Concentration. This is most important for
your body to work optimally. You must be present in mind, pay
attention and fix your concentration to what
you are doing.
The more you can link your mind to your body, the better your performance
will be. Not only that, the more refreshed and relaxed you will fee
as a result of thing about something other than your problems.
Control. Originally Pilates
called his work “Contrology”-
the art of control, and thus the principle of control. In Pilates
there are no haphazard,
sloppy, bouncy or jerky movements. Pilates movements are smooth and
controlled. The idea of control is based on injury prevention.
Control is at the core
of every move. Not only that, in Pilates we control our core muscles.
Center. Pilates exercises
focus on the muscles in the center of the body, the lower back,
abdomen, hips and buttocks. Pilates
called this area your “Powerhouse” and believed
that all the physical energy emanated from this area, hence the
name “Powerhouse.” All
your physical energy is exerted from your center and is used
to coordinate your movements in daily living, including exercise
and sports such as golf, tennis, baseball and boxing.
Fluidity. There are no static,
stiff clumsy movements in Pilates. In Pilates, all the exercises
flow within themselves and then
each exercise flows into the next. There is a constant flow of
energy and there are no “breaks
for rest” in Pilates.
Precision. Each and every single detail of
each and every movement in Pilates is done with precision. Each
student constantly strives
to achieve perfection. Pilates
is about the sum of perfect details. Doing this is quite challenging
and that is why Pilates focuses on performing a very few precise
movements, rather
than endless repetitions done in poor form.
Breath. In Pilates, breathing,
much like yoga, has the effect of clearing the mind and cleansing
the body. More importantly,
the breath is essential to and
will facilitate the execution of many of the exercises. So many people
breathe poorly or ineffectively. Often they even hold their breath
during a move,
which is quite dangerous. Remember in Pilates we breathe in through
our nose and out through our mouth. We direct the breath sideways
spreading apart
the ribcage as we inhale, like two big balloons filling with air.
We exhale and deflate those big balloons, sliding the ribcage
together and down towards
the hips.
