What are Pilates Moves?
Pilates is a great way to keep fit. If you have heard of yoga and are familiar with it, chances are, you will enjoy learning about Pilates as well.
Pilates has been around for over a century and is one of the fastest growing fitness programs in the country. It was developed by a man called Joseph Pilates who created a series of exercises which would ensure that the body was always healthy and rejuvenated. The philosophy of Pilates was that as long as the body is in perfect balance, i.e. both mental and physical, there is less danger of disease and the body's immunity improves.
What Do Pilates Moves or Exercises Involve?
Yoga works on the principle that you can balance inner energy which is extremely powerful to ensure your overall youth, mental stability and body stamina. This is achieved through breathing exercises and different postures which channel the energy. Pilates on the other hand concentrates more on the physicality of it. It is a system of strengthening and stretching exercises designed to tone your body.
Unlike other exercise methods however, instead of performing a series of repetitions of each move, Joseph Pilates preferred fewer, but more precise movements requiring control and form. He designed more than 500 specific Pilates moves to be included in his method. The most frequent form of those moves is mat work which involves a series of calisthenic movements done without weights or other apparatus on a padded mat.
After the development of mat work, Pilates designed five major pieces of unique exercise equipment that he claimed should be used for best results. It is interesting to note that although the two components of Pilates moves are often taught separately nowadays, the Pilates method was always meant to combine both mat work and equipment exercises.
