Pilates Principles 3 & 4: Control & Precision
One characteristic of practising Pilates is that we always strive to be in control of our movements and that we are precise about what we want to achieve and the strategies that help us achieve it. Nothing is random in what we do.
The students of Joseph Pilates formed 6 principles that should be at the basis of all Pilates practice: Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath and Flow.
One could argue that without there being centring and concentration in the first place, there can not really be control or precision. If we do not pay attention to what we are doing or if we are not in our body as we work with it, how can we have control over it or be precise about what we are doing? With Pilates it’s all about the “HOW”. How we move and how we execute our physical tasks has a huge impact on injury prevention, healing of chronic issues and improvement of performance efficiency.
We all know that being physically active is good for us. And yet, when we play sports, run or go to the gym we may realise that this also comes with some risks of wear and tear and injury. It makes sense: if we don’t use our bodies abilities by just sitting around all day long we loose them. We loose our endurance, strength and flexibility. Our heart and arteries can suffer, our joints get stiff and achy and we notice much sooner than we should, that we struggle getting up from a chair and so on. Every time we do use our body however, there is a degree of wear.
Therefore in Pilates we focus so much on being aware of how we move and how we perform physically challenging tasks. We work on not just performing the challenge but also on the quality and efficiency with which we do it in order to make harder challenges easier and more effortless, and to minimise wear and tear.
Once we have collected information about how we naturally move from our centring and concentration, and sometimes the help of a Pilates practitioner who can observe us, we can then implement subtle changes with precision and control the movement in a more healthy pattern.
Without control and precision we can not insure the quality of movement that helps us stay injury free and maintain or improve our physical abilities, while we advance with what our body is able to do.
If you would like to experience Pilates in a 1-1 session or as a group class contact Kristin at The Body Matters on 01702 714968.
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