"A man is only as old as his spine is inflexible.''

Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1945)

Pilates The Man and the Method

The Pilates Method developed by Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1880-1967) followed his exercise regime which he called "Contrology". It represents a unique approach to exercise which develops body awareness and posture alignment, together with increased flexibility and ease of movement. The Pilates machines, mainly developed during the First World War to rehabilitate the wounded, were constructed from hospital beds and bedsprings to offer assistive and then resistive exercise tools.

Before Joseph Pilates' death in 1967, he had developed more than 600 exercises for the various pieces of apparatus he invented. Today there are many individual interpretations of the original method and a considerable divergence in the practice of Pilates and in the understanding of the underlying biomechanics. After his death at the age of 86, a legal decision removed the ability to trademark the name Pilates and consequently the sole right of certification of Pilates instructors.

The Key Principles of the classical Pilates Method

Pilates training is intended to improve general body flexibility and health by emphasising "core" (truncal) strength, posture, and coordination of breathing with movement.

• Centring is considered to be the main focus of the Pilates Method. The "centre" refers to the core of the body and is usually known as the "powerhouse". In today's Pilates training it is believed that centring is involved mainly in the full activation of the core stability muscles such as Transversus Abdominis.
• Concentration: it is the mind that guides the body; hence focused concentration is necessary when carrying out Pilates exercises.
• Control: one must be in control of the movements performed.
• Precision: A common saying in the world of Pilates that illustrates this is, "It is not how many you do, but how you do it".
• Breath: all exercises should be done with rhythmical breathing.
• Flow: flowing succession of one exercise to another during a Pilates session.  (Siler 2000)

Centring, the Powerhouse and the Box

While Joseph Pilates believed that all muscles of the body should be strengthened and stretched (Pilates 1945), he felt that the major emphasis should be placed upon the muscles of the centre of the body. He referred to this region as the powerhouse of the body.

The Powerhouse: pelvic floor inferiorly to the ribcage superiorly.

The box is defined by two horizontal lines: one running from the top of one shoulder to the top of the other shoulder, the second line running from one hip joint to the other (Liekens, 1997). In other words, maintaining the box means keeping good pelvic, shoulder alignment and a neutral position of the spine.

The Pilates Box on the left. On the right is a picture of Joseph Pilates modified to show the "Box".

It is fascinating to think that over eighty years ago Joseph Pilates discovered that if he hollowed his navel toward his spine, his lower back felt protected. He had superb body awareness and thus introduced the direction "navel to spine" into all his exercises. With a centre of the body that is strong and flexible, Pilates asserted that the overall functioning would be improved. That is, the ability to move and function throughout the activities of daily life would be optimized (Pilates 1945; Siler 2000).

Indeed, Joseph Pilates had the following maxim on his business card: "A man is only as old as his spine is inflexible".