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Mindful Movement Centre - Pilates
Mindful Movement Centre
Mindful Movement Centre - Pilates

Mindful Movement Centre - Pilates

The Pilates method (pronounced "puh-lah-teez") of body conditioning focuses on improving flexibility and strengthening the entire body without building bulk.
   

It is a safe and effective form of exercise that teaches proper breathing and body alignment, improves concentration and is a recommended form of injury prevention.

Mindful Movement Centre - PilatesPilates is a system of over 500 controlled exercises that engage the mind and condition the total body. It is a balanced blend of strength and flexibility training that improves posture, reduces stress and creates long, lean muscles.

Pilates works several muscle groups simultaneously through smooth, continuous motion, with a particular concentration on strengthening and stabilizing the body's core.

The focus in Pilates is on quality of movement rather than quantity, which makes one feel invigorated rather than exhausted after a session. It takes a balanced approach so that no muscle group is overworked and the body works as an efficient, holistic system in sport and daily activity.

Pilates conditions the body from head to toe with a no- to low-impact approach ideal for people of all ages and physical conditions.

quoteWhen I first met Leslie, I wondered how I would take direction from this lovely young woman, with an angelic smile and quiet voice. What I missed in those first few sessions was that she is a very serious and gifted teacher who takes each of her clients to heart and creates a programme tailored to whatever specific needs one might have.

She is not afraid to push me beyond what I think of as my final energy and supplements her teacherly voice with very pokey fingers aimed at whatever offending body part has given in to exhaustion. I have benefited incredibly from my private and class sessions with Leslie and almost always look forward to those pokey fingers.quoteRicky Englander
   
a short history of pilates
 

The founder of the Pilates method, Joseph Pilates, was born in Germany in 1880. He was a frail child intent on overcoming his various physical afflictions.

He studied yoga, tai chi and various fitness regimens from the ancient Greeks and Romans. As he grew stronger and overcame his physical disabilities he became a skier, gymnast, boxer and diver.

From The Centre - A Short History of Pilates - Josef H. PilatesPilates was interned in England during WWI due to his German citizenship, during which time he worked as an orderly in the Isle of Man. There he helped rehabilitate patients using many things including hospital bedsprings.

After the war, he returned to Germany where he continued developing his distinctive body conditioning techniques. When the German government insisted that he train the army, not liking the political climate, he moved to the United States where he founded the New York Pilates Studio. His earliest students included famous dancers George Balanchine and Martha Graham.

From The Centre - A Short History of Pilates - PostureThe Pilates method is a series of over 500 exercises that combine breath control with core conditioning to strengthen the body and reduce the risk of injury. It is also an excellent form of rehabilitation.

  
  Mindful Movement Centre - A Short History of Pilates - Josef H. Pilates
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