Published: Tuesday, 15 July 2008
What it is:
The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. It can also be a very unstable structure because of this extreme mobility and range of motion.
Published: Tuesday, 8 July 2008
What it is:
To create true functionality in our bodies we must have a balance of stability, strength, fluidity and flexibility. As we have seen in many previous entries, this concept of balancing the muscles and therefore the body is the core of the Pilates system. In Pilates we do not group our exercises into categories, some for flexibility and some for strength. Instead, every exercise in Pilates is for both flexibility and strength at the same time. There is efficiency in every move. We get the best bang for our buck.
Published: Tuesday, 1 July 2008
What it is:
A flexible and limber body that is capable of moving in all directions is much less likely to experience any kind of injury. As we discovered in our last installment on upper back strength, we must have proper posture in order to work the strength of the upper back. Posture means length which in turn means flexibility.
Published: Tuesday, 24 June 2008
What it is:
We are constantly reminded of the toll gravity takes on our bodies and how much strength it takes to fight against it. This is easily demonstrated when we see that sweet elderly woman crossing the street with a hunched back craning her neck so her eyes can find the horizon.
Published: Tuesday, 17 June 2008
What it is:
When rotating our torsos, most of us find that we must retract the shoulders and/or shift our hips in order to turn our bodies. Moving in this way prevents us from accessing the many joints in our spine. Each vertebra has one joint on each side. There are seven cervical vertebra, twelve thoracic and five lumbar. With these twenty-four vertebra, the spine contains forty eight joints in all.
Published: Tuesday, 10 June 2008
What it is:
Many think of Pilates as being comprised mostly of abdominal work involving lots of flexion of the spine. This is a misconception. Pilates is much broader in its reach than just the rounding of the back needed for abdominal curls.
Published: Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Many years ago, Joseph Pilates explained that his method was the balance of the physical, mental and spiritual. In Pilates, we create relaxed effort in every exercise. The ideal Pilates exercise is able to stretch and strengthen the body at the same time while easily flowing from one sequence to the next. This is one of the reasons that Pilates is known by professional athletes around the world as the ultimate way to build functional strength.
Published: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
What it is:
Millions of us live with moderate to severe back pain on a daily basis. Our hectic lives of spending long hours at a desk, in front of a computer, or behind the wheel of a car makes it difficult to maintain good back health. Many of us are learning what professional athletes have known for years—Pilates is the key!
Published: Tuesday, 20 May 2008
What it is:
Our Core Muscles (those that literally hug the bones of our spine) stabilize and protect the spine, but it is the outer Global Muscles that create the actual movement, such as an abdominal curl or rotation. (For more info on the Global Muscles, check my entry "Pilates Foundations: Core Activation.") The Core and Global systems have to marry in order to advance into the higher levels of Pilates exercises.
Published: Tuesday, 13 May 2008
It's rare that a week goes by without a new client walking into the studio explaining that their friend, doctor, or magazine has told them that Pilates is the cure to low back pain. Well, yes and no. Just like everything else, a Pilates regimen needs to be balanced and tailored to the person doing it. It's not magic and different things are going to work for different people.
Santé Magazine
Salute Magazine
Health News Magyarország
Follow us on Twitter @
