Chapter 1

A Pilates Primer

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting familiar with Pilates

Understanding how the method evolved

Introducing the eight principles of Pilates

Gearing up for Pilates

What is Pilates? In a word, magic.

But first things first. Pilates does not rhyme with pirates. It's puh-LAH-teez. If you were to look in on a busy Pilates studio, you might think, "Hey, this just looks like glorified sit-ups," or "What are these people doing, torturing themselves with springs and pulleys?" or "Gee, this looks really fun and is just what I need!" And all these thoughts would be true.

Pilates is full of contradictions: It's strangely mundane and yet ethereal, simultaneously simple and complex. Some people understand and deeply appreciate the benefits of Pilates the first time they try it. Others may feel that Pilates exercises are repetitive and silly, but after three months of doing the same exercise, they suddenly gain access to a new layer of information about their bodies. Some people may initially find an exercise completely out of their reach, but after a few weeks of training, they find it to be completely natural. Whatever your experience of Pilates, the bottom line is always the same: You will be transformed.

My ex-boyfriend, a serious freestyle snowboarder and skateboarder, informed me after his sixth session that "Pilates is boring." He preferred the thrill of danger and the reckless abandon that he found on the slopes or on his skateboard. But he did grudgingly admit that his short brush with Pilates drastically improved his snowboarding and allowed him to quit wearing his knee braces while snowboarding, after needing them for ten years.

His story is but one of the many testimonials I've received. A 35-year-old man who had back pain that nothing could help for 15 years, an elderly woman who had never enjoyed exercise and found herself losing flexibility and strength, and people who just wanted to tone up and have a gorgeous belly - all found what they needed in Pilates.

I myself am living proof of the Pilates magic. I seriously injured my knee 33 years ago during my short-lived career as a professional wrestler (a side job that I took when I was trying to support myself as a professional dancer). I was diagnosed as having a torn ligament, and the doctors recommended surgery if I wanted to continue dancing professionally. After six months of rehabilitation-based Pilates exercises and no surgery, I was up and dancing with more strength and technique than ever before. I was a convert.

I have had students come to Pilates without any prior movement experience. For some, it is the first form of exercise that appeals to them, either because they can't stand the gym scene - the loud music of aerobics, the grunting guys lifting weights - or they don't want to risk the potential injury or embarrassment that can come from not having any body knowledge. Pilates teaches fundamental movements; Pilates exercises are easy to learn and are completely safe for the average person.

If you already know a lot about Pilates or just want to get to the exercises, feel free to skip to Chapter 4, although I recommend that you check out the Pilates alphabet in Chapter 3 before attempting any of the exercises in this book.

As in starting any new exercise program, consult your doctor before starting Pilates, especially if you suffer from heart conditions, hypertension, or any other serious illness. If you have back pain or any other serious injury, please get a diagnosis from a doctor and your doctor's okay before embarking on your Pilates journey.

The Basics of Pilates

Pilates exercises borrow from yoga, dance, and gymnastics, but also include lots of original movements that distinguish them from these other techniques. The Pilates method consists of a repertoire of over 500 exercises to be done on a mat or on one of the many pieces of equipment Joseph Pilates invented. Don't worry about having to use complicated equipment - you can get a terrific workout at home with just a simple exercise mat. If you're interested in using special Pilates equipment, I give you the rundown in Chapter 16.

The Pilates method works to strengthen the center (see the section "Centering" in this chapter), lengthen the spine, build muscle tone, and increase body awareness and flexibility.

The Pilates method is also an excellent rehabilitation system for back, knee, hip, shoulder, and repetitive-stress injuries. Pilates addresses the body as a whole, correcting the body's asymmetries and chronic weaknesses to prevent reinjury and to bring the body back into balance.

JOE PILATES: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MAN

Born in Germany in 1880 with a sunken chest and asthma, Joseph Hubertus Pilates spent his life obsessed with restoring his health and body condition. Over time, he overcame his frailty and became an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast, yogi, and boxer, maintaining top physical form well into his 70s. While in an English internment camp during World War I, Pilates rigged springs above hospital beds to allow patients to rehabilitate while lying on their backs. This setup later evolved into the Cadillac, one of the main pieces of equipment in the Pilates method.

In 1923, Pilates emigrated to the United States. He settled in New York City, where he opened a studio on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and started training and rehabilitating professional dancers. Ballet master George Balanchine and modern dance diva Martha Graham were two of his students.

Originally, Pilates developed a series of mat exercises designed to build abdominal strength and body control. He then built various pieces of equipment to enhance the results of his expanding repertoire of exercises. His motivation for building the equipment was to replace himself as a spotter for his clients. He developed 20-odd contraptions, some of which look a little like medieval torture devices. They were constructed of wood and metal piping, and used combinations of pulleys, straps, bars, boxes, and springs. His philosophy led him to develop a regimen that "develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit." Way ahead of his time, he viewed fitness holistically, emphasizing the body working as a whole unit.

Over the decades, Pilates developed over 500 exercises, which he originally called Contrology but which have since come to be known as the Pilates method.

Pilates uses a series of exercises

Pilates mat exercises are usually done in a series. Series are organized by levels. This book contains pre-Pilates, beginning, intermediate, and advanced series.

I recommend starting with pre-Pilates (Chapter 4). The pre-Pilates exercises give you a deep understanding of the concepts that make up all Pilates exercises. After you understand these concepts, you can apply them to the beginning series. After you have mastered the beginning series, move on to the intermediate series, and so on. As you progress in the method, the series get longer and harder. An intermediate workout includes exercises from the beginning series, plus new and harder intermediate exercises. Sometimes you will just do a more difficult version of the same exercise when you advance in levels.

Going through a series in order and trying to complete the whole series when you work out is important. Joseph Pilates was a genius when it comes to understanding muscle balance in the body. The series he developed make sense to the body when the exercises are done in the correct order. Usually, you start a series with an exercise that warms up the spine, then you do a few exercises that bend the spine in one direction, followed by an exercise that reverses that movement, and so on. You don't have to understand the science behind why these exercises are in the order that they're in (you would need a Ph.D. in kinesiology to fully understand the reasons). Just trust in the method and in the order of the exercises. The longer I study and practice Pilates, the more I appreciate the intelligence of the man who created it.

THE EVOLUTION OF PILATES

The original Eighth Avenue Pilates studio is where the first generation of teachers were trained: Romana Kyranowska, Kathy Grant, Ron Fletcher, Eve Gentry, Carola Trier, Mary Bowen, and Bruce King.

Pilates' protégés soon branched out and opened studios around the country, changing the method based on their own individual backgrounds and philosophies, and sometimes on the needs of their clients. For the following 50 years or so, the Pilates method has been passed down through generations of teachers and has transformed a great deal along the way.

Some New York teachers claim to hold truest to the original Pilates method, but many creative individuals have brought their insights about the body to improve upon some of the views of posture that were built into the original Pilates method and that now seem antiquated.

Understanding the powerhouse and the core

Pilates instructors are constantly talking about the core. But why? The core muscles stabilize the spine and make all movements easier.

I really understood the function of the core when I was pregnant because the core becomes basically non-existent in pregnancy...