What differentiates the Pilates method?
Psst. Here’s a huge secret – the range of movements in Pilates are no different from other exercise modalities!
I mean, bodies can only move a finite number of ways!
Even if you have full mobility in your joints with length and strength in your muscles, your body can physically make only a certain range of movements. Any exercise modality can show you these movements.
So then. What makes Pilates more accessible or valuable to certain bodies? Those defining differences (the secret sauce!) are: the Pilates movement principles and the Pilates equipment.
Pilates Equipment
I’ll speak very generally about the Pilates equipment here and give more detail in a future post.
The Pilates equipment use springs to mimic the motion of human muscles in their contraction and lengthening, tensioning and releasing. The feeling and muscle work is quite different from lifting weights or using typical gym machines.
A few key pieces of Pilates equipment to know are: The Reformer, The Chair, and The Cadillac.
Pilates equipment gives you support or challenge when and where you need it; finding the best position for your bones and body to achieve whatever the purpose of the exercise is. Also if you are injured, the equipment helps you to maintain your physical movement sessions as you recover. Exercise speeds injury recovery!
Your Elephant on the Reformer exercise is going to look different from another student’s – not only because we have different bodies, but also you might be working towards different exercise goals i.e. increased spinal flexion, hip flexion/control, leg lengthening, shoulder range of motion, etc.
Each day your body is different, so each day your Elephant is going to look and FEEL different. Part of the fun of Pilates is exploring these changes to become resilient and adaptable.
The Pilates Movement Principles
The next differentiators are the Pilates principles – techniques that allow the Pilates practitioner (that’s you!) to go deeper and improve the quality of their workout.
Breath - Improves oxygen circulation, the capacity of your lungs, and muscle flexibility around the rib cage so your body can work harder, longer. Breath is also the link between mind and body which increases awareness and focus.
Control – Control is a part of awareness. To move more efficiently you must be aware of your body parts and where they are in space (also known as proprioception).
Centering - Pilates exercises build strength from the center of your body all the way out to toes and fingertips! Between your ribcage and your pelvis , only the bones of your spine along with your ‘core’ muscles’ support the upper body (not a lot of bony support compared to the ribcage and pelvis)! To improve functionality in the upper and lower body, Pilates exercises increase the strength and flexibility of the muscles that wrap around and up and down between pelvis and ribcage.
Concentration – People who are new to Pilates are often surprised at how much focus it takes! You can’t just come to class and zone out while moving. You have to concentrate on where your limbs and torso are as you learn the exercises. This is part of the power of Pilates. As you practice concentrating on your movement in class, you eventually begin to take that mindfulness to your daily life activities and there is where the real change happens.
Flow – Flow builds improved coordination along with graceful and smooth movement.
Whole body movement – Most sports and indeed exercise modalities move the body in only one or two directions. Think of golf – one movement is walking around the course, the other is twisting in a swing or putt. And always initiating from the same side! These repetitive movements can create tension or stiffness.
Every Pilates lesson will move your whole body - you’ll sit, stand, kneel, lay on your back, front, side, lunge, and twist! Some classes may focus more on certain positions but your spine will rotate, flex and extend forward and backward, and arch side to side.
OF COURSE, if one of these movements is not appropriate for your body, then the exercise gets modified or skipped. You still get the benefits of all the other movements.
Precision – Biomechanics research shows that that the position of your bones affects the efficient use of your muscles and other tissue. Like a car wheel when a part is continually out of alignment, misalignment can have a cumulative negative effect on the body’s movement. Pilates’ precise exercises bring awareness to skeletal alignment and joint centration so that you can take advantage of this knowledge.
Balanced muscle development – I like to think of muscles as loosely divided into the ‘tinier’ ones connecting within joints like your shoulder, knees, vertebrae, hips, and the ‘big’ muscles that most people know like quadriceps, triceps, deltoids, and lats.
Pilates not only works big mover muscles but it also strengthens the smaller muscles that support the joints. Smaller muscles near the joints respond to lighter weight; by starting with those muscles and then adding incremental spring tension or weight, the bigger muscles don’t have to overwork and can increase in flexibility as well as strength.
Many athletes complement their sport with Pilates – the sport usually engages the big muscles for large movements but the body needs the joint support to get even more powerful.
For the same reason, many hyper-mobile bodies do Pilates too – they need strength in those muscles close to the skeleton before they can develop the big muscles.
The Teacher
Teaching style makes a huge difference in how the Pilates Principles and exercises are communicated and how your lesson is organized. I always suggest trying a few different teachers before committing! In another post I’ll discuss more in-depth what to look for in a Pilates teacher but, in my opinion you should feel:
comfortable
respected
supported
Ready to try it?
The only way to truly know the Pilates difference is to experience it! Click here to book your session today.
Still not sure? Book a free Discovery Call and let’s chat about if the Pilates method is right for you!
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Move with joy!
Nicole
