Lesley Ackland - 10-Minute Pilates with the Ball: Simple Routines for a Strong, Toned Body – includes exercises for pregnancy

Pilates and Pregnancy
by Jane Ireland MCSP SRP, Chartered Physiotherapist

10-Minute Pilates with the Ball is based on my Body Maintenance Technique, a Pilates-based programme which focuses on equal amounts of strengthening and stretching exercises to give you a correct, posturally-aligned body.

Physio Balls are an important tool in my Body Maintenance studio at Pineapple in Londons Covent Garden. Currently available in sport shops, Physio Balls are a very simple exercise accessory that can be used almost anywhere at the studio or at home, even in the office. They dont require a lot of space or time to blow them up; theyre not a complicated piece of equipment.

Physio Balls have been a part of Body Maintenance for the last 10 years. When I first introduced them, they werent widely known. Initially I started using them in my Pilates-based technique because I had learned of their use in advanced physiotherapy therapy taking place in German clinics.

A serious remedial tool, Physio Balls are especially important for patients recovering from surgery, particularly those recovering from spinal surgery (laminectomies). They have also been used at the New York City Ballet and, since then, have been successfully incorporated into most gyms and exercise regimes, where they have proved to be extremely useful.

In the Body Maintenance studio I have devised simple exercises for people recovering from spinal surgery. They are also fantastic for shoulder and spine problems, particularly scoliosis in the upper back. Amazingly, most of my clients now do at least 25 to 30 per cent of their 90-minute programme with a Physio Ball.

From the point of view of strengthening, stabilizing and mobilizing your joints and muscles, Physio Balls are essential. However, it is worth remembering that for people with a serious problem or injury, the use of a Physio Ball must be undertaken only under the guidance of a qualified physiotherapist.

The exercises in this book are not, however, remedial exercises. They are ordinary exercises that have been designed to offer you a varied and challenging programme. The standing and balancing exercises, some of which have been published in my previous books, can be used with or without a Physio Ball although one of the many pluses of working on a ball is that the exercises are not done standing, so the correct posture can be more easily be achieved.

10-Minute Pilates with the Ball is an exercise routine that is rigorous, but one that does not place undue weight or pressure on the joints. These exercises allow you to focus more on correct posture and correct alignment, without having to worry about gravity in the way that you do when you are standing.

In the Body Maintenance studio, working with Physio Balls has been particularly useful for my pregnant clients. The Body Maintenance studio specializes in post- and antenatal work, and we teach pregnant clients right up until a week or two before birth; we also see them anywhere from six weeks after giving birth. A section of this book has been specifically devoted to the weekly exercise programme performed by 10 to 15 of my clients a week in the Body Maintenance studio. You can be confident that they have been tried and tested successfully for a number of years by many women before and after they give birth, week in and week out some even after their third or fourth child, or after having given birth to twins.

Pilates was originally devised by Joseph Pilates, born a sickly child in Germany. His system of gentle physical exercise helped him overcome tuberculosis and go on to become a professional gymnast and athlete. Interned in Britain during the First World War, he developed his regime for injured soldiers, incorporating pulleys and springs attached to hospital beds, to prevent muscle wastage, maintain strength and increase stamina. Later in Germany, the dancer and choreographer Rudolph von Laban used Pilates warm-up and stretching techniques for his own dance troupe.

In the 1920s, Pilates moved to the US and opened a clinic in New York City. It soon became a favourite of the dancers and choreographers Martha Graham and George Balanchine, who brought in members of the New York City Ballet. A popular therapy for dancers wanting to work around their injuries, the low-impact exercise system also had early devotees in Hollywood stars like Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall. In recent years, with the lean, youthful look in vogue, Pilates has been picked up by modern celebrities like Madonna and Uma Thurman.

At the time Pilates was created, society was on the whole more active. Many of todays common injuries are a result of our modern lifestyles. Sitting hunched over our desks and having to engage in repetitive movements on computer keyboards, for example, contradict the physiological needs of the human body and create an imbalance. To address these debilitating afflictions of contemporary stress, I knew I had to expand and enhance the basic principles of Pilates.

I began developing Body Maintenance in 1980, initially studying with Alan Herdman, who first brought Pilates to the UK. While continuing my Pilates studies during frequent trips to New York City, I became aware of the extensive research being carried out on the human body. I began looking at the way physiotherapists were working, particularly at the New York City Ballet, with Physio Balls and Dynabands.

Building on a Pilates foundation, I began to incorporate methods from a wide variety of sources, including Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais and even osteopathy, as well as remedial massage and injury clinics. Integrating nutrition and mental improvement with controlled exercise, I created my unique system of bodywork which I call Body Maintenance.

Over the past 15 years in my own studio, I have worked successfully with people who have suffered from a variety of modern infirmities: RSI (carpal tunnel syndrome), chronic back pain (some of which stems from spinal surgery), HIV-related problems, aerobic sprains, extreme obesity, even low self-esteem.

Body Maintenance differs from other forms of exercise because it initially focuses on posture. Good posture is vital in realigning the body, which can have you looking and feeling taller, slimmer and more well toned. Body Maintenance doesnt build bulk, but strengthens weak muscles and stretches out tight ones. You can concentrate on one part of the body without straining another.

Body Maintenance recognizes that exercise is truly effective when you synchronize thought and action. Mentally focusing on the muscle you are using in each exercise is essential. This mindbody technique is the main principle of Body Maintenance. In order to create a fit and healthy body, you need to integrate the mental, physical and spiritual spheres.

Many people, particularly women, do not have a positive body self-image. Using 10-Minute Pilates with the Ball can help you achieve the body you want and are comfortable with, not the body you think you should have. All too often we are held hostage to images we see in glossy magazines, and imagine they are preferable to the body weve got. I find this unrealistic, even dangerous. We should acknowledge and appreciate our own bodies and work with what we are given. We do have the ability to transform ourselves, to reduce our self-imposed limitations and tap into our potential using my Body Maintenance techniques in a daily routine will stretch both your body and your mind.