Pilates classes

Wednesday nights, 7:30pm

10 Power St. Hawthorn.

All Welcome!

PILATES IS….
What springs to mind when you hear the word Pilates? A group of people undertaking a mat class in unison or a studio of participants performing equipment based Pilates?
Pilates dates right back to 1920 when Jo Pilates (link to timeline of Josheph Pilates) created his Contrology method and an original 32 exercises – today there are more than 500 exercises!
Pilates is an intelligent way of exercising which requires using the mind-body connection to re-train postures and movement patterns; it can be used to treat symptoms of pain and discomfort or to prevent potential problems occurring from poor alignment such as “wear and tear” to a joint.
The words “core stability” are often associated with Pilates, but how? Firstly what is the core? The core is known as centre. It is actually a physical point in the body, not a spiritual or imagined area.
Think of a cylinder from the bottom of your pelvis to the base of your ribs. The bottom of the cylinder is made up from the pelvic floor, which is a sling of muscles connecting from your tail-bone to your pubic bone.  It is very important in adding stability to your spine.
The top of the cylinder is the diaphragm, which is a muscle that aids with breathing. When you breathe in the diaphragm lowers to allow more air into your lungs and with an exhalation it lifts.
Wrapping around your centre horizontally is a very important muscle: transverse abdominis. This is the deepest of the four layers of the abdominals and it acts as a corset to provide stability to the spine.
Finally, the fourth part of the core are the Multifidus muscles. These are small muscles that connect vertebrae to vertebrae and therefore are very important in maintaining  good spinal alignment while performing tasks and keeping the spine in a good position when static, such as sitting.