Hazel Williams

Pilates in Stansted

Joseph Pilates was born in Dusseldorf in 1880. He was a frail, sickly child who suffered from rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. Pilates was determined to overcome this fragility but instead of following an established fitness regime, he experimented with many different approaches and you can recognise the different elements of these methods in his teaching.

Pilates was influenced by gymnastics, self-defence, yoga, circuit training, ballet, weight training, dance movements and he chose aspects of each to develop his own body. He learned and absorbed these other methods and by selecting the most effective features, Pilates was able to work out a system which he thought had the perfect balance of strength and flexibility for him.

Having proven their worth for himself, Pilates began to teach these techniques to others. He was in England training detectives at Scotland Yard when the second world war broke out and because of his nationality Pilates was interned to the Isle of Man, where he helped out in the camp infirmary and further developed his techniques training with his fellow interns with amazing success, many of them were war veterans who had been horrendously wounded.

After the war ended, Pilates returned to Germany to teach self-defence to the Hamburg police and German Army. Later on he decided to emigrate to the United States of America, and on the boat journey Pilates met his wife Clara, who also shared the same values on fitness, they both decided to set up a studio in New York. Pilates never took the initiative of setting up an official training programme.  The definition of what was, or is, true Pilates is therefore somewhat blurred and, indeed, is still being debated today. I also think it is a good thing that he rarely taught the same exercise in the same way two days running, partly because Pilates geared his teaching to the needs of the individual and prescribed a completely different set of exercises for each client.

Pilates in Stansted

Back to basic Pilates methods have been refined and developed from the work of Joseph Pilates. In my classes, I employ the same principles and disciplines by Joseph Pilates and I gear my teaching to the individual and prescribe a different exercise should there need be. Many of my exercises are drawn from my clinical experiences as an osteopath, and from the repeated problems that present themselves over the years in clinic, in areas of the body that show a lack of strength and flexibility, which often lead to injury and pathological disease.

Principles of Pilates

The principles of pilates are based around • Relaxation • Concentration • Alignment • Breathing • Centering • Stamina • Graceful flow • Precision

Pilates offers both mental and physical training. It can help prevent injury and rehabilitate injured muscles, restore natural, normal movement and posture. It strengthens the postural muscles that stabilise the torso by correcting muscle imbalances and re-aligning the body.

Pilates can also be used as a training method for sports people and athletes to give them core body strength and flexibility, so enhancing their performance and helping to prevent injury.

Pilates Case History 

Frank Farrell of Bishops Stortford

I was a little apprehensive about starting your pilates class because I have never been to an exercise class before and didn’t know quite what to expect. However, I needn’t have worried because you put me at ease and took me through the initial exercises with lots of care, attention and patience.

Your knowledge and experience in Pilates is essential as you are able to adapt the exercise appropriately and you pace our development according to our individual needs, taking into account each person’s abilities and problems.
Along with that you vary the exercises to keep things interesting and to offer new challenges when needed.

I have also found that your attitude is not one of pressure or judgment but one of guidance and encouragement.

I really enjoyed having a regular workout safely without the risk of injury. I know that without the discipline of your weekly class, I would not exercise my muscles sufficiently to keep my back and rest the of me in good shape. It is always followed by a very good nights sleep.

Another benefit is that I am now more aware of my breathing and posture which, I am convinced, helps me to keep a number of aches and pains at bay.

With this experience in mind I would have no hesitation to recommend your classes to anyone looking to benefit from them in the same way I have.