Hi everyone here is the first of a series or articles that I am going to write informing you on everything Pilates. In this article I will be giving you a little on the background of the Pilates and how it is beneficial to everyone reading this, you included.

Pilates is a form of training that has been around for many years, like most things over the years it has evolved and changed to become more suitable for the body of today.

Traditional Pilates began as a very difficult, strict programme with a set number of exercises and guidance on how to perform them. So challenging that the main participants of traditional pilates were dancers, performers and other athletes.
Now the pilates of today (also known as contemporary pilates) is very different, while traditional pilates fans will not see this as a good thing I think it is a big positive, in my view to have something that was developed so long ago to be so widely used and extremely popular as it is today is incredible . While I take nothing away from traditional pilates or its founder as this is where the whole concept of the pilates we see today originated from we need to realise that in the main the vast majority of everyday people would not be able to perform most of the traditional exercises. Here is where Pilates really shines as a form of exercise, and I think Joseph Pilates would be immensely proud of how almost 100 years on his exercises and teachings are being so widely used and adapted in fitness facilities and homes all over the world. Back to my point of how todays pilates shines as a form of training, firstly almost anyone can take part no matter your age, sex, body type, fitness level. Expectant mothers all the way through to professional athletes. So it really is for everybody. Which is not the case with traditional pilates or many other types of exercise for that matter. Secondly it can be adapted to suit so many different situations including pre/post natal, rehabilitation, general conditioning and fitness through to people wanting to  improve posture and balance the skeletal muscles to name but a few.
The possibilities are pretty much endless with regards to how the exercises can be modified and the order in which they are performed . It really comes down to the creativity and imagination of the instructor.  The thing I love about it is that by a small change of body position and movement you can change an exercise into something suitable for a beginner into something that will challenge the most experienced of participants.
So if you haven’t already taken on a pilates session there is no better time.
Guy.