What is Pilates?

Pilates (pronounced pi-lah-tees) originates from exercises developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. He focused on strengthening deep abdominal, shoulder, hip and back muscles to gain core strength and improve body alignment.The principles of his exercises remain today.

Pilates is a series of stretching and strengthening exercises designed to condition your body's core. The exercises are specifically aimed at preventing back pain and recovery from back pain. Men and women of all ages can benefit from Pilates. Indeed we are seeing a much higher uptake of Pilates by men now who need to become more flexible for work, sport or everyday life.

Office workers in particular gain from practising Pilates. People sitting at a desk for sustained periods of time are mostly unaware of their posture, and quite possibly stressed. Stress sets off a physiological change in the body to enable us to cope with a given situation. However, prolonged stress is a sure way of increasing muscle tension in the neck, shoulders and lower back. Pilates focuses the mind as well as the body and can help alleviate stress.

One to One Pilates at Posture Dynamics

Pilates is recommended by Posture Dynamics as an ideal form of rehabilitation exercise following injury. It is also good for people who have been unable to exercise for a while due to illness, such as chronic fatigue syndrome. It gets muscles moving again in an efficient way. Pilates by Stephanie James at Posture Dynamics is biased towards meeting the needs of people in rehabilitation due to its very nature of being a centre for treatment of pain or injury. This is very different to the type of Pilates found in general gym or bigger class environments.

Pilates for Sports People

Pilates is used extensively by elite athletes. Former international footballer, Niall Quinn said that he could not have played his last two seasons without Pilates and Matthew Pinsent, four time Olympic Rowing Gold medallist used Pilates to stay injury-free. Pilates can improve sports performance by improving flexibility and core strength of elite and non-elite athletes. It is no-impact and easy on the joints. It complements high impact and aerobic sports rather than adding to the training burden on the body.

Pilates for pregnancy

Good posture is paramount for pregnant women. Due to significant increases in hormonal levels, such as relaxin, the pelvis becomes soft and hypermobile. This is essential for childbirth, but the side effects are lax ligaments and a loss of pelvic support. This can lead to problems during and following the birth, such as lower back and hip pain and incontinence. Pilates exercises for pregnancy focus on maintaining pelvic stability, learning how to weight bear without putting strain on the back and light stretching to ease any muscle tension resulting from carrying the extra weight.

Posture Dynamics Pilates classes in Ealing(W5), Victoria(SW1), Kensington(W8) covering Chelsea(SW3), Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, Pimlico, Sloane Square, Mayfair(W1), St James Park, Green Park, Clapham, West Ealing, Hanwell, Acton, Chiswick and Ealing Broadway.