Author: Robert Rickover

Joseph Pilates and F. Matthias Alexander were important pioneers in thinking about how the human body functions, and how to improve that functioning. Their ideas, carried on today as the Pilates Method and the Alexander Technique, have had a profound influence on many other fitness training and somatic education programs.

One of the most striking parallels between these two men’s work is the sweeping view they had of the health challenges facing mankind today, and of the wide-ranging benefits that would come about if their ideas were put into practice. They both spent many years experimenting and working on themselves, making their own bodies as laboratories, as it were, for testing each new idea. They both also acquired considerable experience in working with others to improve their functioning and they both repeatedly offered to demonstrate their methods to anyone in authority who would take the time to investigate them.

In each of their first major publications, they express frustration with the direction the human race is taking and make urgent calls for remedial action based on their discoveries. At the start of “Your Health“, published in 1934, Joseph Pilates writes:

“Daily, from sunrise to sunset, radio, newspapers and magazines broadcast to the world how to maintain health, how to regulate health, what to eat, what to drink, even what to think.

“This conflicting information… (has caused) nothing less than confusion (to those) who are so unfortunate as to hear or read the diametrically opposed viewpoints of our so-called guardians of our health, since it is rather the exception than the rule, that these instructions are in agreement in their ideas and methods.

“To one who has devoted the major portion of his life to the scientific study of the body and, to practical application of natures’s laws of life pertaining to the natural development of coordinated physical and mental health, and to the prevention rather that the cure of disease, the misinformation I have so often listened to or read borders closely on the criminal. Why? Because the acceptance of many of these popular yet bogus theories not only results in the squandering of untold millions of dollars, but, more seriously, can and does actually shorten the lives of uncounted millions.”

Apart from not mentioning television or the internet, one would have no way of knowing this was written over seventy years ago. We continue to be subjected to conflicting advice about almost everything related to health - nutrition, exercise, posture, prescription drugs, to name but a few examples.

“The Alexander Technique is an intelligent way to address and solve body problems. Many people are mystified by their own back pain, excess tension or lack of coordination. They often see problems in their joints or muscles as structural, unchangeable. …As students learn the Technique, they are surprised they really can make lasting changes in the way they walk, their degree of muscular tension, or in the shape of their posture. They learn how dynamic and changeable the body really is.” JohnHenes.com

Clearly Pilates was addressing major heath issues, issues that are not susceptible to any kind of quick fix. The same is true for Alexander. In the opening pages of his first book, “Man’s Supreme Inheritance”, written in 1918, Alexander devotes a great many pages to the same concerns voiced by Pilates. Some idea of the flavor of Alexander’s writing can be found In his Preface to the First Edition of the book. Here Alexander explains why he feels the need to put forward his ideas immediately, even though they were still in a preliminary state of development:

“…there are many reasons why I should hesitate no longer…chief among them being the appalling physical deterioration that can be seen by any intelligent observer who will walk the streets of London or New York, for example, and note the form and aspect of the average individuals who make up the crowd. So much for the surface signs. What inferences can we not draw from the statistics? To take three instances only: What of the disproportionate and apparently undeniable increase in the cases of cancer, appendicitis, and insanity? For that increase goes on despite the fact that we have taken the subject seriously to heart. Now I would not…say that because the increase in these evils has gone hand-in-hand with our endeavours to raise the standard by physical-culture theories, relaxation exercises, rest cures (and therefore) the one is the result of the other; but lacking more definite proof on the first point, I do maintain that if physical-culture exercises, etc., had done all that was expected of them they must be considered a complete failure in the checking of the three evils I have listed.”

In their analyses of the sad state of human affairs, on occasion both men veered into the realm of the bizarre. Pilates, for example, viewed masturbation as “the curse of mankind” and Alexander had some strange ideas about vaccinations and about “primitive peoples”. I think it’s fair to say that these were aberrations that did not take away from the important discoveries these men made.

“Many of those who are drawn to the health benefits of practising pilates are also interested in the Alexander Technique and there’s little doubt that your mind and body can benefit from both.” Pilates.co.uk

About the author:
Robert Rickover is a teacher of the Alexander Technique living in Lincoln, Nebraska. He also teaches regularly in Toronto, Canada. Robert is the author of “Fitness Without Stress - A Guide to the Alexander Technique” and is the creator of The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique website at http://www.alexandertechnique.com

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By: Tammy Foster
Pilates Basics is the foundation of exercises originally developed by Joseph H. Pilates to benefit bed-bound patients during World War I. Pilates developed a series of basic exercises designed to help patients tone and lengthen their muscles. Eventually he brought his Pilates basics to New York where he developed a loyal following.

Pilates basics are known for using intense concentration on a specific body part as well as on a specific series of breathing techniques while you perform a prescribed series of movements. It is the combination of these challenges which make Pilates a champion exercise.

With Pilates, one of the very first things you will need to learn is to focus on the “powerhouse” or the core of your body. It is just a fancy way of saying “your abdomen”. The basics of Pilates teach that if you work your body movements from the core or the powerhouse, then your muscles will move more easily and fully through their entire range of motion.

With the focus of Pilates being on the abdominal muscles, these muscles must get stronger in order to allow you to fully execute the movements of Pilates. The spinal and abdominal muscles make up the powerhouse muscles and should be your focus throughout each movement. The abdominal muscles are made up of the rectus abdominis, the transverse abdominis, and the internal and external obliques.

Pilates basics focuses on creating strong abdominal and spinal muscles which work together to improve strength, coordination, flexibility and balance.

Maybe you have seen the huge Pilates contraptions and have avoided Pilates because you do not want that in your home. Never fear. Many Pilates classes are floor based and require nothing more than a mat or carpet. It also helps to have either an instructor, a book or a DVD until you get your form right. There are still Pilates studios that use the equipment and some classes use various equipment such as exercise balls, bands or rings.

If all of this sounds a bit too soft for your exercise taste, make no mistake, Pilates is not a soft and fluffy exercise. If you have any doubt, then take the time to pick up a DVD of Winsor Pilates. In this particular slant to traditional Pilates, Mari Winsor has developed a series of Pilates exercises which she calls “dynamic sequencing” which even on a good day will leave you with your tongue hanging out!

One of the best things about Pilates is that it is gentle on the joints. For this reason it can be practiced by the majority of all folks, even those who are just getting started with a fitness routine. Many Pilates practitioners believe this form of exercise will leave you feeling better and not worse.

Pilates will leave you feeling taller, leaner, energized and confident. The breathing exercises that accompany all Pilates movements will help you to feel calmer and more centered.

So why not give Pilates a try? You will be glad you did and your body will thank you for it! The basics of Pilates give you a certain set of exercises along with specific breathing patterns all focused on helping your tone and strengthen your abdominal powerhouse.

More energy, confidence and strength makes Pilates basics sound like a plan for me!

If you are trying to decide between Pilates and Yoga, why not choose both? While they have many similarities, they may offer dramatically different results. In my experience, I find Yoga to be calming, centering, and it seems to give me a sort of quiet strength. That is why yoga is such an excellent way to start each and every day. I find that Pilates, on the other hand, increases my strength and flexibility like yoga, but also leaves me feeling energized, enthusiastic and invigorated. It may affect other people differently but that is my take on it. I feel yoga is an essential part of my morning routine, and Pilates is something that I really look forward to and try hard to make time for at least three times a week if I can.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

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