If you are reading this, chances are you are interested in learning a little more about Pilates. Perhaps you are wondering what it is all about, maybe you have an injury and are wondering if Pilates will help you with your rehab. Well ponder no further my friend, it will all be explained below.

To understand Pilates, you need to understand the man that made it all happen. The founder, Joseph Pilates, believed that injuries were caused by imbalances in the body and habitual patterns of movement. Due to the sedentary nature in which most of us live our lives, we tend to develop poor ways of moving, and this was believed to predispose us to injury. Joseph observed that when a person had a weakness or maligned area, that person overcompensated or overdeveloped another area to achieve a certain functional movement, which mainly stemmed from poor control over the lumbo-pelvic region, more commonly known as the “core”. Thus, it was critical to correct the malalignment and to re-educate the body to prevent recurrence, and is the reason why Pilates emphasises the importance of working from a central core of stability. 50 years on, Healthcare Professionals are still using his theories on muscle imbalances today.

Here at Agile Therapy, our classes are all run by specialist physiotherapists that have undertaken further study, enabling them to teach the method of Pilates used by the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute (APPI). This is an excellent type of Pilates as it was devised in science by physiotherapists who devoted their PHDs to ensuring all exercises are underpinned by evidence and sound theory.

Classical Pilates differs from APPI Pilates in that some of the moves are contraindicated in APPI due to the high level and dangerous positions you can put your spine in if you are not strong enough. By joining a Clinical Pilates class like ours, you will be assessed by a physiotherapist and introduced to Pilates movements in a safe yet challenging way that is specifically tailored to your injury or goals. In this way, it is ideal for those recovering from injury or as injury prevention. We focus on a combination of specific exercises that work on strength, mobility and stretching, completed on an exercise mat. What is so fantastic about our classes? They are individual and progressive, allowing you to be continually challenged and improve with each session.

We believe that by concentrating on precision and flow of movement in a safe and controlled way, as well as awareness of breath control, you have an exercise that challenges the mind and body to create balance, a technique specific to Pilates. Through this method, you will be able to alter abnormal patterns of movement and achieve a carry-over effect into daily function.

Here at Agile Therapy in Cardiff, Pilates is much more than looking at toning up flabby tums and flat gluts. It is about breaking down movements, re-learning and becoming aware of a more efficient and effective way of moving and being, with the ultimate goal of developing a body that is adaptable and resilient enough to withstand whatever life throws at us.

Start your journey with us today and find out more about our 1:1, 3:1 and 12:1 classes.

Written by Anna Wardlaw, Physiotherapist BSc, HCPC, MSCP

Anna graduated with a BSc in 2012 from an internationally recognised University for excellence in Auckland, New Zealand.