Pilates

Each exercise flows from the "five essentials": breath, cervical alignment, rib and scapular stabilization, pelvic mobility, and utilization of the transversus abdominis.

[9] Pilates spent four years there, working on his fellow internees,[9] developing his method of a system of exercises intended to strengthen the human mind and body, believing that mental and physical health were interrelated.

It has clear connections with the physical culture of the late nineteenth century, such as the use of special apparatuses, and claims that the exercises could cure ill health.

Each apparatus was designed to help accelerate the process of stretching, strengthening, body alignment and increased core strength started by mat work.

[10] He published two books related to his training method: Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education (1934) and Return to Life Through Contrology (1945).

During his lifetime, Joseph Pilates directly trained and certified two assistants, Kathy Stanford Grant and Lolita San Miguel.

[11][12][13] A systematic review of Pilates in 2012 examined its literature to form a consensus description of it, and found it could be described as "a mind-body exercise that requires core stability, strength, and flexibility, and attention to muscle control, posture, and breathing".

[15] In his book Return to Life through Contrology,[3] Joseph Pilates presented his method as the art of controlled movements, which should look and feel like a workout (not a therapy) when properly done.

The core, consisting of the muscles of the abdomen, low back and hips, is often called the "powerhouse" and is thought to be the key to a person's stability.

The review found that due to the small number and methodologically limited nature of the existing studies, the effectiveness of Pilates was uncertain.

[19] Accordingly, in 2017, the Australian government named it a practice that would not qualify for insurance subsidy, saying this step would "ensure taxpayer funds are expended appropriately and not directed to therapies lacking evidence".

[22] From the limited data available, it would seem from the statistically and clinically significant findings that Pilates has demonstrated efficacy as a tool for the rehabilitation of a wide range of conditions.

Pilates often incorporates spring-based resistance machines known as reformers,[24] which consists of a box-like frame, sliding platform, springs, straps/ropes, and pulleys that help support the spine and target different muscle groups.

The participant then lifts their head and chest while pulling back the straps down toward their hips to slide forward with the moving platform and repeating a few times.