By Julie Samaras
POPULAR in Australia since the 1980s, Pilates is a form of exercise developed by German-born Joseph Pilates (1880-1967) who, when interned by the British during World War I on the Isle of Man, trained other inmates in fitness and exercise. Here the beginnings of the Pilates Method began to take shape and by 1925 he had migrated to New York where his developed technique became popular among Broadway dancers and actors.
Originally equipment-based, the method also developed into a primary conditioning tool for performers with mat work classes designed to keep them flexible and stable.
According to Lanette Gavran, of Pilates Canberra, modern Pilates offers a choice of activities for the participant, from rehabilitation, a method of balancing the body to increase flexibility and tone, strength and conditioning, to sports or occupation-specific training.
Pilates fuses elements of eastern and western approaches in physical training into an integrated conditioning system.
Lanette started learning and teaching Pilates 16 years ago, having first come across the principles while training as a ballet dancer in her youth.
She says the method is based on the principle that it is through the control of the mind that we can discipline and train the body most effectively.
Sessions at Pilates Canberra embody six original principles and two additional Pilates International principles: centering, breathing, concentration, precision, control, flowing movement, alignment and commitment.
Participants feel physically extended but mentally rejuvenated at the end of a session, Lanette says.