Joseph Pilates stated in his book “Return to Life”, which was published in 1945:      “If you will faithfully perform your Contrology* exercises regularly only four times a week for just three months as outlined in RETURN TO LIFE, you will find your body development approaching the ideal, accompanied by renewed mental vigor and spiritual enhancement.”  (*Contrology, the science of control, as Joseph Pilates used to call his work.)

Joseph Pilates on the Wunda Chair

Doing Pilates just once a week will not be enough to see results, neither is using the equipment at a lighter weight/tension than prescribed by Joseph Pilates.  Of course we have injuries, old ones still lingering or even new ones and we will have to modify some of the exercises and/or the weight/tension for awhile or some time, as long as we know that it is only temporary and we are trying to regain our strength to the prescribed ideal.  When people inquire about what I do for a living and I tell them that I am a Pilates instructor I will hear them tell me that they had done Pilates in the past and it was very relaxing…which always makes me wonder what they were doing at the time and why somebody would even consider calling it Pilates.  After a proper Pilates work out one should be exhausted, sweating, invigorated, out of breath, tired physically as well as mentally. If I do not feel most or all of these things I know that I did not work hard enough.

Studies indicate that up to about age 50 you will lose an estimated 4 To 8 percent of strength and muscle mass per decade. After that, the loss increases to about 10 percent per decade and about 2% bone mineral density which means we have to work hard just to keep up with our every ongoing battle to maintain our muscle- and bone mass.   Now if we want to increase both and get into better and stronger shape we have to increase even further our exercise rhythm to get ahead.  And no, neither muscle mass or bone density will increase if we push around just a couple of springs on the Reformer during footwork.  There is a reason Joseph Pilates used all the springs for these exercises.

As an instructor I will make certain that your form will stay close to an ideal as possible, I will continuously queue the client and give reminders of what to feel and look for, I will always define the weight or resistance that one is supposed to use for a specific exercise, but I can not perform the exercise for the client, nor will I really know whether the client is working as hard as they are able.  This assessment is the responsibility of the client and must be approached in an honest manner.  As long as we can hang on to the form and our breath as close to the ideal as possible and still are able to perform the movement correctly, even if we are struggling a bit, then we are working hard enough. When the last two or three repetitions are a strain and we can barely finish them, then we are working hard enough.

Each exercise needs to be done that way.  Joseph Pilates kept the repetitions to a bare minimum to get the most out of each exercise.  He always proclaimed that each movement was a whole body exercise and that is how we need to treat the complete system.  The form needs to be performed as a continuous never ending movement, which of course makes it necessary to also learn and put the same effort forth in the transitions, apply the same principles and to melt all exercises into one.  It would not be very beneficial if we were to rest after each movement or exercise after having done merely a few reps.  The system is designed to be continuous and flowing, never resting and never stopping to deliver a very deep Mind and Body workout that should leave you invigorated and exhausted all at the same time.                                                                                                                                                                               Then, and only then will you receive and feel the full benefits of Pilates.

You may wonder what this phrase has to do with the Pilates Method and my way of teaching and instructing at my aware pilates studio and if you give me five minutes of your time I will be able to explain to you briefly the connection.

Since the early twentieth century the life span or expectancy has almost doubled for us. Human beings merely would live to be thirty or forty years old, whereas now we are looking at an average life span in the late seventies.

Reasons are many for why, but that is really an entirely different subject.

What I am really interested in is that our body structure has not very much changed in the last hundred plus years, yet we have almost doubled our life span. How can the body cope with the additional use and stress without failing us? How can we live a happy and healthy life without injuries do to wrong posture, inflamed joints, loss of strength and flexibility?

Joseph Pilates always talked about the body, mind, spirit connection.

The awareness, balance and support between the interaction of body, mind and spirit. To evolve us to utmost efficiency in whatever we do, whether we carry groceries, drive our car in traffic, sit in front of a computer for hours, even gardening, holding a child etc.

The original peoples car, the Volkswagen Beetle was then hailed as the most affordable, fuel efficient vehicle for the masses, yet fifty years later the twenty to twenty three miles per gallon that icon car was able to achieve merely fades away in today’s market of fuel efficient cars that are able to achieve almost double that. My point and keyword: Efficiency.

In order to live long and prosper it is of utmost importance that our body, mind and spirit are working at the highest efficiency possible to achieve and maintain an active, happy and healthy life.

In order to achieve such feat we once again find ourselves reading the 1945 published book by Joseph Pilates “Return to life through Contrology” where Joe describes in his own words how to accomplish a well balanced and supported body. The Pilates Method is an incredible exercise program that has drawn from other programs like martial arts, yoga, wrestling and many others. The Pilates Method combines all necessary mental and physical aspects to create an efficient body, mind and spirit.

Please take advantage of my current special to get you started in the Pilates Method if you have never had the chance to experience it and wish to improve the quality of your life.

And so in the spirit of Joe Pilates and Spock I wish you a “return to life, live long and prosper”.

Joseph H Pilates - Photo by I.C. Rapoport

In order to understand Onkel (Uncle) Joe’s philosophy and my personal philosophy of it we have to take a look at the history of “Contrology”, the original name that Joe Pilates gave his exercise regimen.

Onkel Joe was a pugilist, a boxer and a wrestler, he even had a circus act with his brother at one point.

He trained the Nürnberger Polizei (Police) in Germany and was even asked to train the German military, which he declined.

The now called Pilates Method is a very athletic and even acrobatic exercise program that takes heavy cues from Yoga and martial arts, which Onkel Joe studied as well.

One of the main concepts always has been the connection of body, mind and spirit at a very deep level. Later on some of the elders replaced that with the so called Pilates principals to make it more accessible and understandable for the average participant. The principals were broken down into breathing, concentration, coordination, precision, flow of movement…..
Onkel Joe’s original program was a mat exercise program comprised of 34 exercises that can be performed in about thirty to forty minutes, however once he realized that most mortals were not even close to being in shape to perform these exercises he went about to invent equipment to guide and support those that wanted to eventually be able to accomplish his vigorous floor exercises.

“If you will faithfully perform your Contrology exercises only four times a week for just three months as outlined in “Return to Life”, you will find your body development approaching the ideal, accompanied by renewed mental vigor and spiritual enhancement”.

That is exactly what Onkel Joe wrote in his 1945 released book “Return to life trough Contrology”, which even for today’s standards makes some great reading. I highly recommend it.

As you can also see in his quote again he mentions not only the body, but also the connection with the mind and spirit.

To me the Pilates Method is an exercise program that needs to be done with utmost control and balance, not too fast as to lose the connection from the mind with the body. There needs to be an awareness to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in order for our whole body and mind to function in a smooth and efficient way. The breath needs to lead and guide our movement to obtain maximum efficiency. We need to be able to connect and feel all of our muscles, bones and tendons working together to improve our knowledge of movement, balance, stability, flexibility and strength. I have not found another exercise program that brings all of these different facets together to truly maximize our physical abilities. Whether you just like to stay in great shape or are looking to advance to the next level in your favorite sport on any level including professional athletes the Pilates Method will achieve those goals.