What is Pilates?
Pilates, originally called “Contrology”, is the complete coordination of the body, mind, and spirit. It is a series of exercises that can be performed on or off specific Pilates equipment, meant to strengthen, stretch, and align the body. People of every age, fitness level, and body type can do Pilates.
“If you haven’t tried Pilates, Arielle’s classes are a great way to try it! She makes the exercises so fun and accessible to everyone from beginners to advanced. I love how a fun 45 minute routine once a week has strengthened my core, making swimming and yoga much easier.” - Lisa R.
Joseph Pilates described the work in his second book, Return to Life Through Contrology:
Pilates is about our mind body connection. “One of the major results of Contrology is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control of your body… The brain itself is actually a sort of natural telephone switchboard exchange incorporated in our bodies as a means of communication through the sympathetic nervous system to all our muscles.”
Pilates is about strengthening. “Developing minor muscles naturally helps to strengthen major muscles. As small bricks are employed to build large buildings, so will the development of small muscles help develop large muscles.”
Pilates is about stretching. Pilates was “conceived to limber and stretch muscles and ligaments so that your body will be as supple as that of a cat.”
6 Principles of Pilates:
Centering
Concentration
Control
Precision
Breath
Flow
Who was Joseph Pilates?
Joseph H. Pilates was born in Germany, in 1883. A sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever, he dedicated his entire life to becoming physically stronger. Joe studied body building and gymnastics and by the age of 14 was fit enough to pose for anatomical charts. It was during World War I when he began to train his fellow interned German citizens that the beginnings of the True Pilates Method began to take shape. After the war, Pilates emigrated to the United States. Pilates and his method, which he and his wife, Clara, called "Contrology", soon established a following in the dance and the performing arts community.
About Romana’s Pilates
Romana Kryzanowska was a student of Joseph Pilates while she was recovering from a dance injury. She was asked to continue teaching his method of body conditioning after he was gone. After Joe died in 1967, Romana helped Clara run Joe’s studio and train instructors to keep the work alive. Romana taught for the rest of her life, traveling worldwide to maintain the integrity of Joe’s work in its original form. Romana’s daughter, Sari Mejia Santo, is now carrying on the legacy, and it is under her 600-hour instructor certification that Arielle learned and practiced the Pilates method.