why ortho -Pilates?

 

The Greek word 'όρθος' (ortho) means correct.

So the 'ortho' prefix gives a sense of our intentions, highlighting our emphasis on corrective, sometimes rehabilitative, body work:

  • correcting body alignment (or posture)
  • creating a well toned, fit for purpose body,
  • banishing backache and fostering flexibility,
  • refining your golf swing, your tennis stroke, your perfect penalty kick. Edward Muybridge: Human Jump

Release, Retrain, Rebuild

Release your old habits, retrain after injury or even operation and rebuild towards a core-strong, fit and flexible body.

By working on the deep architectural structure of the body, achieve 'core stability'and then maintain it through exercise progressions and advanced movement sequences. Specific problem-areas can be targeted by particular exercises, but always in relation to the rest of one's body.

Low Back Ache and other Pains

Whether aches and pains are due to specific conditions like a prolapsed (or 'slipped') disk, or to injury or age, or just through years of careless habits, Pilates seeks to retrain and rebuild the body to its natural 'correct' state of movement.

You will learn why it is always your left side that hurts, or your neck or your right ankle that you keep damaging. Pilates will help you strengthen where it's needed, release where it's tight and build your core strength to support your daily actions in correct alignment. (and you can read more on this in Why orthoPilates ).

Further Specialised Skills

orthoPilates coaches have had additional specialised training to work with a range of conditions that include osteo-porosis, sciatica, or preparation for and recovery from surgery including Hip replacements.

We all have postural habits, and some of these need realignment, release or retraining as they could be sources of future pains just waiting to happen. "all I did was sneeze and I slipped a disk!" explained a new client. But that sneeze was not the cause, of course, just the last strain on an already stressed, out-of-line spine.

Bob Dylan reminded us long ago ..." that he not busy being born, is busy dying ..." Well that may sound extreme, but it's true to say that it's a long life and as we move through it we're in constant competition with gravity which often gets the better of us: standing up we tend to lean on the nearest wall, sitting down we slump and slouch and end up with a sore back from resting in the wrong position.

And that is to say nothing of the way we hunch over our keyboards and mobile phones gradually cultivating the rounded shoulders of the elderly.

but it needn't be like that.

With the bottom line of body and mind, Joseph Pilates built his six key principles of 'contrology' which was how Pilates himself branded his method.

And with this marriage of mind and body, orthoPilates teaches you to be aware of and recruit those deep postural muscles that so often become tired and lazy.

orthoPilates will help you rein in that tummy, remind your 'abs' of what they're supposed to be doing and help you develop the sleek profile, toned muscles and energised body your supposed to have.

Body awareness helps you command your body, shedding those stress habits, allowing you to relax when you want to and to spring correctly into action when action is needed.

It works for young dancers, it works for sports players at every level, it works for everyone who cares about their body and their well-being: and it can prevent you from sliding into couch-potato remote-toting inertia as the years float by.

It really doesn't have to be like that.

Body Control Pilates®

orthoPilates teaches Body control Pilates. BCP has taken the classical exercises and unpacked them into easier stages that can be tailored to fit your particular needs, progressing to more advanced skill levels gradually. BCP works with absolute beginners through to Professional Footballers , last year's triumphant GB rowing team and tennis aces on the international Championship circuit.

To ensure a sense of working together, orthoPilates, as all BCP teachers, aim towards a client-centred approach to Learning and Teaching ... and coaching.