All the world’s traditions, whether a religion, discipline or culture, derive from a single source, a creator, a visionary. In the beginning – in this case the 1920s – Joseph H. Pilates brought forth his vision of “whole-person” fitness. Since then, the system he called ‘Contrology’ has swept the globe.

Pilates is an excellent stand-alone workout- Basia Czerniszewska

In due course, ‘Contrology’ changed its name to ‘Pilates’ as we know it today and is practised by millions of people around the world.

I have been teaching Pilates for the past three years and most of the people I meet hope Pilates will help them achieve something specific.

Fitness goals aren’t always superficial. People have heard that Pilates can accomplish a lot, from curing back pain to growing the spine two inches. What is true is that Pilates is not only an excellent stand-alone workout, but it is also a fantastic complement to almost any other activity.

And when practised regularly, it will help you look your absolute best. One of the reasons I fell in love with Pilates is that it can give you a compact and strong body without creating bulk. You feel and look amazing after a session of Pilates.

When I first started, I couldn’t even touch my toes, but after a few sessions I was absolutely hooked. I certainly improved my flexibility, but more important, everything got better.

I fell in love with the original work of Joe Pilates and eventually became a Body Control Pilates Instructor. My teaching mission is simple: I want to inspire people to move and help them find the joy in getting stronger and more flexible.

Pilates works from the inside out but what a lot of people don’t realise is that this is so true. Many of the exercises are designed to work on all layers of muscles and help people achieve a balanced, toned and lean body.

There are many reasons why Pilates works so well. Muscles rarely work in isolation but rather they work in groups to move bones.

It is real teamwork. For each movement there is an ‘ideal’ combination. The way we used to move when we were children before we developed those bad postural habits and injuries. But what happens when one muscle in the group doesn’t work properly?

If it is too short or too long, it will be too weak and cannot function effectively. The whole balance of the group is then upset and the body needs to choose a different combination to achieve the movement – a cheating mechanism. The result will be less efficient and less effective.

You won’t know any difference; it will feel normal to you, but do it enough times and it will become a habit, a bad habit that will eventually feel familiar.

Faulty patterns and alignment usual feel normal. This is why working out in the gym or doing general undirected stretching or fitness classes will never solve the problem.

All you will be doing is using the same wrong combination of muscles. That is why we should restore good body use by connecting to our bodies, by improving our body awareness, making sure our muscles have an optimal length, by working the deep stabilisers to encourage them to work before movement takes place.

To do this we have to go right back to basics; we will need to practise Pilates exercises regularly. It takes about 10,000 repetitions before an action becomes a muscle memory or engram.

Joseph Pilates wrote: “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.” He was right. The Pilates Method develops the body and mind in a way that supports the rigours of everyday life.

I am a strong believer in the original work. Joseph Pilates was a genius and an inventor. Had he lived another 20 years, would he have kept his work and equipment exactly as it was in 1967? Was it finished?

It is highly probable he would have kept creating his work. Some experts say that we know so much more today than Joseph Pilates knew about biomechanics, body alignment and effective movements that the Pilates Method is the best and the safest form of exercises we can do.

www.pilatesbodylanguage.com