Instrumantal Pilates
Joseph Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1883. Little is known about his early life, but he appears to have been a frail child, suffering from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His answer to these problems was to design a unique series of vigorous physical exercises that help to correct muscular imbalances and improve posture, coordination, balance, strength, and flexibility, as well as to increase breathing capacity and organ function. His drive and determination to overcome these ailments led him to become a competent gymnast, diver and skier.
Pilates was originally a gymnast, diver, and bodybuilder. By his twenties, Joseph Pilates had studied and drew inspirations from Eastern practices and Zen Buddhism. In 1914 after WWI broke out he was interned along with other German nationals in a "camp" for enemy aliens in Lancaster. There he taught wrestling and self-defence, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before their internment. It was here that he began refining and teaching his minimal equipment system of mat exercises that later became "Contrology". He was subsequently transferred to another camp on The Isle of Man where his interests in health led him to help out in the sick bay. He worked with many internees suffering from illness and incarceration. His caring disposition lead him to request that he help the patients in the infirmary with exercise. After he also invented a variety of machines, based on spring-resistance, that could be used to perform these exercises.
Advantages of private instrumantal pilates classes:
- Better technique in the Pilates method
- Better execution of exercises
- Better proprioception (body awareness)
- Faster progression and results of strength or recovery from injury
- More care and attention
- More flexibility
- More balance, strength and coordination
- Improving posture
- Increasing breath capacity and organ function
