Pilates

Pilates is a form of exercise, developed by Joseph Pilates, which emphasizes the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility, and awareness in order to support efficient, graceful movement.

Core strength is the foundation of Pilates exercise. The core muscles are the deep, internal muscles of the abdomen and back. When the core muscles are strong and doing their job, as they are trained to do in Pilates, they work in tandem with the more superficial muscles of the trunk to support the spine and movement.

As you develop your core strength you develop stability throughout your entire torso. This is one of the ways Pilates helps people overcome back pain. As the trunk is properly stabilized, pressure on the back is relieved and the body is able to move freely and efficiently.

The essential ingredients in a Pilates workout are the principles of centering, control, flow, breath, precision, and concentration. The Pilates method has always emphasized quality over quantity, and you will find that, unlike many systems of exercise, Pilates exercises do not include a lot of repetitions for each move. Instead, doing each exercise fully, with precision, yields significant results.

Class Descriptions

Pilates Level 1:

Learn the core foundations of Pilates. This class is structured for new Pilates students, or those who are interested in refining their movement. You’ll learn the difference between neutral spine and imprint, proper Pilates breathing, ribcage placement, neck placement and pelvic alignment. Mastering these basics to your practice will ensure you perform each exercise properly and have a clear understanding of muscle engagement. You’ll learn to work your body in all planes of movement, and will master the fundamental exercises that you need in order to improve your practice over time. This class will teach you proper bio mechanics so that as you grow in your practice you’ll know how to protect your back, use Pilates breathing to intensify each exercise, and how to create opposition in your body.

Pilates Level 2/3:

If you have mastered the fundamentals of Pilates alignment, breathing and how to focus on engaging specific muscle groups, then it is time for you to move on to become an Intermediate Level Pilates student. At the Intermediate class level you should be able to create opposition in your body, and start adding “up levels” to each exercise to challenge your core strength, mobility and stability. A class that targets sculpting the lower body systematically using the Pilates repertoire. Reshape your waistline, contour your legs, and gain a firmer rear all in one intense mat workout.

Pilates Sculpt:

In this boot camp styled class we will combine free weights, personal training and traditional Pilates body-sculpting exercises. This class will work those key muscle groups to the point of fatigue and then lengthen and stretch those muscle groups to give you the kind of body that is strong and contoured, yet long and lean.