but according to various biographies, he appears to have been a frail child, suffering from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.

In 1912 Pilates lived in England working as a circus performer, boxer and self-defence instructor. During World War I, he was interned with other German nationals and it was during this time that he further developed his technique of physical fitness, designed for a confined space, by teaching his fellow internees. During the latter part of the War, he served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man where he began working patients who where unable to walk. It was here that the inspiration for his famous piece of equipment the "Cadillac" was born, as he attached springs to the hospital beds to help support the patients' limbs while working with them.