Pilates
What is Pilates?
Pilates takes its name from Joseph Pilates. Born in German, then emigrated to Britain and then America, he devised the Pilates method as a new approach to exercise and body-conditioning in the early decades of the last century. His method included the use of equipment referred by him as: apparatus.
What are the benefits of Pilates on equipment?
Experience flowing, painless yet challenging exercises on Pilates machines to improve postural alignment, flexibility and tone. You will be able to instil movement into the core of your health and happiness. There are nine different pieces of apparatus used in each Clinical Pilates session with Claire, and the most famous one is called the Reformer.
Pilates performed on the apparatus, or machines, provide a wide range of benefits:
The machines create a supportive environment so that you can experience pain-free movement, and even move despite being injured.
The machines provide resistance with springs which ensures your muscles are constantly under load and tension.
The choice of the different springs, with different strengths, can specifically target certain group of muscles.
The Pilates machines can create imbalance so that your body has to work twice as hard to recreate balance.
Pilates machines provide different kinds of feedback to your body (closed and semi-closed chain), which stimulate your proprioception (neuronal sense of awareness of your body in space).
The machines provide assistance for you to be able to experience movements that you never thought you would be able to do, because of fear, or general adult life interfering! (hanging upside down, doing a shoulder stand...)
Why choose Pilates with Claire?
Claire Bergadaa is passionate about movement, and her experience as an Osteopath strongly influences her Pilates teaching. She believes that movement is at the core of health. Her enthusiastic and expert eye for movement and postural alignment has been fuelled by her ten-year experience as a Clinical Polestar Pilates instructor, and also by many years of classical ballet, ice-skating, rock climbing, aerial circus and golf.
Is Pilates for me?
The beauty of Pilates on the equipment is that it can be incredibly supportive for patients with injuries or the elderly, or it can also be very challenging for athletes. Claire Bergadaa, draws on her extensive experience as an Osteopath and Rehabilitation Expert to cater to your individual needs, making sure that you always work in a supportive, dynamic and fun manner!
Please do not hesitate to contact me at claire@osteopilateslondon.com if you are unsure or to discuss whether your condition is appropriate for Pilates on equipment.