Glide Through Your Pilates Routine
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Glide Through Your Pilates Routine
In doing Pilates, you are in continual motion like in dance and martial arts. Pilates positions are similar to Hatha yoga poses (asanas) and performed on a floor mat. The techniques of Pilates and yoga were founded on the optimal functioning of human anatomy and physiology. Pilates is distinct from yoga in that you slowly and smoothly move continuously from one position to another; whereas, in yoga you hold the poses. As a cardio exercise, Pilates aerobically raises your heart rate. Yoga, in contrast, is mostly anaerobic, involving lifting and holding weights; in this case, your own weight. Alycea Ungaro, Director of Pilates Center of New York––Tribeca Bodyworks, offers a complete Pilates workout in her book, Pilates: Body In Motion (2002, Ungaro). While attending the New Work School of Ballet, she studied under Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Hubertus Pilates’s chosen successor (2002, Ungaro).
Joseph H. Pilates (1880–1967) developed this form of exercise to increase concentration, strength, flexibility, and stamina. As a diver, skier, boxer, and gymnast, he drew from his experience as an athlete in creating the Pilates system. In harmony with yoga, he emphasizes breathing, inhalation when preparing for movement and exhalation when exiting movement. The flow of the movement is one of the main principles of Pilates, improving balance and coordination. You glide from one position to another, Ungaro explains, while she demonstrates how to make your mat-work become seamless from the first exercise to the last. Joseph H. Pilates intended for the Pilates method to be performed at the rhythm of your heart (Ungaro, 2002, p. 22).
Your center is the foundation for all your movements. Pilates is designed to exercise your muscles in opposing ways which helps achieve balance and symmetry in the body. Opening the chest is key to enhancing posture, restoring alignment, and making space for breathing. Pilates focuses on the natural curvature of the spine to accomplish proper alignment. Challenging yourself to increase your proficiency entails exertion to the threshold your ability (your “edge” in yoga). This will increase your flexibility and endurance. Remember to dress comfortably and avoid eating for 45 minutes before your practice. In only ten minutes per day of Pilates or yoga, you can see a difference in your health and well-being (Ungaro, 2002, 24).
In doing Pilates, you are in continual motion like in dance and martial arts. Pilates positions are similar to Hatha yoga poses (asanas) and performed on a floor mat. The techniques of Pilates and yoga were founded on the optimal functioning of human anatomy and physiology. Pilates is distinct from yoga in that you slowly and smoothly move continuously from one position to another; whereas, in yoga you hold the poses. As a cardio exercise, Pilates aerobically raises your heart rate. Yoga, in contrast, is mostly anaerobic, involving lifting and holding weights; in this case, your own weight. Alycea Ungaro, Director of Pilates Center of New York––Tribeca Bodyworks, offers a complete Pilates workout in her book, Pilates: Body In Motion (2002, Ungaro). While attending the New Work School of Ballet, she studied under Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Hubertus Pilates’s chosen successor (2002, Ungaro).
Joseph H. Pilates (1880–1967) developed this form of exercise to increase concentration, strength, flexibility, and stamina. As a diver, skier, boxer, and gymnast, he drew from his experience as an athlete in creating the Pilates system. In harmony with yoga, he emphasizes breathing, inhalation when preparing for movement and exhalation when exiting movement. The flow of the movement is one of the main principles of Pilates, improving balance and coordination. You glide from one position to another, Ungaro explains, while she demonstrates how to make your mat-work become seamless from the first exercise to the last. Joseph H. Pilates intended for the Pilates method to be performed at the rhythm of your heart (Ungaro, 2002, p. 22).
Your center is the foundation for all your movements. Pilates is designed to exercise your muscles in opposing ways which helps achieve balance and symmetry in the body. Opening the chest is key to enhancing posture, restoring alignment, and making space for breathing. Pilates focuses on the natural curvature of the spine to accomplish proper alignment. Challenging yourself to increase your proficiency entails exertion to the threshold your ability (your “edge” in yoga). This will increase your flexibility and endurance. Remember to dress comfortably and avoid eating for 45 minutes before your practice. In only ten minutes per day of Pilates or yoga, you can see a difference in your health and well-being (Ungaro, 2002, 24).
References
Ungaro, A. Pilates: Body In Motion. (2002). New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.
Ungaro, A. Pilates: Body In Motion. (2002). New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.
Amy Wing, Holistic Health Educator,
Nature’s Hearth
Website: www.naturesheart.net
Email: ajw.habitat@gmail.com
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