Katherine Corp - Pilates for Beginners: Core Pilates Exercises and Easy Sequences to Practice at Home

Copyright 2018 by Althea Press, Emeryville, California

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Designer: Merideth Harte

Editor: Meg Ilasco

Production Editor: Andrew Yackira

Photography Beth Bischoff

ISBN: Print 978-1-64152-150-5 | eBook 978-1-64152-151-2

We dedicate this book to our family, and all who supported us when we shifted paths to the road less traveled.

CONTENTS

PILATES HAS LONG BEEN TOUTED for its ability to strengthen the core, sculpt long, lean muscles, and increase strength and flexibility. Professional dancers have used Pilates since the 1930s to maintain peak performance and prevent injury. In the late 80s, Pilates became popular among celebrities for increasing strength without muscle bulk. But because of its popularity among celebrities and dancers, a common misconception is that only people who are already fit can do Pilates.

This is absolutely not true! When practiced properly, Pilates can help anyone, of any age and fitness level, make lasting changes to their posture, core strength, flexibility, and overall fitness. Joseph Pilates originally called his system Contrologythe study of controlbecause he believed the exercises required complete control of mind, body, and spirit. Over time, Contrology became synonymous with Pilates as his disciples and students recommended the practice to others. Only in the 1980s, over 10 years after his death in 1967, did the name of his system transition to simply Pilates. Pilatess direct disciples preserved his method diligently, and that practice is now referred to as classical Pilates. Over time, Pilates practitioners have introduced slight modifications or adjustments to classical Pilates in order to incorporate modern knowledge of biomechanics (the anatomical way the body moves). As practitioners and teachers, we embrace Joseph Pilatess classical system, but have also recognized the need for modifications. Every body is different, so every individual may need to perform Pilates exercises with slight variations. Youll find many of our modified exercises throughout this book.

We first discovered Pilates while dancing on an international tour. We were in desperate need of a strengthening and maintenance program we could do in hotel rooms, backstage, or anywhere! Performing eight shows a week and sleeping on a bus or in a different hotel room every night wreaks havoc on the body. But once we started practicing Pilates, our bodies felt stronger and healthier. Pilates improved our core strength and joint mobility very quickly, which kept us injury-free throughout our dancing careersand even later, as Radio City Rockettes, dancing on a steel stage!

Following our dancing years, we continued practicing Pilates while earning graduate degrees in International Economic Policy at Columbia University. We soon realized we could combine our passion for movement and Pilates with our business skills, and the seed for our Manhattan studio, Pilates on Fifth, was planted. We opened it in the year 2000, and many years later, were still thriving!

At our studio weve seen countless people transform their bodies and lives with Pilates. Many women turn to Pilates after childbirth, as it helps reestablish the brain-body connection to the abdominal muscles, especially after a C-section. One male client of ours (who admitted he was attending Pilates lessons just to appease his wife) was shocked to see how much his range of motion improved in spinal rotation and shoulder mobility, which greatly improved his golf game. An older female client still brags that she grew an inch in her 70s due to strengthening the deep postural muscles that support the spine. Clients routinely tell us that they are stronger now than they were 5 to 10 years ago, thanks to Pilates.

On a personal level, Pilates has helped us stay young in body and mind. We use Pilates daily to stay strong, flexible, and injury free, and it has helped us remain the size we were when we were dancing professionally. Pilates has given us the confidence in our bodies and in ourselves to meet lifes challenges, and were passionate about sharing the benefits with as many people as possible. We wrote Pilates for Beginners to debunk the myth that Pilates is only for people who are already in great shape. In these pages, we share the fundamentals of Pilates exercises and teach strong technique out the gate to help anyoneeven the absolute beginnerbuild a successful Pilates practice at home.