Pilates has become a mainstream phenomena. There are Pilates classes in almost every fitness club, across the country. If you are considering learning Pilates, here is some information and some things to consider in finding the class best suited for your needs.

Originally, Pilates was known as The Pilates Method, or, The Pilates Method for Mental and Physical Conditioning. Joseph Pilates began teaching this method in the early twenties predominantly in the world of dance.  He began developing his method earlier while living in England and Germany. His keen interest in health and body-building led him to develop exercise regimens, exercise apparatus, and ideas for developing ways to improve the body and the mind. He was truly a pioneer in his observation of the body-mind connection.

The Pilates Method is taught with attention to the body and needs of each student. It is not merely a show and tell run-through of the movements. Many of the “Pilates” movements taught today have been diluted and coined with other names and terms over the years. The original Method consisted of a very specific set of exercises, each with a specific intention for stretching and strengthening areas of the body. When learning the method, students are encouraged to focus on their body, their center, and their breath.

The beauty of the Pilates Method is that it requires only a few movements (usually only 3-5 each) to accomplish what other exercise programs require hundreds of repetitions of.  Joe Pilates was against mindless repetitions of exercises, which are inefficient and leave people with no sense of involvement in what they are doing.  The distractions of music and counting aloud, further disengages the student from what is happening with their body.

With this in mind, consider finding a class that:

Many people who have attended my classes have commented that they were taught Pilates in a large class, with no individual attention. They were never sure if they were doing it right, and they were not motivated to continue with the classes or to even practice it on their own. Because Pilates is truly a METHOD, it is also intended to have an effect on everything else you do in your life. It was developed to improve posture, to teach people to have an awareness of where their body was in relation to what they were doing, to know what it feels like to be balanced in movement and to develop grace and efficiency in every aspect of daily activity.

Before you buy a video or jump into a fitness club class, find an instructor of the Pilates Method. Take an individualized or small (4-6 persons) class where you will be able to truly learn how to apply the Pilates method to everything you do in your life. It becomes a way of life, a way of moving, and breathing and thinking of yourself that surpasses anything else that you may have done. The method has been compared to meditation and yoga, because of the mindfulness that is applied in the practice.

Pilates is not a competitive sport, students begin wherever they are at, be it weak, inflexible or overly-developed in some areas and under-developed in others, and they work with developing a balance in their body according to their needs. Athletes benefit from the method because they learn to apply the principles to their sport, and not only do they discover how they may further excel, but they have fewer injuries. It is difficult to learn Pilates from a video because your body is most likely not the same as that of the person demonstrating the movements. In order to follow along with a video, many people strain themselves or do the movements inappropriately, doing  a great disservice to their body, and gaining little benefit.

Once you have learned the Pilates Method appropriately, you can take classes or use videos with a knowledge of how the movements should feel and you will know when you are not doing them correctly.

The Pilates Method promises improved posture, balanced strength and flexibility, harmony between body and mind.  Find an excellent instructor of the method and you will reap the benefits Joe Pilates intended to be had.

About my training: I was trained in the Pilates Method in 1987 at the Pilates Studio in New York. There were only two of us in the training, including classes taught by Romana Kryznowska who worked closely with Joe Pilates and Clara (his wife) from the inception of the method. Because I was learning how to teach the method, the classes were sometimes long and strenuous, assuring that I had learned exactly how each movement should be performed.