What it is and what it does — the exercise discipline that blends principles of Eastern practices with Western needs. Everything you need to know about Pilates: benefits, exercises, equipment and videos.
But how did it spread across the entire world in less than a century, starting from a single studio in New York? To understand the success of this technique, one must first understand how it came about: Pilates was a well-rounded sportsman (gymnast, skier, diver, boxer) who had practised various activities to strengthen his initially frail constitution — to the point of becoming an instructor in self-defence for Scotland Yard agents. He emigrated to the United States from his native Germany when the Nazi regime showed interest in his theories on physical education, which he had developed by studying yoga and even the movements of animals.
Julia Roberts and Madonna have been devoted fans of Pilates training for years — a discipline that is, of course, an American institution, where it has long been the most widely used warm-up and muscle-maintenance method among dancers. Participants are seen leaving a Pilates class with very relaxed faces, smiles, and an upright, open way of walking: but what exactly does the Pilates method consist of?
The Pilates method, aimed at the harmonious use of every part of the body and the release of tension from the spine, is based on six simple principles: centre of gravity, breathing, fluidity, concentration, control, precision. "Everything passes through the centre," Pilates himself maintained: the abdomen is the point from which the strength needed to perform every exercise is generated, avoiding excessive strain on other areas of the body that are already overworked (neck, shoulders, back muscles).
Like Frederick Alexander, the creator of an excellent postural training method, and later Moshe Feldenkrais with his journey of self-knowledge through movement, Hubertus Pilates too developed his research into the body and its potential starting from a physical deficiency, a shortcoming: he is frail, and the fear of contracting tuberculosis turns him into a passionate devotee of muscular fitness.
There is nothing harsh, forced or excessive in his training; indeed, those who practise Pilates always have a lithe, strong body, open especially in the chest. The key words during a Pilates class are calm and gentleness, which translate into the six basic principles that structure physical training. This practice is in fact of great benefit to those who suffer from pain and inflammation affecting different parts of the body, such as back pain.
Breathing is the second fundamental element: in this technique — contrary to what we are often taught in many schools and gyms — movement takes place during exhalation, thereby encouraging the fluidity of gestures, which must never be performed in a hurried or jerky manner.
To follow these teachings, it will be necessary to "listen" to one's own body through concentration, to understand one's physical limits by controlling movements, and to try to overcome them through precision of execution.
Pilates identifies three fundamental muscle groups as the scaffolding that allows us to stand upright and open — physically and emotionally. The quadriceps femoris — those long, powerful muscles on the front of the thighs attached to the inguinal fascia, which allow us to stand upright, stay connected to the ground and walk; the iliopsoas, those muscle groups we call the "love handles," which are in fact essential for correctly supporting the spine; and the diaphragm together with all the abdominal muscles, which help us "hold our waist high" — that is, not to slump when we are sitting or simply feeling low. And finally the pectorals and their antagonist muscles, the trapezius and the interscapular fascia — those that, in yoga, preside over the fifth chakra, the fulcrum of the heart, of expansion and of emotion.
The method includes a series of bodyweight exercises that target all muscle groups, both on the floor (mat work) and others to be performed using machines designed by Pilates himself.
The most famous, the Universal reformer, with straps and tension cables, had its first origins in a field hospital during the First World War and originally consisted of a spring-traction system to be attached to beds for the rehabilitation of patients. Through targeted levers and pulls, it allows muscular lengthening and release that would otherwise be achieved far more slowly.
In addition to the equipped benches, one of the most widely used tools is the Magic circle, a metal ring approximately 40 centimetres in diameter that serves to increase resistance and muscular effort.
But Pilates has something more than all those disciplines that have been revived or created expressly in recent times to reconnect us with ourselves: it carries our collective past imagination, which comes alive anew each time in the present of the class through lightness, play and care. Its path is so deep and precise as to become, when properly practised, a genuine process of self-transformation, in which each of us can illuminate and dissolve our own shadows, our inner knots — all with the utmost grace and gentleness.
Pilates helps with weight loss, achieving a flat stomach and an enviable figure. It is a form of complete training that helps keep body and mind in balance through precise and highly targeted movements. For this very reason, it is advisable to be guided by an experienced instructor, including when tackling the various exercises recommended for toning the abdomen. For more information on how to lose weight, How to get a flat stomach: exercises and the right diet for men and women.
Pilates helps prepare for childbirth both physically and psychologically, improving muscle tone and elasticity and allowing the expectant mother to try out relaxation techniques that will prove useful during labour.
Anna Selby e Alan Herdman, Pilates. Una ginnastica per il corpo e per la mente, Il Corbaccio.
Alycea Ungaro, Pilates, Corpo in movimento, Fabbri.
Erika Dillman, Pilates. Come tenersi in forma con il metodo della ginnastica armonica, Mondadori.
Jonathan Urla, Yogilates. L'integrazione dello yoga e del metodo pilates per il fitness, la forza e la flessibilità, Libreria dello Sport.