Archive for June 2011

IN TODAY’S CELEBRITY-DRIVEN culture, Pilates–a style of body conditioning that’s been around since the 1930s–is enjoying new popularity. Most instructors working today are not old enough to have studied directly with Joseph Pilates and his wife, Clara, although there are a few, including 82-year-old Run Fletcher, a lively and still-limber man who studied with Martha Graham…

By Kyria Sabin While there are many valid forms of conscious breathing that support different forms of movement and relaxation, Pilates teachers emphasize posterior-lateral breathing over other techniques. Cues like “breathe laterally” and “breathe into the back” are common. Uncommon are the WHY and HOW. The Whys of Posterior-Lateral Breathing The four basic “whys” are…

‘Pilates is an art’ Ron Fletcher was one of Joseph Pilates’ original students, and is largely responsible for popularising what Pilates called ‘body contrology’. He tells Alice Wignall why he is exasperated that people still mistake the system for an exercise routine. An estimated 12 million people around the world practise Pilates. Conceived and developed…