Where Did Pilates Originate?
Pilates (pronounced "puh-la-teez") was developed by a German/Greek man named Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1880-1967) in the early 1900’s and was originally called "Contrology." Joe, as he was later known to his students, was a sickly child and determined to overcome his limitations. He studied how animals moved and how his own body moved, diligently training himself to become a gymnastic and boxing athlete. He had a colorful career that also included being a circus artist and a trainer for Scotland Yard, and during WW1, he was interned as an “enemy alien” with other German nationals in an English detainment camp. While detained, Joe worked as a sort of nurse in the hospital and began devising and refining his exercise regime for bedridden patients, even turning old hospital beds and springs into the pre-curser of some of his later Pilates machines to add resistance to training, such as the Reformer and the Cadillac. He worked with patients to help them regain mobility and when there was an outbreak of influenza in 1918 that killed thousands of people in England, none of Joe’s patients/students got ill at all!
After his release, Joe returned to Germany for a while, met Rudolf von Laban, who created the form of dance notation most widely used today, who strongly endorsed Joe’s work, and then the German government asked him to teach for the army. Instead, he decided to emigrate to the USA. On the boat across the sea, Joe met his soon-to-be partner and wife, Clara. They opened their own fitness studio in NYC that shared an address with the New York City Ballet, and so began Pilates’ long association with dancers, including George Balanchine and Martha Graham, who would recommend Pilates to their injured dancers. Joe continued to perform his exercise regimen and even jog in his shorts in NYC in the winter until he was in his eighties. He died as a result of injuries he acquired trying to save his building when a fire broke out. Clara remained in charge of their studio until her death, even though Joe left no will or official line of succession for his technique. In the 1980’s a legal battle ensued when one of Joe’s former students filed for a trademark on the Pilates name. The courts decided that “Pilates” was now a common word, like “yoga” and therefore unavailable for trademark.
So, What Is Pilates?
Pilates is a series of over 500 specific body-conditioning exercises that target the deep abdominals, pelvic floor and back muscles to create a strong core (also referred to as the powerhouse) without adding a lot of bulky muscles. The movements of Pilates are controlled and precise using very focused breath to facilitate these movements. It requires deep concentration and a complete mind-body connection. The exercises are performed on a yoga-type mat in a specific sequence. Pilates itself is a lifestyle choice: you get the most benefits by being consistent with your workouts and performing them a minimum of 2-3 times per week. Once you learn the beginner classical system, the beginner workout can take only 24 minutes to perform, quite easily fitting into even the busiest of schedules and it can be performed anywhere you can lay your mat down!
Quotes from “A Return to Life Through Contrology” by Joseph Pilates:
"After 10 sessions you'll feel a difference, after 20 sessions you'll see a difference, and after 30 sessions everyone will see a difference.”
"Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure."
"Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities. "
"The science of Contrology disproves that prevalent and all-too-trite saying, "You're only as old as you feel." The art of Contrology proves that the only real guide to your true age lies not in years or how you THINK you feel but as you ACTUALLY are as infallibly indicated by the degree of natural and normal flexibility enjoyed by your spine throughout life."
What is Bellates™?
Bellates™ means Pilates for Bellydancers and was created by Bhrigha as a combination of Pilates with bellydance technique. The entire class is performed on a yoga-type mat, utilizing the benefits of gravity and a solid foundation, as you learn to connect to your core, tone and strengthen your powerhouse, lengthen and elongate for a lean body, as well as learning proper bellydance body mechanics, stomach isolations, authentic belly rolls, and proper breathing techniques. It also provides a classical Pilates mat workout and is open to all levels!
Many people have asked me what Pilates has to do with bellydance and my response is Everything!! Since Pilates is a series of exercises that developed to tone, strengthen, and connect us to our core (all of our muscles in our torso), it can greatly improve our technique, posture, and isolations in bellydance if performed properly. Much emphasis is placed on doing these exercises correctly with focused intention, replacing the compulsion to do numerous mindless repetitions, which so often happens when working out in a gym. Pilates has also been used by countless injured dancers as a form of rehabilitation and I speak from personal experience here: I discovered Pilates after my insurance ran out and I could no longer afford to go to physical therapy after having a bad case of whiplash with nerve entrapment from being hit by a drunk driver with no car insurance. Bellydance kept me mobile and Pilates helped me to continue to strengthen my anterior (front) neck muscles and my abdomen. Pilates has also helped me to slim down and tone up, all without the use or expense of machines because it only requires a yoga-type mat.
There are many different versions of Pilates now, ranging from Classical to Modern to East-Coast to West-Coast styles to things that are only tangentially related to Pilates. I have been trained in the Classical East Coast Pilates method by Power Pilates®, which is most closely associated with Joseph Pilates’ original design. Power Pilates® has been called the “Standard in Pilates Education” and ”The Harvard of Pilates.” I strive to maintain these principles even in my fusion workout that I call “Bellates™.” I am fully insured and certified to teach classical Pilates mat classes and Bellates™.
What Do I need for Pilates/Bellates™?
~Comfortable stretchy clothes that hug the body and allow ease of movement
~ A Pilates mat that is very similar to a standard yoga sticky mat, but it needs be at least a 1/2" or more in thickness to protect the spine
~A certified classical Pilates mat instructor to learn the basics, with a DVD for home study.*
*It is very important that you have proper instruction from a highly qualified instructor to avoid injury and to perform the Pilates techniques correctly. If these exercises are performed incorrectly, it may result in injury or bulky abdominal muscles which will make you think the system does not work.
Before Your First Bellates™ Class or Private Session:
As always, check with your health care practitioner before beginning an exercise regimen—all classes are on a self-responsibility basis. You will be asked about any health concerns or injuries prior to class and may be asked to sign a liability waiver
Do not eat anything heavy like a meal before your class. I recommend to stop eating 2 hours before your class and to stop drinking fluids at least 1 hour before class. This is because these exercises are very core-centered and if your stomach is full of food or liquid, you will not be able to do the entire sequences of exercises without feeling sick to your stomach. There is nothing worse than feeling everything sloshing around in your stomach while you are trying to concentrate on learning a movement-based exercise.
Do bring a bottle of water with you to sip after class and maybe an energy bar to nibble on if you have any kind of blood sugar issues.
During Your Bellates™ Class/Session:
Do not compare yourself to the other people in class; everybody’s body is different! Always work within your limits and listen to your body. Using a scale of 1-10 with 1 being no pain and 10 being excruciating pain, work in the 5-7 range. If something hurts in the 8-10 range, stop! Bellydance, Bellates™, and Pilates are not forms of exercise that subscribe to the “no pain, no gain” mentality. These exercises are designed for no- to low-impact on your body and nothing should ever hurt with sharp, stabbing, pain. If you are too fatigued to do all the reps in an exercise, hug your knees to your chest, relax your head to the mat, and wait for the next exercise. Once we start the sequence, the class is meant to flow from one exercise to another with little to no interruption. It is up to the student to really listen to the verbal cues and translate those movements in their bodies. Try to enter a meditative sort of state while focusing on the instructor’s verbal and potential tactile cues. Afterwards, you will feel some fatigue and definitely feel like you got a workout, but you should not feel like you can’t move or walk afterwards. Many people feel energized after a Pilates/Bellates™ session.
All of the exercises are ideally performed with controlled, slow- to moderately- rhythmical movements and should never be rushed. Try to visualize the deep muscles working in each exercise. There are many ways to increase the difficulty of these exercises, such as moving from the tabletop position to having the legs extended to 45 degrees. The main things to remember are to keep your abs/bellybutton pulled in and up and keep your lower lumbar spine flattened on the mat to protect the spine. Other cues to remember are to pull the shoulder blades down the back and when rolling up, keep a nice C-curve in the neck by looking into your bellybutton.
So you’ve had your first Bellates™ or Pilates session . . .
For the rest of the day or evening and into the next 24 hours, you need to drink lots of water – not juice, tea, soda, coffee (some of which can actually dehydrate you), just plain, good, fresh water, about 64 ounces worth. This will hydrate your body and keep you from getting sore. The best thing you can do for yourself after your workout is to take a warm to hot bath with lots of Epsom salts – I sometimes use an entire 64-ounce box, but half that is also good. This will relax your muscles and the Epsom salts (magnesium chloride) will pull out the toxins that can accumulate in your muscles and make you feel sore and stiff. Add some essential oils like lavender and chamomile for relaxation and soak for at least 20 minutes or longer. Don’t rinse the salts and oils off, unless you have to go somewhere and do try to go to sleep early. The next day you will hopefully wake up feeling fit and refreshed.
I recommend practicing outside of class whenever you can, always being conscious and diligent about your proper posture. To get the fastest and most benefits, I also recommend taking Pilates/Bellates™ class 2-3 times a week to see optimum results. If you have any health issues or injury-related conditions, I strongly recommend private sessions so we can totally focus on you and your fitness goals.www.bhrigha.co
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