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Pilates in Everyday Life
Pilates is getting increased attention these days due to claims of improved posture, better athletic performance and much more. It has become an important add-on to physical rehabilitation and sports training of all kinds. I had to wonder why and how Pilates spills over to our everyday lives to effect such changes, and make vast improvements in the way we move, stand or perform in athletic endeavors. Pilates mimics the motions of everyday life with movement and increased body awareness. Joe Pilates intended that these exercises be applicable to any movement activity. It's no coincidence then, that a Pilates lateral flexion and rotation movement is very similar to how the body moves while turning to pick up a child or going for that great golf swing. However, it is unrealistic to expect a Pilates learner to consciously think of a particular Pilates movement while going about their daily activities. Quality Counts
Looking at my Pilates learning experiences and positive body changes, I discovered the key to "spillover" is the precision, control and focus of each movement within each exercise. The quality of each movement is what's important, not the quantity of exercises performed. Practicing the depth and correctness of Pilates leads to muscle memory -- the type that subsists long after a person leaves the Pilates studio, leaving an impression in the subconscious mind. Each Pilates practice session is an important variable for success of body retention. Therefore, Pilates that is learned is only as good as its teaching. Joe Pilates, in his writing, Return to Life, said, "you must always faithfully and without deviation follow the instructions accompanying the exercises and always keep your mind wholly concentrated on the purpose of the exercises as you perform them". With that in mind, it is the responsibility of instructors to stay true to Joe's philosophy, and teach the learner to correctly execute each exercise. Progressing through the myriad of exercises is a deliberate sequence of movements that often build upon each other¾the next level of an exercise should remain a goal until the previous one is executed with exact precision and control. Nurture Awareness
Body awareness, another central tenet of Pilates, also helps bring Pilates outside the practice session. Not everyone has a sense of body awareness. A Pilates learner may believe they are sitting up straight when they are not. As teachers, we can help bring awareness into the session in simple yet powerful ways, like having a person look in the mirror while they are sitting up tall. It's already proven effective toward the feeling of length and uprightness of the spine being the new comfort zone, for those I am teaching as well as myself.
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May, 2012
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