Studio Six Pilates
Learn to use your core correctly
Pilates in Auburn, CA
Studio Six – A professional Pilates Auburn Ca studio passionate about bringing people to their full potential with the use of the Pilates Method. With the body’s core being the number one focus in Pilates, Studio Six is diligent to teach the proper technique and use of the core muscles, producing dramatic results in ones posture and overall health and confidence.
What is Pilates?
Originally developed as a strengthening program in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, this mind-body workout and way of life uses six main principles: (hence the name of the studio)
Concentration
Precision
Flow
Control
Centering
Breath
After decades of being enjoyed only by the elite, the mainstream exercise community caught up with Pilates principles in 1980. Now it has evolved into many fitness settings for its gentle yet challenging workout. Pilates is performed on a mat and/or special machines created by Joseph Pilates. The equipment, which has also progressed over time, utilizes resistance from the participants body weight. Practicing the carefully controlled positions and form on the equipment helps improve alignment, core strength, flexibility, body motion and awareness, and overall tones and strengthens the entire body. The continuous rhythmic movements of Pilates mixed with proper breathing and correct alignment help you become more sensitive to how your body feels. This heightened awareness will give you better control of your posture, daily and functional tasks, sports and recreational activities. With a strong emphasis on breath control, Pilates helps you perform movements with peak performance and efficiency as well. Regardless of age, fitness level or athletic background, Pilates is a safe and effective exercise regimen when its tailored for individual needs, taught correctly and closely supervised by a trained Pilates instructor.
History of Pilates
German born Joseph Pilates was living in England, working as a circus performer and boxer, when he was placed in forced internment in England at the outbreak of WWI. While in the internment camp, he began to develop the floor exercises that evolved into what we now know as the Pilates mat work.
As time went by, Joseph Pilates began to work with rehabilitating detainees who were suffering from diseases and injuries. It was invention born of necessity that inspired him to utilize items that were available to him, like bed springs and beer keg rings, to create resistance exercise equipment for his patients. These were the unlikely beginnings of the equipment we use today, like the reformer and the magic circle.
Joseph Pilates developed his work from a strong personal experience in fitness. Unhealthy as a child, Joseph Pilates studied many kinds of self-improvement systems. He drew from Eastern practices and Zen Buddhism, and was inspired by the ancient Greek ideal of man perfected in development of body, mind and spirit. On his way to developing the Pilates Method, Joseph Pilates studied anatomy and developed himself as a body builder, a wrestler, gymnast, boxer, skier and diver.
Joseph Pilates taught in New York from 1926 to 1966. During that time, he trained a number of students who not only applied his work to their own lives but became teachers of the Pilates method themselves. This first generation of teachers who trained directly with Joseph Pilates is often referred to as the Pilates Elders. Some committed themselves to passing along Joseph Pilates work exactly as he taught it. This approach is called “classical style” Pilates. Other students went on to integrate what they learned with their own research in anatomy and exercise sciences.
Joseph Pilates passed away in 1967. He had maintained a fit physique throughout his life, and many photos show that he was in remarkable physical condition in his older years. He is also said to have had a flamboyant personality. He smoked cigars, liked to party, and wore his exercise briefs wherever he wanted (even on the streets of New York). It is said that he was an intimidating, though deeply committed, instructor. Clara Pilates continued to teach and run the studio for another 10 years after Joseph Pilates death. Today, Joseph Pilates legacy is carried on by the Pilates Elders, and by a large group of contemporary teachers.
