WHAT IS CLASSICAL PILATES?

Pilates takes its name from its creator, Joseph Pilates, who originally called his method Contrology.

It is a powerful and ingenious system of corrective exercise designed to work the whole body — developing both length and strength in the muscles, and mobility and stability in the joints.

Pilates has evolved considerably over the years, but Classical Pilates stays close to the original intention of the method and the exercises Joseph Pilates developed. Practised as a complete system, it can transform not only how our bodies move, but how they feel.

The work is low-impact but challenging. Through controlled, precise movement, Pilates develops strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, coordination and control — creating a body that is strong, balanced and able to move more efficiently.

WORKING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

At the heart of the classical method is the powerhouse.

The powerhouse encompasses the muscles that move and support the trunk, including the deeper stabilising muscles that support the lower back and pelvic girdle.

Rather than simply moving our arms and legs through a series of exercises, Pilates teaches us to initiate and control movement from this strong, centred place.

With practice, we become better able to feel that connection, strengthen it and use it — not only during Pilates, but in the way we move outside the studio too.

MAT AND APPARATUS: ONE COMPLETE SYSTEM

Pilates was designed as a comprehensive method.

Joseph Pilates developed his mat exercises alongside an entire family of apparatus, with the different parts of the system designed to work together.

Matwork challenges us to move our own bodies with control and precision and to develop a greater awareness of where we are in space.

The apparatus gives us something different.

Sometimes the springs and equipment provide the support a body needs to find an exercise or connection. At other times, they add resistance or challenge, asking the body to work harder and with greater control.

Some bodies need more support. Others need more challenge. Most of us need both at different points in our practice.

That is one of the great strengths of working within the full Classical Pilates system: the work can meet you where you are and continue to progress with you.

Rather than asking every body to perform the same workout, we can choose the exercises and apparatus that best serve the person in front of us.

The Reformer is part of that system — but it is only one part.