Eight Principles of Pilates Method

Pilates Constantly Evolves

Throughout the early history of the Pilates Method, Joseph Pilates was constantly updating his approach. He always adapted his exercises according to the needs of his clients and it was this that made him unique. Since Pilates' death in 1967 teachers and practitioners have continued to evolve the method by absorbing new aspects from talented teachers and by incorporating new developments from medicine.

Current lifestyles are dramatically different from those of just thirty or forty years ago. As a consequence of this many of us are suffering physical difficulties that did afflict the general population in previous decades. Our more sedentary lives and changes in occupation have bred an new generation of ailments. For example many people that work all day with keyboards suffer from repetitive strain injuries. The proliferation of cars and labour-saving devices means that we simply do not use our bodies in the way our forbears did. Stress has become the curse of the modern age.

These factors have led to constant changes in the way the Pilates has been taught through the decades. The original Joseph Pilates exercises have evolved and changed to meet the changing needs. It has been speculated that if Joseph Pilates returned today he might not even recognise some of the classes being taught under the Pilates banner.

Matwork Exercises

A lot of today's matwork exercises are broken down variations of the original classical exercises. By breaking the classic exercises down into stages it helps to make them accessible to a bigger audience. For a long time Pilates was almost exclusively accessible by professional dancers, gymnasts, and other top athletes. By breaking aspects of Pilates down into their constituent parts people from all walks of life can learn the basics through staged matwork and build up gradually to the classic matwork exercises.

Eight Principle of Pilates

While the exclusive tag has been removed Pilates has retained the basic qualities and principles that have always guided the teaching of the method. Despite the ongoing evolution the core of the work of Joseph Pilates still remains and underpins every movement. The eight principles of the Pilates Method are:

Irish Pilates Practitioners