Pilates Class:Pilates is group of exercises developed by Joseph Pilates that are designed to strengthen and tone your muscles through core body training.

Pilates Reformer Class:This technique applies Pilates movements on the reformer. Spring-loaded resistance training will increase range of motion and flexibility, while building muscle strength without adding bulk. This technique is a full body workout, originating from the core. Pilates Reformer has a $10 fee. See sales department for purchase. Must sign in advance to ensure spot. *24 hour notice is required for any cancellation, otherwise the payment/ticket will be forfeited.*

What is Pilates:

Pilates (English pronunciation: /pʰɨˈlɑːtiːz/, German pronunciation: [pʰiˈlaːtəs]) is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany,^[1] the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people who practice the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States.^[2]

Pilates called his method Contrology (from control and Greek -λογία, -logia), because he believed that his method uses the mind to control the muscles.^[1] The Pilates method seeks to increase the strength, flexibility and control of the body.

History of Pilates

Pilates was designed by Joseph Pilates, a Greek physical-culturist born in Germany in 1883. He developed a system of exercises during the first half of the 20th century which were intended to strengthen the human mind and body. Joseph Pilates believed that mental and physical health are inter-related.^{[citation needed]}

He had been a sickly child and had practiced many of the physical training regimes which were available in Germany in his youth, and it was out of this context that he developed his own work, which has clear connections with the physical culture of the late C19 such as the use of specially invented apparatuses, and the claim that the exercises could cure illness. It is also related to the tradition of "corrective exercise" or "medical gymnastics" which is typified by Pehr Henrik Ling.

Joseph Pilates published two books in his lifetime which related to his training method: Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education (1934) and Return to Life through Contrology (1945).

The method was originally confined to the few and normally practiced in a specialized studio, but with time this has changed and pilates can now be found in community centers, gyms and physiotherapy rooms as well as in hybrid practice such as yogilates and in newly developed forms such as the Menezes Method. The “traditional” form still survives and there are also a variety of “contemporary” schools, such as Stott Pilates, which have adapted the system in different ways.

References

Further reading

• Pilates Trademark Case Judgement US District Court – Southern District of NY : Opinion 96 Civ. 43 (MGC) – October 2000
• Physical Mind Institute (2004). Anatomy of Pilates : The Physical Mind Institute. Sante Fe, N.M.: Physicalmind Institute. ISBN 978-0970530615.
• Biel, Andrew, Robin Dorn (2005). Trail Guide to The Body. Boulder, CO: Books of Discovery. ISBN 978-0965853453.
• Calais-Germain, Blandine (1993). Anatomy of Movement. Eastland Press. ISBN 978-0939616176.
• Friedman, P and Eisman, G, (2005). The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning. USA: Viking Studio. ISBN 0-14-200504-5.
• Lyon, Daniel. The Complete Book of Pilates for Men. Harper Collins (2005). ISBN 0-06-082077-2.
• Menezes, Allan (2004). Complete Guide Joseph H Pilates' Techniques of Physical Conditioning - 2nd Edition. Hunter House. ISBN 0-89793-438-5.
• Pilates, Joseph (1998). A Pilates Primer: The Millennium Edition. Reprint of Return to Life Through Contrology (1945) and Your Health (1934). New York, NY: Presentation Dynamics. ISBN 978-1-928564-00-3.
• Stanmore, Tia (2004). The Pilates Back Book: Heal Neck, Back, and Shoulder Pain With Easy Pilates Stretches. Gloucester, MA: Fair Winds Press. ISBN 978-1931412896.