Joseph Pilates was self-educated in anatomy, bodybuilding, boxing, wrestling, yoga, gymnastics, and martial arts. At the outbreak of World War I, he was interned as an enemy alien in England and became a nurse-physiotherapist to his fellow internees who were sick or injured. He took bedsprings and rigged them to posts, headboards, and footboards of the bed frames, transforming them into resistance-type equipment for disabled patients.
Joseph Pilates published 2 books, the first in 1934 and the second in 1945, in which he passionately described his overall philosophy on holistic health and balanced well-being but not his method of exercise. Pilates believed that his method, called contrology, would activate brain cells to stimulate the mind and affect the body. Recently, science has substantiated that exercise improves cognition—specifically, executive function.
The “mind over matter” concept is the central element of the Pilates method. The goal is to fuse the mind and body so that without thinking, the body uses the greatest mechanical advantage to achieve optimal balance, strength, and health.
Pilates recognized that motor functions of the brain control the mobility and stability of the body, activating specific muscles in a functional sequence at controlled speeds and emphasizing quality, precision, and control of movement. Regular practice should lead to relaxation, control of the mind, enhanced body and self-awareness, improved core stability, coordination and posture, uniform muscle development, and decreased stress. Complex movements are broken down step-by-step to internalize the pattern.
People of all ages and levels of conditioning may benefit from Pilates; however, confirming research is lacking. The effectiveness of Pilates is dependent on the instructor’s training. Instructor certification requirements are variable. Pilates is being integrated increasingly into rehabilitation programs by clinicians without appropriate training. Clinicians should consider these limitations when prescribing Pilates training for both patients and athletes. In addition, the high neuromuscular demands of the the original Pilates method, requiring total core strength, total arm strength, and total leg strength, make its adaptation for rehabilitation challenging. It remains to be seen if the classical approach or any of its derivative forms is more efficacious than traditional rehabilitation programs. To answer this question, well designed, longitudinal clinical trials with standardized patient-reported and clinical performance measures are necessary.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445206/#bibr59-1941738111410285
I started doing Pilates almost 4 years ago and honestly was very skeptical as it looked ''too easy''. With my training background (7 years gymnastics, 19 years weight lifting - bodybuiding) looked like ''nothing to do'', but in fact it is harder than it looks. It has its own benefits, most definitely strengthens the core and balance. Some of the exercises I couldn't do at first, which was pretty embarrassing as I thought of myself as pretty strong person and I can see massive improvement since I started. I incorporate Pilates along with my weight training, regular cardio and kickboxing.
My amazing Pilates trainer and a friend Lucy:
Pictures taken at SOULution Pilates in La Jolla, California.