Traditional Pilates remains true to Joseph Pilates' original method developed in the early 1920s. Martha Graham and George Balanchine became proponents of his exercise system. Joseph Pilates' chosen protege, Romana Kryzanowska, continues to teach, and it is not difficult to find instructors all across the country who received their training with Romana. Traditional Pilates is recognizable by its exacting series of exercises performed in a specific order and its lack of extra workout accessories. The Teaser, Side Kicks and the Seal are Traditional Pilates mat exercises.
The Teaser
This mat exercise requires a flexible back, strong core muscles and mental focus. Start the Teaser lying on your back, legs turned out and extended toward the ceiling, arms overhead. Engage your lower abdominals, buttocks and hamstrings to slowly peel your spine up from the mat as your arms stretch in front of you and your feet lower to 45 degrees. Come to a V-shape, balanced on your tailbone with your arms reaching toward your toes. Relax your chest and shoulders. Hold your legs still as you slowly roll your spine back down, pressing your stomach muscles toward the mat. Your breath should remain steady. Move with control rather than momentum. Do three repetitions. The Teaser is an intermediate Pilates exercise.
The Side Kick Series: Up/Down
Lie on your side with your head, shoulders and hips in alignment. Rest your head on your lower hand, and support yourself with the palm of your upper hand on the mat. Extend your legs and feet at a 45 degree angle to the front for balance. Use your abdominals to keep your upper body stable and extended. Stretch your neck long. Keep your legs slightly turned out and straight as you raise your upper leg to the ceiling. Press through your toes as your squeeze your leg back down. The challenge of this exercise is in using your stomach muscles to hold your torso steady, not rocking back and forth. Do five sets then change sides.
The Seal
The Seal challenges your abdominal strength and balance. Sit with your knees bent in toward your chest. Reach your hands through your legs and under your ankles to gently lift and hold your feet. Let your knees drop out to shoulder-width; your feet stay together. Engage your lower stomach muscles to gently round your spine from your tailbone to the top of your head. Press your stomach muscles in toward your spine and roll back onto your upper shoulders holding your round shape. Use your abdominals to hold the position while you clap your feet together three times like a seal. With control, roll forward to your starting position and clap your feet three times again. Complete six.
References
- "The Pilates Body"; Brooke Siler; 2000
- "Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology"; Joseph H. Pilates and William Miller, 1954
- "EasyVigour.net": Introduction to Pilates & Contrology the EasyVigour Way; Bruce Thomson; June 2004
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