The Pilates Principles: They maketh the Method

The six original principles of the Pilates Method are:

BREATHING ? CENTREING ? CONTROL ? CONCENTRATION ? FLOW – PRECISION

The Pilates Method is firmly founded in this set of principles that make the method what it is. The principles of the Pilates method not only bind the various Pilates method approaches together but the principles are the overriding philosophy bequeathed to us by the legendary Joseph Pilates.

This is the second of six articles where we are examining these Principles in greater depth so as to offer you a richer understanding of how they will guide you in your quest for Pilates health and happiness.

Remember, we are looking at the principles given in alphabetical order ? they are all as important as each other!

CENTREING

Centreing refers to around which other things revolve or rotates, creating an intrinsic connectedness. In the Pilates Method all work must revolve around the core of the body where the support and power is housed.

These days, this often gets referred to as ?core stability? but in the Pilates Method it is so much more. Pilates is not only about stability, but is about strength, flexibility, control and training the mind and body to be powerful.

Joseph Pilates referred to the ?core? or ?centre? of the body as ?the POWERHOUSE?. This term creates an indelible image of being the house of our power ? where our power is stored for our use. I perfect to describe how the Pilates Method should be approached. Always from the powerhouse and always with the whole body involved around the powerful centre.

The Pilates Centre or Powerhouse is the mid section of the torso down to the base of the pelvis. It includes the abdominal muscles ? importantly the deep abdominals (transversus) which along with the pelvic floor muscles are key to the Pilates centre; other muscles around the pelvis including the gluteals, and the deep spinal muscles such as the multifidus all contribute to the powerhouse. There?s a lot more muscles and various types of tissue that are part of or influence the Pilates centre, but the main focus is commonly on deep abdominals and pelvic muscles. This diagram gives you an idea of where to be focused during your workouts.

When you are doing your Pilates exercises remember to scoop the abdominals in for every movement ? that way you will be centering and finding your power source each time. And the bonus is, you will be training yourself to have gorgeous, sleek Pilates abs at the same time! Win win!